All I have to do is mention that I was homeschooled, and I get bombarded with questions. I don't mind it-- it's great that people are interested! So many people want to know more about it because they're looking into it as a possibility for their own kids.

Here are some of the questions that people ask. Feel free to email me if you need any clarification, or if you have a question that isn't answered here. I may post those questions and their answers (anonymously) on this page.


Do homeschooled kids get as good an education as kids who go to public or private school?
Define "good". If you want to talk about standardized testing, homeschooled students quite often score as high or higher than their age peers who are in school. (Give me some time and I'll get you a link to a good study. I just don't have the URL on me right now.)
���������� There's more to it than whether or not a kid can meet someone's preset standards, though. Sometimes a kid will be far beyond her age peers in one subject, such as math, but lagging behind in reading or spelling. Some kids just seem to be ahead of the rest of the class in everything they do, and others can't seem to keep up at all.
���������� The reason for this is that every child learns at a different speed. Our society loves to categorize and standardize people, sorting everyone into cubbyholes and getting annoyed with the ones who don't seem to "fit in" anywhere. The school system, because it is a public service, must by necessity operate on such a principle; they teach at a level that will best serve the majority of the children, and any who are "ahead" or "behind" fall through the cracks. Some schools do have special classes for so-called "gifted" and "learning-disabled" kids, but those can make matters worse than they already are, by labeling children and making them feel worse about being something other than "normal".
���������� The beautiful thing about homeschooling is that each child can be educated at a speed that is right for him, without having to worry about how well he's doing compared to other students. Once you get away from the school system, you realize that the categorizations and the standards don't mean much at all, since every person has different strengths and weaknesses.

 It must be a lot of work to sit down and teach your kids lessons every day...
 It depends on how you want to go about teaching them. Learning does not have to take place in front of a desk, with textbooks, at the same appointed time and place like clockwork. Some people choose to homeschool that way, but only if it's the best way for them and their kids.
���������� There are an infinite number of ways to do it. At one end of the spectrum, you have school-at-home, with desks and textbooks and maybe even a chalkboard, and class times and recess times and holidays, just like in school. At the other end, you have what's often called "un-schooling", since it bears so little resemblance to school that "homeschooling" would be a misnomer. Un-schooling (which I know more about since that's what I did; forgive me if I don't give school-at-home enough air time) involves trips to museums, internet surfing, library expeditions, and as much good old-fashioned playtime as is needed (because kids learn a lot while they play). It may not look enough like education to satisfy everyone, but it works because the kids are taking charge of their own learning. Yes, sometimes they just want to watch TV or play video games, but when a kid isn't forced to learn, learning comes naturally and is something they will choose to do on their own quite often.
���������� In terms of standardized testing again (everyone really does want to know), school-at-home types and un-schoolers do equally well on the tests. Neither method seems to be better overall than the other; you do whatever's best for your kids and fits with your lifestyle. Remember, there are an infinite number of combinations in between the ends of the spectrum.
���������� One final thought: a lot of people worry about whether their lifestyles and financial situations would allow them to homeschool. I know of some families where one parent gives up employment outside the home in order to facilitate homeschooling; I know families where both parents are self-employed (my own family was like this) so it wasn't a concern at all. I even know a few single parents who homeschool, but their kids are old enough that they can be left on their own. If there's anyone out there who would like to share their experiences in terms of homeschooling while mking ends meet, especially if you're a single parent, email me! With your permission, I'll put your responses on a page where others can read them.

What if we don't want to homeschool forever? Can they go back to school eventually?
Most homeschoolers don't generally have trouble with the work level if/when they go back into school. Even if you haven't been formally teaching your kids, say, math, you'll be surprised at how much they pick up from the things they do (such as cooking, spending money, etc.). I left school in third grade, and when I was sixteen and decided I wanted to learn math, I started with a ninth-grade level correspondence course. The first lesson was: 2 + 2 = 4. I figured I'd better not tell all my publicly-schooled friends, because it seemed like they had just wasted 8 years learning stuff that they were going to review in grade 9 all over again anyways!
���������� There will be a few things they probably won't pick up at home without formal instruction: the first time I saw x and y as variables in an equation, I was lost; and in highschool English, I needed a primer on sentence structure and the parts of speech, even though my writing skills were already in top form. Once I had it explained to me, I was fine.

 What do universities and colleges think of homeschooled students?
It varies with your geographical location. Every school has a different policy, so if you have been homeschooled and you'd like to get into university or college, contact the school you'd like to go to and ask them how they would handle it.
���������� If you're in the United States, you probably won't have much trouble. Most schools in the States will accept highschool equivalency tests and SAT scores in lieu of an actual highschool diploma. In fact, U.S. schools have been actively promoting themselve to homeschoolers for a long time; they claim that, in their experience, homeschooled students are more focused on learning, are more motivated and enthusiastic, and have better organizational skills and critical thinking abilities than their schooled counterparts. I remember attending a homeschooling convention many moons ago in Atlanta, Georgia; a number of colleges and universities had rented tables, and were practically throwing brochures at parents who walked by with kids who were nearing college-age (and by "nearing", I'm talking about anybody over the age of eight!).
���������� Canadian schools tend to be a little less open to the idea of accepting homeschooled students. It's important that you contact the school you want to attend, and ask them what your chances are of getting in. Gradually, Canadian schools are coming around, mainly because they noticed how American schools were snapping up homeschoolers and shoving scholarships in their faces. I guess they realized that there was a good thing going and they'd probably better get in on it.
���������� My own experience was fairly uncomplicated. I decided when I was sixteen that I wanted to go to university and study astronomy, so I made an appointment to talk to some people in admissions and in the physics department of a couple of different schools. The school I decided on told me that if I didn't have a grade 12 diploma, but I did have the OAC requirements for the course (OACs are Ontario Academic Credits or grade 13, soon to be phased out), they'd let me in. So I went back to highschool, completed six OACs, and the rest of highschool math and some science to be on the safe side, and started university in the fall of 1999 at the age of 22.
���������� In Canada, if you aren't willing to go back to highschool and get some kind of accreditation, it can be hard to get into university, but like I said before, it all depends on the school. One of the schools I queried did tell me it would be very unlikely that I would be accepted without a diploma, but the other two were willing to work something out with me. I know of a few arts students (specifically, music students) who were able to get into university without diplomas or equivalencies simply by taking the required auditions.
���������� The bottom line on the university question is: don't think that if you homeschool your kid now that she won't be able to get into university when she's older. Every school has a different approach today, and more and more schools are becoming receptive to the idea of homeschoolers among their student body.

Don't homeschooled kids suffer socially because they don't get to interact with their age peers?
Who says they don't? My sister and brother and I participated in lots of activities where we could be with other people our own age; variously, karate lessons, Brownies and Girl Guides, horseback riding, dance lessons, a reptile owners' club, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (hi guys), etc., etc. You get my point. And, of course, if you aren't inclined (financially or otherwise) to join clubs and stuff, there are always the kids down the street to play with. Some communities even have organized homeschooling groups, specifically designed so that kids can get together and play, and so parents can have some understanding friends to talk to.
���������� Now, don't get me wrong here-- social contact is not something that you'll have to go hunting for (Doctor Livingston, I presume!), something that will take a lot of effort on the parents' part to find. Many people's memories of childhood friends (and enemies) are from school, but that's because many people spent their entire childhood in school. Human beings are extremely social. It takes more than removing them from an institutionalized, artificial, herd-like environment where they are forced to interact with their age peers in order to get them to find friends.
���������� Which brings me to my next point: don't automatically assume that the socialization that kids get in school is going to be positive or healthy. Yes, children learn from their experiences, and negative social experiences can be useful learning experiences. But enemies are as hard to avoid as friends; if your child has contact with other people (which they will, don't worry), they will get along well with some of those people, and not so well with others. Don't think that you can protect your child from the not-so-nice aspects of the real world by homeschooling them. The benefit of homeschooling is that when your kid does encounter someone unpleasant, he'll have the support of a proper family structure (any kind of family structure) behind him, instead of a substitute family of thirty other kids and a teacher who might be reluctant to even hug a child for fear of getting fired.
���������� I don't mean to sound hypercritical, but those are the facts of life in the public school system. I know some really great teachers, teachers who like to teach and really care for their students, but a teacher can never be a substitute for a parent, and school can never be a substitute for a family. The key here is numbers. It doesn't matter if a kid is being raised by mom and dad, just mom or just dad, two dads, two moms, grandparents, godparents, whatever. The point is that the kid gets one-on-one attention when she needs it, from someone who has devoted a large portion of their time, energy, and emotion to raising her. No teacher can do that, especially when they have twenty or thirty children in their care.
���������� Anyways-- back to the socialization thing. Trust me, you won't have any problem with it. Your kids will naturally find friends somewhere, without even trying. If you're thinking about homeschooling, there's nothing wrong with contacting a homeschooling support group first. Talk to the parents about how they do all this stuff, and talk to the kids to reassure yourself that they're normal.

Tell me about some famous homeschoolers...
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