Homeschooling - Not That Different

I’ve been homeschooling since the first grade. I made the decision to homeschool when my brother started. To me I am like any other teenager. But when I tell people that my mother teaches me at home, I get mixed reactions.

Lots of people think homeschoolers all live on farms, or are trapped inside all day, never to make friends or learn how to live a social life. They think that all homeschooled kids want to do is solve math problems or read the bible. I wish more people understood that it’s not like that at all. But that's the problem - they don't understand, or try to.

I know about sex and the f-word. I listen to indie music, I shop at Hot Topic, I go to concerts, I watch Comedy central, play video games and get on the Internet, and I have lots of friends. And I know plenty of homeschoolers that all do the same things. Just because we don’t go to school does not mean we have no way to make friends. There are homeschool groups, and other such organizations. The only real difference I notice in most homeschoolers is that they are generally much more respectful and polite then children who are taught at public school.

Usually when I ask kids my age what they think of homeschooling, they tell me they wouldn’t want to be homeschooled because they like to have friends. One girl even told me that homeschooling seemed freaky to her, and then stopped talking to me.

People may not realize it, but they are making homeschooling into another label, because they are afraid when people do things that are different.