I was a unique case of homeschooling because I was homeschooled through 8th grade then went made the decision to go try high school because I was worried I might be stupid compared to other kids who I knew through sports, clubs, community, etc… My parents made it clear that it was my decision to make, so I made it.
Turns out I was not, in fact, stupid relative to the other kids… I was able to skip through math classes in high school and graduated valedictorian while being a three-sport athlete all four years. I discovered that public school is absurdly easy, because everything caters to the lowest common denominator. The focus was on time spent (in your desk, doing homework, etc) vs deliverables. Put another way, it was an “hourly” mentality instead of a “salary” mentality.
That said, I had some really great science and math teachers in high school that I am still very grateful for. They were also the type of teachers who thought administrative mandates were bullshit and just wanted to focus on teaching.
Things I liked most about being homeschooled:
- I finished all my work in 2-3 hours in the morning and spent the rest of the day outside — I was outside constantly.
- I was done when I was done. There was no “homework” because it was all at home.
- I could do my work from anywhere, or work ahead a few days bitcoin if needed. There were no arbitrary constraints.
- It taught me to work on deliverables.
- I read a shitload.
- I was never uncomfortable around “adults.” They were just bigger people to me. I showed everyone respect, but I was perfectly comfortable and happy hanging out with adults even as the only kid (plus my sister).
- I got to do a bunch of random shit because I my schoolwork itself took very little time.
On the subject of random shit, one of my favorite memories is when my mom set me up with a legit blacksmith to apprentice for a day. He’s the first person who taught me about Fibonacci. Seriously brilliant and badass dude. Made a huge impression on me and I will never forget it.
I also just played in the woods constantly. Started fires, built forts, used knives and axes and guns from a young age.
In terms of things I disliked, the only real thing was the worry that I was not going to be as smart as my peers at public school. Benchmarking was hard. It’s the whole reason I decided to go to high school, only to find out that a lot of people are complete morons, with zero initiative, drive, or grit.
I also spend a day a week at a Montessori school for a year or two. That was neat. Zero “schoolwork” was done. We just built shit and cooked shit and played outside.
My parents also helped found a small charter school (about 10 kids). We would get together once a week and had a couple tutors who came in. I had an awesome Mennonite algebra tutor named Edith. We got on swell.
Anyway, highly recommend homeschooling, and will be doing it with our kid(s). There are infinitely more online resources available now than there were when my parents did it.
