On being homeschooled

I’m not sure where to begin here. This is my first blog post, so hang with me. If I say something completely absurd, just blame it on homeschooling.

I’m Mathaus, the third child in our family. In my Mom’s Homeschooling High School post, she mentioned that my sister, Mary Hannah, and I would be writing sequels to her post, giving our views on how homeschooling affects us. So here I am, a little reluctant, but still typing away.

Homeschooling has been a part of my life for as long as a I can remember, so I really have no idea what it’s like to not live this way. Granted, I’ve been in public and private schools (as a guest) and I know what their schedule is like, but I’ve never experienced it first hand.

Not that I feel like I’m missing out. I can work double for a week in order to go camping with my dad, and my school work is usually done before 2:30 p.m. Plus, I get a personalized education that lets me learn cool stuff like HTML coding and film directing. I don’t have homework, (or all I ever do is homework; a joke I get a lot from public schoolers,) and I don’t have to wait out in the rain for a bus. The longest I have to walk to get to school is out to our garage/schoolroom to get my books, and then to our kitchen table. Without homeschooling, I wouldn’t be doing 10th grade courses or Algebra a year early, and I certainly wouldn’t be writing stuff like: <font size=”3″ color=”red” face=”Arial Condensed”> Hello World! </font>

My parents are amazing teachers. (Thanks guys!) Dad somehow manages to work for most of the day, and give me an in-depth lesson in French twice a week. And I still haven’t figured out how Mom puts up with me all day. Whatever they can’t teach me I get through online courses, so I’m quite well educated (in my opinion). In my eyes, homeschooling is the way to go. I’m not saying that public schooling is horrible for everyone. I mean, what if your parents both have to work all day, or haven’t been schooled very well themselves? Public schooling is your best option in a situation like those. Again, though, homeschooling is the best way for my family, and many others. It’s good to have a second option.

Since I’ve never been in any other learning environment, I really don’t feel regret about my current position. I guess the only bad thing about homeschooling is that if do something wrong during school, I’ll get a talking to from my teacher, (Mom) and then the principal (Dad). I’m well behaved most of the time, so this isn’t a common occurrence.

I’m not detached from society. My parents make sure that I have plenty of time to socialize, though this isn’t my favorite thing in the world. (It’s a personal problem, one that’s not the result of homeschooling. My mom was public schooled, and it’s not her favorite thing, either.) Still, I have a good network of friends, and I get to hang out with them a lot. My friends all share my values and my faith, and my interests. Plus, we visit other churches frequently, and are very involved in our own. I myself work as an L.I.T. (Leader In Training) at our local AWANA, and have also volunteered at several events.

Homeschooling isn’t easy for the parents, or the kids (isn’t that the point of school?) but it’s certainly a good choice. It takes courage, strength, and perseverance, but most of all, it takes faith. After all, that’s what matters most in the end.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:13