h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi! I liked reading your entry as there seems to be nothing about home schooling in the guide. (Or there wasn't untill this came along). I home school, and I have for the last 2 years. I like it for the following reasons:

I can study things I am interested in vs. what I have to study.

I HAVE things that I am interested in, unlike your average teenager who has been forced fed school all their lives.

I am completly self motivated.

I have more free time to read, see my friends, and can have an hour/day/week off when ever I want it.

I go at my own pace which generally means I am way ahead of my friends at school, as so much time is wasted in the classroom.

I consider school a fun thing, not a drag and obligation.

I stand as good a chance, and in some cases better, of getting into the college of my choice.

I strongly recomend homeschooling to any one not already brain dead from the school system. The latter might as well finish school, you seem to be doing fine. To every one I recomend The Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Lewelyn as a good source for more info and inspiration.


Athena

Hi I'm interested to read your experience of home schooling. I was home schooled myself for a while and then chose to go to school myself which I found suited me better. Of course I never had to go in and could also take a day off whenever I wanted. I won the attendence prize! Another reason I choose to go to school was because I decided when I was 12 that I wanted to be a Doctor and my parents are not science minded so I thought I would do better if I was at school.

I'm interested in how you are going to go to college are you taking taking your GCSE's/A level's at home? in which case how on earth do you manage to have as much free time as you want? My parents were actually quiet strict with us there were things that we had to learn but we could direct the rest of the time. And yes I found studying at home as much of a bind as studying at school was at times, even though we had plently of books I wanted to be able to do experiments in science labs and disscet rats which you couldn't do at home really.

I also found it really really loney admittly this was before the internet and even if the internet had existed we could never have afforded a computer because my (single) Dad had given up work to educate us at home. I knew a far narrower section of people than I met at a large comprehensive school and I found people with a wider vairety of interests.

The disadvatange was that when I got to school(second year of secondary school) I already knew a lot of the things that were being taught, except in Music and French. But I still found plenty of spare time, after all school finishes at three thirty.

Was the going to college bit directed at me? 'Cos if so, I have to confess.

When I wrote the article I was being home schooled, but didn't really think I was getting anywhere so went to college to do Maths and English at GCSE level. they let me do English Lit and Drama AS's as well which is brilliant and I'm having lots of fun!

I still think that home education is a brilliant idea though!

No it wasn't actually it was directed at athena who wrote the first comment, when she said that she had a better chance of getting in to college with home schooling. I too think home schooling can be a good idea, but I personally found that it wasn't for me. But I do like the fact that my parents let me make up my own mind as too whether I wanted to go to school or not. and if I ever have children, (highly unlikely I know) I have to confess that I hope I'll be able to let them make that choice.

I can't understand the fact that children can only be seen as "good" or successful if they did well academically because that's so untrue. I don't see why some one who isn't enphuasic about school can't leave get a job for a few years and then come back to study something for the love of studying and the subject.

*applauds loudly* I mean, what is the point of forcing someone to do something they don't want to do?

Thank god someone who agrees with me on that point...After all I think you need to learn to read, write and do sums but you don't really need any of the stuff they teach you at secondary school do you? IMHO the only reason to do it is because you love it.

Glad to see someone else who's home educated!

I'll never forgive my parents for not giving me the option to teach myself. I feel I could learn so much more. A few years ago I started to become liberated, and education became a really cool thing: my own education, learnt from books and doing (running websites, writing articles, taking photographs etc.).

The Latin word 'schole' translated literally means 'leisure'.

Hi tommy welcome to h2g2, I know the feeling of having recently discovered a whole interesting intellectual world myself, and realising that there is more to life than my degree course..

But really home education is anything but letting you teach your self, there are things you have to cover and they have to be covered by your parents... well their should be.. if you want to go to university, because if you don't have the exams there is nothing bettween you and someone who was never at school because they played truant for years when it comes to jobs...

Studying for exams at home can be a lonely experience, I actually found home education a very loney experience it left me far more comfortable in the company of adults than people my own age. As a result my first relationship was with someone 16 years older than me!! and that was after choosing to go back to school to do my GCSEs and A levels, so after 4 years of not feeling that I fitted in.

PP! gosh I've only just realised that this was *you*! I remeber having this conversation, but I've only just realised that the PP who is sooo good at bookworms is the person who wrote the home schooling article.

Well, you know me, a woman of many talents!