15. We're afraid of the "outside" world.
No. Our parents may be protective (even overprotective) of their children, but we are not afraid. We spend more time in the real world than kids who go to school. They're stuck in a classroom eight hours a day while we're at the grocery store with our mom or at the library reading or spending quality time in the fresh air and sunshine.
14. We're bad at tests.
Oh, no. Your grade says nothing but how old you are. I
13. We're all geniuses.
No. I'm pretty sure I have a rather normal IQ for someone my age.
12. We're lazy.
I never do school in my pajamas. Never. Mainly because my grandmother enforces the "you must get dressed" rule. Oh, and I'm always on the go by eight am, finished by five-thirty. Always.
11. We think we're better than everyone else.
Yes, we take pride in the fact that we're different. Who wants to be the same as everyone else? As Paul puts it, "If all were the smelling, where were the hearing?" (I'm paraphrasing; don't quote me. ;) ). Seriously, we do take pride in the fact that we're not schooled in a public or private school classroom. But that doesn't mean we look down on others. Pride is something you -- I -- can struggle with, but not everyone does.
10. We won't be prepared for college.
Actually, I spend a lot of my time hearing about what happens in college and what professors will expect of me. Truth be told, I'm kind of excited for the day I get to attend my first college class -- the day I'll be in a classroom for the first time since I was six.
9. "If" we get into college, we won't succeed.
We homeschoolers have a lot of determination. It takes willpower to get up every day at 7:30 and be working on school by 8 if no one else is telling you to. And that's the truth.
8. Parents aren't qualified to teach their children.
Um, who taught you your first words?
Your colors?
Shapes?
Letters?
'Nough said.
7. We're not up on trends, celebrities, and yada yada yada.
Oh, yes we are. We're watching. Always watching.
6. Every homeschool family has at least 6.5 children.
No. No we don't. I'm one of one and Peace is one of two. (That being said, if I homeschool my children -- which I want to -- I will have ten kids. But that's me. ;) ).
5. Homeschoolers don't get a good education.
See number 14 if you're confused.
If I wanted, I'd be in college right now. I can tell you the year McKinley was assasinated and how to find y in an algebra problem. (Oh, and, a little tad of information that I love? DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid).
4. Homeschooling is totally un-American.
Just....what???
Do you know what this nation was founded on? Prayer.
What do I do every day? Pray.
In God we trust, people, in God we trust.
3. We finish homeschool year round (or finish by May).
No. No we don't. We start really early in August. This year it was the third. We take off September or October, and start again in October or November. Sometimes there are a couple of trips or a few days off, but not generally. Then we take off April. We do school in May and work up until the second week of June, when Church camp happens up at Lamoni, Iowa. Then we'll work around summer camps, trips, and other things that take time in the summer. Then...it's back to school in the first week of August. :)
2. You have to be extremely organized.
You ever heard of the fast lane? Well, if there was a spontaneity lane, I'd be cruising through it 24/7. I live on spontaneity. It's just the way I am. Yeah, I have feelers out for how the next five weeks are gonna go, but when it comes down to the milliseconds, I'll do whatever suits my fancy. For instance, I got the idea for this post and wrote it five minutes later.
1. We're awkward, not well-socialized, geeky, nerds, introverts...
No.
Okay, okay, I'm a tad awkward at times. It's my nature.
Because I'm homeschooled, literally everyone I've ever met has been a Christian.
I have friends who are five and I have friends who are ninety-one. I love them all; every time I see them, I run over and hug them and spend five minutes talking to them.
Okay, I love Star Wars and reading about things such as deoxyribonucleic acid and cheilitis, but...geez, I'm not that geeky or nerdy. I'm your normal teenage girl -- I love to do my hair and makeup, text, and hang out with friends as well.
And...introverted?
We can be. But so can public schoolers. And we can both be extroverted too. Though I find that public schoolers are more introverted, and homeschoolers are usually extroverted. We have to actively seek out our friends.
I used to be introverted...but since being homeschooled, I've tried to change that. I've found that you can't share Christ, love, and laughter by keeping to yourself all the time. It just isn't possible.
Now...facts to set you straight:
According to Homeschoolfacts.com, 1.7 million children are homeschooled every year. 66.7% graduated from college with a better grade than their classmates.
According to www.nheri.org, children who are homeschooled are more likely to:
~ Vote
~ Be accepted to college
~ Be of a service to their community, and
~ Be a Christian.
Those are all wonderful things. :)
I love numbers. So here are homeschooling statistics (taken from Statisticbrain.com):
There are 1,508,000 children homeschooling.
The average academic percentile of a homeschooling child? 77th. Our average reading percentile? 79th. Math comes in at 73rd (darn, Promise and I are not fans of algebra).
A homeschooling child's average SAT score is 1083 and the average ACT score is 22.6. (Is that good? Lol, I've never faced either of these tests).
My favorite part? The annual percentage increase of those choosing to homeschool is a whopping 7%.
Come to the dark side. We have cookies (and fascinating textbooks).
~ Grace
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