Yesterday I was inspired to write about homeschooling by another blog I read. I was homeschooled for several years in junior high and high school, before returning to public school. There are several main misconceptions I will try to clear up here. This will be part one of two. As I began writing this, I realized just how much there is to discuss on this subject.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that homeschoolers lack the social skills necessary to function in the real world. This is absolutely false. While I am certain there are a few homeschoolers who keep to themselves, there are far more who participate in homeschooling groups. These groups provide support for homeschooling families, but they also arrange activities. While I was homeschooled, I participated in band (two instruments), gymnastics, P.E., field trips, etc. I also had the opportunity to serve as a page for a state Senator, whose children I met through the homeschooling group. Each day, we had activities outside of the home, and most of these activites had approximately ten to thirty kids per activity. The groups did not necessarily overlap, and so in any given week, I would directly interact with probably seventy kids. This is far more than I typically interacted with in public school.

Another misconception is that parents cannot teach their children if they do not know the subject themself. This is not the case. My mother taught me Latin, but she was learning it at the same time I did. She taught me the Egyptian pharoahs and the leaders of ancient Rome, but she did not know these before she taught me. I learned the Presidents of the United States in order, and although I suspect she could name them beforehand, it probably would not have been in the correct order. A funny thing happened after I was grown. I started working at a residential treatment facility for teens. There was a school on campus for the kids to attend, and as part of the training, our entire group viewed the school. The Principal met with us and as a point to demonstrate what they were teaching them, the Prinicpal asked us who the 14th President was. I was the only one that could answer. He seemed a little surprised. I imagine that since they have a group touring every month, he had been asking that question for a while, and had not gotten very many correct answers.