<p>I know this is a question that really only I can answer, but I'd just like some more opinions. I've asked before on other threads but just want to lay everything out all together in writing, even if it's just to collect myself for myself.</p>
<p>I want to attend a private, reionally accrediteted online school, The Keystone School, for my junior and senior years of high school. Some colleges consider it to be homeschooling and it is compared to my public school background, which is why I am asking this here.</p>
<p>I am a good student. I enjoy learning and although summer has only been a few days for me so far, I'm anxious to continue on. I feel like I'm wasting time by not learning after school, on weekends and during the summer when instead I am watching TV or wasting hours on Facebook. I participate in some extracurricular activities but I always have enough free time to make me wish I had some school work to accomplish. Sounds pretty weird, I guess.</p>
<p>My parents believe that staying home rather than physically going to school will encourage antisocial behaviors that I already possess. I don't have problems with being around people- I just don't really enjoy it. The thought of prom and high school graduation partiesI already make me feel uncomfortable. I have friends, but I honestly just prefer being alone. I just hate being alone with nothing to do. There is no problem with my schools academics, as it is one of the nation's best, it's just the people and I guess my own prefereces that are making it so unappealing to me. </p>
<p>I would love to be able to have the flexible schedule that would be offered, as well as the ability to continue learning and advance myself.</p>
<p>From whatever experience you have in the world or homeschooling, do you believe that I might benefit from this type of experience?</p>
<p>I love homeschooling. It was SO right for my family, and I see other families that I think it would have been right for. However, there are definitely difficulties.</p>
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This is one of the biggest difficulties. You certainly could be learning during all those times; you don’t have to be watching TV or Facebook. There’s a whole world of non-directed things to learn. You could be surfing wikipedia and CNN and ArtOfProblemSolving and ScienceNews instead of Facebook; you don’t need school to tell you what to learn. What will keep you away from time-wasters when you’re in charge of your own schedule?</p>
<p>SO. The two concerns, time management, and anti-social-ness, are real concerns. The benefits to homeschooling are also very real. I think homeschooling could be great for you… IF you can mitigate the problems and get the good out of it. </p>
<p>How do your parents feel about the time commitment for them?</p>
<p>Even when my kids were in ps (and the youngest is now there - in season) they still keep learning throughout the summer. One doesn’t need homework and tests to continue discovering things about the world. Keep reading. Watch educational shows (History Channel, Discovery, Science, etc) on TV. Google something interesting and learn about it instead of spending time on facebook. Sign up for chess.com and play chess with players around the world.</p>
<p>Middle son also didn’t care for the “socializing” of ps. He’s far above his peers academically, so that is another reason for him, but there are a couple classes he could have taken at the ps while doing the rest at cc if he had wanted the ps experience. When we asked him about this, he took less than a second to tell us, “no way!” He was in ps up through 6th grade, so he’s not totally inexperienced with it.</p>
<p>He socializes though. He loves his cc classes (took 2 last year, will take 1 his senior year). He’s on the high school chess team (Board 1). He’s in two youth groups, one through church and one in the community. Those are the main ones, but those last two come with several others at times. He stays busy.</p>
<p>I think if we lived in a good academic area my boys never would have homeschooled, but now that we have, I can see the benefits of it for the right person.</p>
<p>If you stay in school, find friends who like/dislike what you do. That’s what I did in ps. If you homeschool, be certain to find groups to join to give you people time.</p>
<p>And no matter what, learn through the summer! My grandmother often told me, “the only time you stop learning is when you stop breathing!”</p>
<p>I think time management would be my only problem. To be honest, I really have no motivation to learn without direction. After spending K-10 grades in public school, I’m used to being told what is important and what isn’t important. I’d focus on whatever I was told, and erase the rest from my memory. I guess it’s also laziness. I do read all summer and do a ton of writing, but I’d love to continue with work that actually counts (I know it all counts, but I mean like get the classes down that are necessary) so that during my senior year I have room to drift more towards my interests. </p>
<p>I have found my “group” in public school and they were all good fun until this year. I live in a major HS party town, and now that my friends are into drinking/smoking pot it makes me not want to go out even more. I do have one or two friends that don’t partake in these activities so on occasion we do still get together for lunch and such. I don’t want to seem judgemental against my friends who drink- I am totally aware that a lot of towns have this problem and I know that college will mos likely only be worse. It’s just kind of annoying to have to deal with parents who don’t mind having 50 14 year olds in their back yard drinking, smoking pot and basically having a free for all. It doesn’t entice me. I do a ton of community service and if I do homeschool I would apply to volunteer to serve one meal at our local soup kitchen, so that I know I will be socializing with people besides my family every day.</p>
<p>I guess I’m just nervous to try something new. I’m scared that colleges won’t take me seriously and then I’ll fail at life basically. I really have no specific colleges that I am interested but have emailed a few that are options and all do recognize the Keystone diploma, but some asked that I apply as a homeschooler.</p>
<p>THIS won’t happen. If you truly get a decent education and can back it up via ACT/SAT scores, most colleges seem to really like homeschoolers. On a homeschooling specific forum I’m on homeschoolers have gone to all types of colleges without issues - and have done well once there.</p>
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<p>This WILL be your problem. Only you would know if you can overcome this issue… Laziness and homeschooling do not do well together. It can be an issue in college too.</p>
<p>If your parents understand where you are coming from and if you stick to your community service and potential volunteering opportunity, then you will be fine school wise. But you might want to look into a social club or some sort as well.</p>
If you homeschool, be certain to find groups to join to give you people time.</p>