"I wish I could have been homeschooled."

[The Girls' Mom]

I wish I had been, but in a different family in a different place. School was my sanctuary from home. I also lived in a very rural community that wouldn't have offered much in the way of enrichment, or even books..lol.

[Singingmom]

I had to go with "other". I wish I had been homeschooled, just not by MY parents. :p hehe

 

Yep, this! :iagree:

[2_girls_mommy]

I put other. I would have liked it for elem and middle school. But I went to a really small school that had a full time gifted class that I was in, so it was a good experience in elem. So I can't complain. Middle school was awful. Would have gladly skipped that. And my parents divorced, so it wouldn't have been a healthy environment after that. it was not a pleasant divorce. So in my particular circumstances, I am glad I wasn't. Though I think my mother would have done a fantastic job when I was in elem.

[justLisa]

I said other because I was HS'd for a few years. I went to public school starting in 3rd grade when I was just turned 7. They wanted to put me in 4th but I am glad my mother thought that was crazy.

 

Then again in 7th grade I begged her to pull me out of school. She did, but she barely could keep up with the math. I remember her spending hours and hours teaching herself pre algebra so she could teach me. They could not afford a tutor at the time. The next year she had a friend who was an engineer and he tutored me twice a week. I love her for that.

 

She returned to school and we went to college together. Now has her masters. I'm pretty proud of my mom:001_wub:

[Mommy22alyns]

I think I would have loved being homeschooled. I had terrible school attendance while living with my mom, and I actually started self-educating instead, much like WTM and WEM without having read the books. BUT. My mom would have done a terrible job at it. I've come to the conclusion from many posts and resources here that she's NPD. Enough said.

 

ETA: Ha, I see I'm not the only one!

Edited August 29, 2012 by Mommy22alyns

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I said other because I was HS'd for a few years. I went to public school starting in 3rd grade when I was just turned 7. They wanted to put me in 4th but I am glad my mother thought that was crazy.

 

Then again in 7th grade I begged her to pull me out of school. She did, but she barely could keep up with the math. I remember her spending hours and hours teaching herself pre algebra so she could teach me. They could not afford a tutor at the time. The next year she had a friend who was an engineer and he tutored me twice a week. I love her for that.

 

She returned to school and we went to college together. Now has her masters. I'm pretty proud of my mom:001_wub:

 

That is wonderful! I love your Mom, too. She did what so many of us are trying to do, to help our dc and ourselves. WTG, Lisa's Mom!!!

[justLisa]

That is wonderful! I love your Mom, too. She did what so many of us are trying to do, to help our dc and ourselves. WTG, Lisa's Mom!!!

 

 

I always thought she tried her absolute best with what she knew, but it has sure hit home since this journey I'm on schooling mine. EVery time I have a petty thought about her I just think of what I'm trying to do, and what she fought to do when it was anything but remotely popular.

[Clear Creek]

I voted other: I was homeschooled, for half of my education. I don't think the education I received at home in the late 70's/early 80's (with Abeka) was better or worse than the education I received at public school.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Clear Creek

[Mandylubug]

I would say yes, I do and in some scenarios such as elementary and middle school. ABSOLUTELY. However, I met the love of my life in high school and we are still happily married, we have four marvelous children and for that I can not not be thankful for.

 

Me and my husband go back and forth about our children attending high school. We are leaning towards them attending high school because we want them to learn to be independent from us but then again I would love to homeschool them straight through. We will cross that bridge when we get there, I suppose :)

[abacus2]

Yes, although my life would have been very different. School was a lot of my childhood, you know? I really wish my mother had been confident enough to homeschool my younger brother. As I homeschool, I am starting to realize how much of my academic knowledge comes from reading and casual discussions at home. If my mom had thrown her full energy into homeschooling us, I bet she would have done something similar to Sonlight that she put together. She read to us all the time.

 

Eta: My education in local rural public schools was drastically below my academic potential.

[staysee34]

I chose No but I think I would have been quite successful. I had a wonderful grandmother who did afterschool us. Thanks to her, I was ahead of the curve more often than not. However, I was also musically inclined and not being in school would have denied me many opportunities to sing. I grew up in a somewhat rural area and community art programs were very scarce.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I put yes becuase I wish I could have been homeschooled by someone like myself now. It would not have been such a good idea to be homeschooled by my grandmother/legal guardian.

[Rosie_0801]

Other.

I wouldn't have been bullied so much and wouldn't have been much worse off academically if at all, so on that side yes. But Dad would have been so very negative that nothing Mum did would ever have been deemed good enough. He's the type to think that a person can't be happy unless their life is a misery. I'd rather have been in a situation like school where the negativity was unavoidable than at home with him creating it for the sake of it.

 

Rosie

[mom31257]

I voted no because I loved school, and deep down I've wondered if I'm denying my kids something that would be good for them. If they were in school, it would be a private, Christian school. My mother would never have been able to handle homeschooling, not academically, but emotionally.

 

I feel I received a good education at my school, but it had a very good college prep program. I had Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Biology, Advanced Chemistry, Alg 1-Pre-Calculus (made a perfect score on my ACT math section), and great college prep English teachers, including one with a PhD.

[Unicorn.]

I voted other. I would have loved to have been homeschooled, but not by my parents!

[OrganicAnn]

I was more like "afterschooled" My parents thought you should learn as much outside of school as you learned in school.

[Luckymama]

I have no idea what would have been available in the 1970s and early 80s. My parents were academics so the actual math/science would have been great, but I doubt there would have been a group of homeschooled kids for me to friend.

 

I had a great time in Cstholic elementary, public junior high, and public high school. I was allowed to move at my own pace through the math and science available. I had a lot of friends (despite moving four times before high school) and was involved in many different activities.

[Dory]

I'm not sure I get to vote, since I was homeschooled. I wanted to add something though. My education, was in many ways better than my friends who went to school, but my mom should've never homeschooled me. It was an unwise decision on her part. There's definitely more to life than just an education.

[JessReplanted]

I wish I could have been homeschooled by a mother who was interested in homeschooling me, and who would have really enjoyed it. That was not my mother. ;)

[FO4UR]

I wish I could have been HSed k-8. I really did have great opportunities in the public high school I attended, but I didn't have the foundation built (mainly *socially*) to take full advantage of those opportunities. (I took Latin, Calc, Physics...but I skimmed by for the grades, and was always too afraid to ask the questions that would have made those classes an education.) I think growing as a student (and a person) in an environment where curiosity was nurtured in the early years would have made a huge difference in my life - not just high school.

 

 

Given circumstances, it just would not have been a possibility to HS me back then. My mom did the best should could with what she had, and she put a high value on education. I'm following her example in that.

[Murphy101]

I hated every day of public school.

 

But I wasn't very happy at home either.

 

I think I would have done well with parents who wanted to home school me.

[EthiopianFood]

I had a dysfunctional family. It would not have been in my best interest to be home all day, even though my education was terrible.

[Word Nerd]

No, but I wish I would have had the resources and encouragement to self-teach or augment some subjects outside of school. My Algebra II "teacher" didn't teach so much as he dished about Knot's Landing and chatted about whatever with the girls he was coaching.

[labst60]

I loved school! I've never once thought "I wish I had been homeschooled" - meaning, I've never even thought about whether I would have preferred it until I read this post!

 

I think I got a good education, had friends and some great experiences. Sure, there were crappy times too - but nothing life altering or scarring.

 

I have said repeatedly that if I could send my dd's to the same school/environment/experience I went to (it was just a small town public school) that I would - but sadly, life is so different these days - that school/environment/experience doesn't exist.

 

My parents are against the HS.... they don't understand b/c I used to love school so much. I try to explain to them that elementary school today is different than the 80's.... but they just don't get it.

[IsabelC]

Yes! I would have given almost anything to have the kind of education I'm now offering to my children. Which makes it all the more galling when they whinge and whine because I asked them to do something. :glare:

[mrsrevmeg]

I think if my grandmother had been able to homeschool it would have been great. She always had to work until she got sick and it wasn't really possible then either.

[FairProspects]

I wish I could have homeschooled middle school. I really don't think I would have missed a thing between grades 6-8. I would have hated being homeschooled in high school though, and I did have a fantastic high school experience both academically and socially.

[fraidycat]

I don't know if I wish I could have been homeschooled. I've never really thought about it. Being a Social Sue, I actually enjoyed school - back when you could still socialize because we had morning, lunch, and afternoon recess and kindergarten was all about naps, sand table, playing dress-up and finger painting, with a little big of learning to count and do the alphabet thrown in :D.

 

I do wish I could have been challenged, though. I found school a little too easy - in retrospect. At the time, I loved not having tons of homework to do because I got it all done during class time...it left more time for after school socializing!

 

Honestly, homeschooling wouldn't even be on my radar if I could send my kids to the same school experience I had. Times have changed though and that's not gonna happen. It was only after I decided to homeschool that I discovered just what the other benefits are besides flexibility yet stability for our frequent moves.

[Aelwydd]

HS would have meant my parents teaching me and that wouldn't have been...good. Public school was a mix of good and bad experiences (including some intense bullying in the 6th grade), but overall it offered a far more comprehensive education than anything I would have received from my parents. They were overbearing and very strict, and their fundamentalist mentality would have meant practically no exposure to science or anything based upon empirical, objective data. I owe my critical thinking skills to my exposure to other world views, and cultures, that I received in public school.

 

Now, if I had parents that took a more enlightened view of the world and of the pursuit of knowledge, I would have preferred home school, no doubts about it.

[Karen in CO]

I went to a terrific private, classical school from 7th-12th grade. There is no way my parents could have provided me with that education at home. From 1st-4th as a very tiny child in ps, I learned a lot about bullying and standing up for myself (the key is to pick a fight with the biggest bully you can find at the beginning of the year and they leave you alone the rest of the year. It probably isn't a lesson that people want their kids to learn). I would have probably been much better off at home or at the library or sitting in a tree with a book. For 5th and 6th, I was in a mediocre private school that was better than the public school, but not better than the library. My parents did the best they could at the time just like I try to do.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Karen in CO

[DaffodilDreams]

School was safer than home, so no. If I could have lived consistently with my grandparents and they could have homeschooled me, though, then yes.

Edited August 29, 2012 by kimmie38017

[Jpoy85]

For the social aspect, i wish i was. I was made fun of quite a lot.

[akmommy]

.

Edited August 29, 2012 by akmommy

[kubiac]

Can I want to be homeschooled, just not by my (generally totally wonderful) mom? That wouldn't have worked for a million reasons, but I do think that if I had been dropped off at the Central Library every day for eight years I probably would be significantly better off that I was anyway.

 

There was much to applaud about my education and certain teachers, and I wouldn't trade my junior high academic experience for anything, but overall...public school was a disappointment and in many ways a giant waste of time. (Apologies to Ms. Wilson, Ms. Koehler, Ms. Fontes, Mr. Takagaki and Mr. Citrin, to whom none of this criticism applies!)

[GWOB]

I would have loved to have been homeschooled by anyone other than my mother. One of us would have ended up in the hospital.

[Tabrett]

Other.

 

Parents were divorced and my mom was the one who left. So, there wouldn't have been anyone to homeschool me.

[SKL]

Honestly, I'm one of those weird people who was glad Mom was at work when I got home from school. My mom had high expectations for us and I am not a person who enjoys being pushed; in fact, I tend to rebel against it. It was more than enough for Mom to be my teacher of domestic skills. (Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but spending 24/7 with someone - anyone - isn't always a good thing.)

 

I did get a decent education. I'm a person who doesn't like to waste time; if I'm doing something, I'm doing it well. I started school early and went to a Lutheran school, so there was some challenge, though it was generally easy. I went to a public high school, but accelerated courses (college prep) in order to graduate a year early, and I turned 17 in October of my freshman year of college. Had I been on the usual track for people my age (public school, graduate at 18), I might have a different anwswer.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I enjoyed school for social reasons. I got along well and had tons of friends. From an educational point of view though the library supplied my actual academic education.

[Hoot]

I voted "other." I would have liked to have been homeschooled but not by my step-mother. I saw what her method of "homeschooling" did to her two daughters and I'm grateful that I was old enough to have not been put through that. I was a pretty self-motivated kid though and would have loved all of the alternative options that are available.

 

My school experience was not a bad one at all and I really enjoyed MANY of my teachers. In fact, my love of Beowulf and other such literature came from a particularly enthusiastic Honors Lit. teacher in high school. My 3rd grade teacher was at my wedding. One of my favorite memories as a child was "principal's hour" wherein my elementary principal would take the whole school into the gym about once a month or once a quarter and tell stories about his childhood. I don't remember any in particular but I loved it beyond words. In high school I pushed myself to take honors courses and graduate a year early.

Edited August 29, 2012 by contessa20

[nertsmommy]

I really wish I could have been. Growing up with my dad in the Navy, we moved a lot. I had been in four schools by the time I was in 5th grade. I was bored a lot of the time in school. I remember one particularly bad school experience. In 2nd grade we did our reading by going around the room and every child would read a section. I had only been in this school for a few weeks when the teacher started skipping my turn. She explained that it was because I read too well and I was making the other kids feel bad. That was when I started checking out in class. I decided if I could get good grades without to much then why bother pushing myself. I wish that thinking had never gotten into my head. I can only imagine what I would have done if I had pushed myself harder.

[pdalley]

Yes, my idea of fun was the browse the shelves of the library and grab random books to read. I always had my nose stuck in a book and we took lots of educational field trips.

 

The bullying and the stifled learning environment really killed my love of learning.

[Laura Corin]

My relationship with my mother was good but very intense (my parents split up and my brothers were much older). I think that going to school was good for me, and I don't have terrible memories of it.

 

Laura

[Crimson Wife]

I haven't read beyond the first page, but I have to say that I wish I could've been homeschooled *IF* the curriculum and group activities available now had been around back in the '80's and early '90's. I don't think I would've enjoyed Calvert or Seton or the other boxed curricula and I definitely would've felt isolated socially.

[marbel]

I voted other. I have no idea! I didn't have a good experience in school but I have no basis for believing that being homeschooled would have been better for me.

 

When I told my mother that I was homeschooling my two, she said she wished that option had been available to her for my brother, who was not a good student. She didn't say anything about homeschooling my sister and me. ;)

[Marianne in TX]

I voted other.

 

It's hard for me to wish my path had been different, because I adore my husband and children.

 

However, as my girls approach young adulthood, I sometimes wonder if I would have "found myself" sooner without the constant high-pressure peer influence. I was quite wild:o and wandered aimlessly for many years.

[hsbaby]

No way! I loved school. I was involved in everything and have so many fun memories. I had wonderful teachers and challenging classes. I had never even heard of homeschooling. I think that, at that time, it would have been very isolating. That said, schools have changed a lot from when I went. Also, we moved to an area where homeschooling is VERY common. There are a ton of support groups, field trips, play dates, tutorials, co-ops, etc. So, my kids have access to other kids....I doubt I would have had that if I were homeschooled growing up.

[Sasharowan]

I wish I could have been!!! My mom would have made an awesome homeschool mom. As it was, we watched a lot of documentaries about nature and history, discussed books, etc. I was reading chapter books by 6 yo. And we moved a lot due to military, so I was always the new kid :(