Ok, I think it's about time I came out of the closet about my education prior to Texas A&M.
I, Lauren Michelle Davis, was in fact, a homeschooler. Shocking, I know.
I hate telling people that. Not because I am ashamed of my education, but because of what people assume when I say that (long ugly dresses, no socialization skills, frizzy 80's hair gone bad...) You know what I'm talking about.
BUT, with so many families starting to homeschool/thinking about homeschooling, I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts as someone who has gone through 10 years of it and come out on the other side.
I will be the first to say that homeschooling is not for every child, but for me, homeschooling was exactly what I needed. I went to a private school and by the second grade, I was bored silly. I still remember being so frustrated that I had to write my spelling words 5 times when I knew them after 1. Eventually, I just started finding new ways to entertain myself. Since taking a math test was boring, I would instead try to race the other kids to finish first. Something needed to change.
By the grace of God, my mom decided to try homeschooling. I was a super independent child, so we used materials that were mostly self-taught. My mom assigned the lessons for the day, and I found them in the books and did them. People are always surprised to find out that my mom did not actually stand at the front of our dining room and teach me everyday. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot that she had to teach me, but so much of what we did was book-oriented (because that's what worked best for us).
In middle school I started taking classes with other homeschoolers twice a week (I know, right?... a school for homeschoolers... so funny), and when I was 15 I started taking classes at the community college. In case you didn't know, homeschoolers can take classes at community colleges for FREE. All that you have to pay for is books and lab fees. Amazing.
When I tell people I was homeschooled, they usually laugh. Then they realize I'm not kidding and have all sorts of questions. Here are some of the questions I get a lot:
Q: So do you feel like you missed out on lots of things by being homeschooled?
A: Not at all. I still played sports, I still hung out with my friends (both homeschooled and not) and I even went to football games and dances.
Q: What types of books did you use?
A: We used a lot different curriculums through the years, but mostly we used A Beka Books for language arts, Bob Jones for science, and Saxon for math. Saxon math books are incredible. I LOVED doing math from these books - they are so easy to understand and I could do them mostly by myself. I still love algebra because of these books.
Q: Was it hard to go from homeschooling to a huge school like Texas A&M?
A: I thought it would be, but it was actually very easy. I loved meeting new people and because I had already taken lots of classes at the community college, I knew what to expect from my professors.
Q: Do you have any social problems now?
A: Ok seriously, what kind of a question is this?? I kid you not, I get asked this ALL THE TIME. I don't know if that's a hint or what, but I seriously hope I'm not socially awkward.
Q: What are your pros/cons?
A: Pros
-I was able to graduate early
-I went into A&M with 53 free college hours already done
-I learned how to teach myself from a textbook (this proved to be especially useful in college)
-I had a lot more free time to be involved with my church, sports, and other acitivities
-I have almost zero test anxiety
-Homeschool Day at Six Flags = no lines (although lots of bad hair and ugly dresses)
Cons
-Most colleges don't offer scholarships to homeschoolers
-I won't ever have a class reunion to go to
-I struggled to pay attention in my classes in college
-I am seriously lacking in the literature department. Because we used mostly Christian text books, I didn't read a lot of the classic novels (Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Brave New World), and that is probably the only area where I feel like I don't know as much as everyone else.
I do want to mention that there is no right or wrong way to homeschool. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can do what works best for your child. One year we homeschooled with another family (my mom taught history, the other mom taught science), we thought about video school (ok for real please don't make your kids watch other kids go to school), I did a Bible program on the computer one year... there are so many options! Ultimately, we did what worked best for us as a family.
All of that to say that It is possible to homeschool your kids and them turn out at least semi-normal and be able to function in a social environment. Please feel free to ask me questions if you have them!
