*Disclaimer: This view is mine and does not necessarily represent the views of other homeschoolers.*
Yes, you read the title correctly. I, like many other (unfortunate) individuals, was homeschooled. Several of us (homeschoolers) have found that being able to make fun of ourselves a great way to survive being homeschooled. Here's a good example:
...others simply curl up into their shell and never...NEVER come out. I plan on writing a few myTakes addressing different parts of being home schooled so that everyone can better understand us...but before you regular people out there can fully understand this, you need to know the basic types of homeschoolers (notice that I said "basic" but there are also several sub categories.) So in this myTake, I will take time to list and explain the different types of homeschoolers.
1. The Cliché, Awkward Nerd
A few of you have probably come across homeschoolers throughout your lifetime, and it's more than likely that they fit this category. This is how most homeschoolers tend to be, but it's not our fault. Take into account that from day one of our existence, we are usually COMPLETELY sheltered from any "worldly" influence. If our parents didn't agree with something, or deemed it "unfit" to be seen in the household, we didn't know it existed. Now this does sound somewhat like basic parenting, but let me explain the homeschool-parent-version of "worldly" and "unfit" by giving you an example. As a child this lovable panda was frowned upon.
That's right! Freaking Kung Fu Panda was apparently a "bad influence" that I was never allowed to have in my life. Obviously I can expand more on this weird parenting standards, but I'll save that for a latter myTake. For now, back to the Awkward Nerd (sorry I went down a rabbit trail :P ). Not only are we sheltered, we have NO social lives outside of other homeschoolers. There are even homeschool groups these parents have created to try to give us a social life... but when a bunch of awkward kids are in a room together, can you really call it socializing?
2. The "Artsy" Kid
Sometimes kids aren't home schooled because their parents are nuts, but rather because they are getting bullied at school. And while I don't condone bullying in any situation, usually there was a reason this kid was bullied: he or she was "artsy." I'm not talking the public schooled version which include musically gifted band members or talented artists... oh no... I'm talking about the kid that dresses in the most ridiculously colored outfits (that don't look good on anyone), and proclaim themselves amazing at music or art. Obviously they are not good at what they do, but their parents continue to encourage their mediocrity. These kids are again sheltered from the "harsh" world, and taught that everyone accepts everybody. Even though this would be an amazing thing, it simply isn't true and these parents are setting their kids up for heartbreak and failure later in life.
3. The Anti-Homeschooler Homeschooler
Yep, this a thing. These kids spend their entire childhood trying to convince everyone that they aren't weird (compared to public schoolers). Newsflash: all of us are weird. All of us have been affected by homeschooling in one way or another. Some of us are overly quiet, some of us are just a bit "off," and most of us have no clue how to act around normal people. The Anti-Homeschool Homeschooler is basically the category I fell/fall into, and while I feel I've escaped unscathed for the most part, I still do not do well in any social situation simply because I don't know how to. I didn't have the same practice as the public schoolers who grew up around other kids.
4. The Super Smart Kid
A lot of homeschoolers could be considered this kid, and this actually might be considered a benefit of homeschooling. These kids simply get things quicker and because they are homeschooled, they have the opportunity to dive deeper into subjects, move ahead in grades quicker, and chase after their interests more. This increased learning is reflected in the national average for ACT scores (basically like the SAT). The homeschool national average is 22.8 and the normal average is 21 (https://wehavekids.com). It's not much of a difference but it definitely is there.
And we all are CLUELESS.
All types of homeschoolers are completely clueless to how the world really works. I'll expand on this in a later myTake, but for example, I didn't even know sex existed until I was 14 (public schoolers told me). Most homeschoolers don't know that there are actually people in the world with different views than their parents, and once they do learn, their parents try to teach them that all such people are evil. For me, my parents are hard-core conservatives. I am not. However, ever since I discovered that "liberals" existed, they have been presented as evil to me. I know this isn't true. I'm rational (well I think so :P ) and I realize that people simply view the world differently. My parents didn't teach me this.
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Well there it is. Part 1 of Confessions from a Homeschooler. Obviously there are a lot more types of homeschool kids, and several sub categories of those types. However, these are the VERY basic ones that are needed to help people understand our lives.
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