Top 10 Saturday From TEENS!
What are the top 10 reasons I love being homeschooled? After obtaining 200+ responses from teenagers like you; here are the TOP 10 Reasons Teens Love to Be Homeschooled!
#10 Bullying
Although this a big reason teens love to be homeschooled, it barely made it on the Top 10 list. BUT, it is found to be one of the top 3 reasons parents pull their kids from public school to home educating their kids. “Because kids are mean,” was a response received multiple times.
#9 I Feel Safe
Many times public school grades, teaching and material is not a problem among parents and students. BUT, the 9th top reason teens love to be homeschooled, is because they feel safe. This has been a growing reason from parents and teens in the home education world. Safety concerns in education can lead to other factors such as fear, anxiety, and depression. For students very concerned of their safety, studies have shown it greatly impacts their education and learning abilities.
#8 I Can Sleep In
Many teens like a regular schedule and are up early to get it done and out of the way. However, the option of sleeping in is a wonderful attribute of being home schooled.
#7 Not having to deal with petty peers or unnecessary social interaction
While this is not at the top of the list, when offering choices, every teen interviewed had something to say about this topic. Dealing with teens and kids in general, means you interact with a wide range of people with different morals, beliefs and characteristics. Some pleasant, while others not so pleasant. And while public school teens have navigated this as best as possible in the past, we are seeing less and less parenting from parents and more parenting from teachers. As we all know, it is virtually impossible to parent AND teach several hundred teenagers in a day. Every social interaction is not monitored, censored nor corrected. Many teens that are homeschool felt like the public school “socializing” aspect had a lot of petty interaction that was either bullying, kids being mean or just “drama” in general; therefore, not really missed. Being educated at home, left time for deeper relationships with family, close friends and role models they admired and/or respected. And there was plenty of time for interaction with peers in sports, activities, clubs and/or church.
#6 Freedom
Freedom came from our survey of your voice. We lumped it as freedom. BUT, those specifically listed were: freedom of friends, freedom of choice, freedom to believe what I want, freedom to think as I please, freedom to wear what I want (even PJ’s), freedom to go outside, freedom to shoot hoops when I am frustrated, the freedom to do school where I please (the couch), along with the freedom to raid the fridge as needed. So, freedom, which to no surprise. Teenagers enjoy freedom!
#5 Because I do not have to be away from home & It is done at home.
Altogether, these to categories lumped together made #2, but separate they tied for number #5 . Having the option of doing school at home was just as important as not being away from home for 6+hours for school. Acceptable. Did you know some rural areas kids are gone from home (2hour bus routes) for 12+ hours. According to New York Times, there are a handful of student that spend nearly 2 hours on their bus ride in rural Utah. While some homeschool students do jump in on an hour or two of the public school classes from time to time; can you imagine spending 12+ hours away from home for your education?
Another aspect of this is to see your family by utilizing a non-traditional method. Overall, the vast majority of homeschool teenagers have a standard class schedule. However, the time frame in which they complete the class varies. Part of that is the beautiful flexibility of homeschool. If parents work a traditional schedule, homeschool can be done in the evenings. Many families homeschool year-round and/or only 4 days a week. (More on this in #1)
#4 Curriculum Choices
While public teachers do their best to teach up to 40 students per class, at a time; the curriculum and class itself is impossible to be individualized. Whereas, a student that know the material can have a brief test-out and move along to the next course in sequence or do a recap of the course in a quick fashion and move on to something more challenging. And while this is one example of how curriculum choices can be individualized, there are many more reason as well. Homeschooled teens love to pick curriculum based on requirement, interest, beliefs and future occupation. A great example of this in affect to future is the trades. If you, as a teenager are interested in a particular trade, you can take the classes on the side as electives. Whether this is the job you would like to dive into for long-term OR to pay your way through a long college list of classes for a degree requirement, these trades classes/ certificate courses ensure better jobs.
#3 Thinking for Yourself, Not Taught How to Think
Flowing with #7, was #3! With the influence of peers and the encouragement to accept everything and anything as equal; often teenagers felt they were being told how to think and WHAT to think of certain subjects, background and even beliefs. Whereas, being educated at home you can think for yourself completely. This was a selection between public school students pulled into homeschool AND traditional homeschoolers alike. (Whereas the previous selections were mostly answered by teens pulled from public school!)
#2. I can work at my own pace.
Without a bell system in play, there may be a bit more “self-paced” options in home education. The second reason teenagers love homeschool is because they can work at their own pace. The material they need to complete and learn is in front of them, AND they know what is expected. No fluff involved. Teens love that! Working at “my own pace” was listed as the #2 reason because teens said- the extra time is available to spend on better learning stuff you need to know and you are not rushed in a small time slot. Furthermore, review the material you already know and just complete the mandatory work required quickly.
#1. A Flexible Schedule Each Day
It is not a secret! The #1 Reason Teenagers love homeschool is the flexibility that it provides each day. If you are sick, if you have a special occasion or opportunity available you can always make up your assignments or do them in advanced. As like the freedom to work at your own pace, if you get a few weeks ahead and the opportunity to take a trip becomes available, you can go! Each day is a piece of a much bigger puzzle. And within each day, your overall schedule can adjust to fit your week, month and/or year schedule. If you want to work in the morning and finish before the day begins, you have time for your other work, a job, an apprenticeship, a new business en-devour, home projects or even fishing 😉 ! Just like working at your own pace; You can hurry and complete as much as you desire one day and perhaps only do the requirement the next day. Either way, the flexibility is nice and helps you be more independent while forcing you to be diligent with your time.