Jackie H.: “You owe your child a proper education”

“If you are a parent reading this: Ask yourself, why am I homeschooling? Can I give my child a proper education? You owe your child a proper education.”

I was homeschooled from kindergarten to eighth grade and also tenth grade. I went to private school in the 9th grade and public school my last two years. My early homeschooling experiences were pleasant. We were involved in a homeschool group, and we were able to go on many outings, and my mother put a lot of effort into our education.

In middle school I began struggling with math. Our homeschooling group also dissolved around that time. Despite my mom’s best efforts she could just not teach that subject. During my tenth grade year she got me a tutor. However I was already so far behind it didn’t make a difference. During my eventual private and public school years I failed math multiple times. I simply lacked the building blocks to continue learning.

I don’t remember much oversight. For my tenth grade year my mother was supposed to write a letter to the town and explain that I was being homeschooled. That never happened, so when I went to public school they didn’t accept my credits. I basically had to squeeze 3 years of high school into 2.

Oversight would have helped me stay on track in math and science. It could also have ensured that I was being properly socialized. Years later I still have social deficits and I believe I could have gone farther academically if I received proper teaching. I am ashamed to say that was academically dishonest in college in math. I literally could not do it on my own, and I couldn’t finish my degree without it. What was I supposed to do? Fail out of college and be more of a victim of homeschooling?

If you are a parent reading this: Ask yourself, why am I homeschooling? Can I give my child a proper education? You owe your child a proper education. It is lazy and irresponsible to simply pull your child out of public school because you are afraid of them learning evolution or about sex. You are handicapping them for the future.

Jackie H. was homeschooled in Massachusetts from 1995-2009. For additional thoughts and experiences from other homeschool alumni, see our Testimonials page.