|
Student View
Homeschooling: Not Just For Nerds
by Emily Guimont
You've heard about home schooling and might think its for
nerdy kids who get babied by their parents. Well, it's
not. I'm an eighth grader and this is my first year
home schooling through the Folsom Cordova Community Charter
School. I went to a public school for kindergarten
through fifth and a private school for sixth and seventh so
I know all about the different kinds of schooling. I
can tell you this: I have never learned more and I have
never had as much fun learning as I have through home
schooling.
One of the great things about home
schooling is that it is all about the individual student.
With the absence of classmates, the focus is solely on what
you are learning and how you want to learn it.
The curriculum can be molded to the student's learning
style. If you are a hands-on person, you can go out
and experience what you're studying in the real world.
If you are an independent learner, you can fire on ahead
with your work without waiting for classmates. The
amount of work you can get done without the classroom
distractions slowing you down is surprising.
If you home school, you can expand
upon the subjects you are really interested in much more
than if you were with a bunch of other kids that don't share
your interests. You can spend one whole day at the
park or by a river studying the wildlife or weather or
rocks. You can take field trips to museums and to
exhibits that you want to go to, not what some teacher or
guide takes you to. You can develop a passion for
something and start turning it into a career.
There are also downsides to home
schooling. For instance, the absence of classmates can
make school lonesome and all your socialization falls
outside school hours. It's true that school isn't
supposed to be all friend-time, but you get to see them and
be with them during lunch and recesses. But there are
ways to solve this: getting into team sports or joining
organizations like Girl Scout and Boy Scouts are great ways
to stay in touch with friends and have fun.
Even though home schooling has its
drawbacks, they are very minor compared to the benefits you
can receive. I believe it is one of the best and most
successful teaching methods. Home schooling provides a
better education because of its caring environment,
individualized curriculums and single student classes.
If you are looking for a change in your education, why not
try home schooling?
Why
Homeschooling Rocks
By Dani Demas
When my mom
first told me that I would start homeschooling in 5th
grade, I wasn't sure how to feel. I probably wouldn't see my
friends, and I'd have to stay home with my mom all day. On
the other hand, I wouldn't have to get up early every
morning or drag around heavy books in my backpack. So, I
agreed to give it a try. In 5th grade Mrs. Knott
was my teacher. She'd give me my assignments from the
textbooks, and then I'd go home and do them over the next
two weeks. If there was something I wanted to do more, like
learn about butterflies, for example, I could get
caterpillars and watch them turn into butterflies, instead
of just reading about them. Mrs. Salter was my teacher in 6th
and 7th grade and Mr. Edney was my teacher in 8th
grade. The system was the same every year: we'd meet every
other week and my teacher would give me my assignments. It
didn't take too long to do the basic subjects, so I had lots
of time to do fun and educational things.
My mom and I
went on many fun "field trips" in the last four years. Since
6th grade, we've gone to matinee shows at the
Mondavi Center in Davis. We saw a lot of
different acts, including dances, musicians, plays, and
other interesting shows from many different countries. We
even saw a guy who dressed up like a baby, and I'm not even
kidding! We also attended the Speaker Series at the Mondavi
Center. Not to drop names, but I got to meet Bob Dole, Jane Goddall, Terry
Gross, and many others. I probably got more excited to learn
about marine exploration from listening to Robert Ballard
(the man who discovered the Titanic) speak for two hours
than I ever would have reading from a book for two years. We
also got to take field trips to faraway lands, such as
Santa Rosa and
Anaheim. In Santa Rosa, we went to Safari West, where we
stayed in an oddly-nice African safari tent with giraffe’s
right outside our door! Safari West gives tours through
their huge nature preserve in a two-story jeep, where we got
chased by ostriches, saw a lot of animals, and I had a
giraffe eat a treat right out of my hand! In Anaheim, we got
to make a trip to Disneyland educational. I went on a
physics class/tour in California Adventure. Our guide took
us on different rides and then told us about the science
behind the ride. Believe it or not, when you start to go
really fast in California Screamin', you're actually being
pulled by magnets. We've also gone on a cruise to
Alaska, and, more recently,
a cruise to Mexico. In Alaska, we cruised right up next to a
glacier, I touched an iceberg, we saw glass blowers and then
made glass ornaments, and pulled up crab traps on a fishing
boat. Also, when we went salmon fishing, we saw a pod of
orcas! So, I assume the whale watchers caught salmon. In
Mexico, we released tiny baby sea turtles into the ocean,
swam with dolphins (I mean, we literally petted them and
they pulled us through the water), we went kayaking and
snorkeling, and we saw a coconut plantation. I met a lot of
interesting people and learned a lot about Mexican culture.
Of course, it
isn't all fun and games. You can really work at your own
pace in any subject. This year, I got to take an online
Geometry class at Folsom High. It was challenging, but well
worth it. I also take cello and banjo lessons, I'm in a play
with an all-homeschooling cast, and I used to take an art
class from a Folsom artist, so I get a lot of variety in
every day. I also had the opportunity to enter a lot of
contests. I lost a few, but I won a few, too.
Looking back
over the last four years, I feel so fortunate to have been
through so many great experiences. I'm really going to miss
all the kids and teachers at the charter school, but I feel
prepared for high school next year. These years have gone
very fast, and I'm really glad I decided to homeschool when
I did. Please don't think that homeschooling is taking kids
away from the world, but instead exposing them to it.
|
