Benefits of Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a misnomer and an antiquated word. It is no longer the mother being the teacher. I only have one son, we live in the woods and rarely see people, physical socialization is difficult. When he did go to school he was on the bus 3 hours a day on icy mountain roads. Up at 6:00 am, have to make sure the road down the mountain is cleared of the night's snow fall, cost $5 to send nutritious lunch and all the plastic packaging that comes with it, then me coercing 3 hours of homework out of him before bed, not to mention the "special" clothes and trinkets necessary everyday. He wasn't learning anything, it was all about the "pecking order" the "socialization". He hedged the teachers and dodged learning like he dodged the bullies at lunch. They would spend weeks on some crappy art project and months on a stupid Christmas music thing, totally out of touch with kids today. Now, my son wants to learn more, be more. He goes to school by sitting in front of this screen and the whole world is his classroom. All his lessons are electronic and he completes them like a level on any video game he would play. He talks with people from many different countries about many different things in the course a day over the internet. It has nothing to do with me, nothing. At first I had to show him "how to learn" and "why to learn" and yes there was a little bribing involved, the first time I ever resorted to this but it was effective. Now at 16 there is no stopping him. He has been invited out to parties, to drink and get stoned like kids his age, but he declines, he is too busy with more important pursuits. He is taking German, and Latin, and well too many things for me to keep track, and planning where he wants to go to college. Our conversations at home are deep and powerful for all 3 of us. We eat hot lunches together, share the natural world together, we are available for each other, it is a wonderful way to live.