Conventional School: My unique perspective

Of course everyone wishes to nurture and educate their children to the best of their abilities; but what do you do if nearly all students and some teachers agree that our schooling system is inherently flawed? My mother thought she had the answer to that question, or at least a better answer that the carbon copy one that everyone else had answered with. Homeschooling was that answer. It takes a lot of guts to step out of the norm, especially with something as precious as your own child. This scared my dad who had been separated with my mom by the time this all had begun. As an outgoing car salesman, my father was the type of person who thrived in a High school environment. Being from a large family with scottish heritage, he had developed a thick skin and was able to deal with the challenges of high school, to reap the ultimate reward of ‘popularity’. So it goes without saying that he was someone who remembered school very fondly. This meant he did not fully support the idea of homeschooling. This created some turmoil between my parents, but it was always ultimately my decision. In the end, I wouldn't have changed anything; because of him I went into the homeschool sphere with the mindset of your average school going kid, even though I had only attended kindergarten at a private school. Rather than accepting homeschooling as the only way of life, I came in with a more well rounded perspective. My mom began taking me places during spare days we had. She started to find out there was an entire community of parents (mostly mothers) who met up during the day with their kids with the express purpose of socialization. After all, homeschooling can be an isolating experience. This group of misfits ranged from Autistic kids, to kid geniuses and sometimes both. I even knew a south african kid who could sing opera in italian fluently. The first thing you notice when speaking to any one of them, is their authenticity and utter lack of inhibition. Very few of them had experienced bullying and even less on a repeated basis. This allowed their creativities to shine. I knew a guy, with hair down to his butt, that was graduating from homeschool. He was seventeen and finishing some online high school classes yet he was already doing standup comedy and had a published comic he made with his friends. It’s a double edged sword. These kids got to pursue exactly what they want, take lessons on something until they Actually know it, and were free from unnecessary pressures and deadlines; they are allowed to be kids. However, they exit somewhat unprepared for the real world and have to deal with that harsh awakening whenever they decide to enter the public sphere. There is very little chance of your child being corrupted, but also a very good chance they won't have perspective on what can be considered acceptable or not. All in all, your protecting your child’s delicate ego and imagination by homeschooling but they don't develop a resistance to the outside world like they would with conventional schooling.