When people first hear that I was home-schooled， they think I&apos；m not a fully developed， social individual. What they picture is a modern Little House on the Prairie， where a bunch of siblings all learn in a one-room log cabin1）， isolated from other kids.

My new friends at Harvest Collegiate High School were fascinated about my past education. If I thought talking to strangers who didn&apos；t understand home schooling was tedious2）， it was nothing compared to my first few weeks at a public high school. I didn&apos；t realize how much of an alien concept it was to them.

"Did you actually do work？"

"I wish I could be a home-schooler； it must be nice to be able to sleep all day."

"Don&apos；t you lack social skills？"

"Why&apos；d you decide to go to a normal school？"

I tried to answer some of my classmates&apos； questions with my family&apos；s story. When my oldest sister was ready for kindergarten， my parents visited different schools. At the time， they were friends with a family that home-schooled and my parents were impressed that the children were articulate3）， excited to learn， and interacted well with adults. My parents decided to give home schooling a try because my mom didn&apos；t work and could commit to being our first teacher.

When we were little， my mom strived to make schoolwork fun. We would go on apple-picking trips in the fall， or color while she read us historical fiction. My sister went through a phase where she was obsessed with birds of prey， so we studied different kinds of birds for a bit. As we got older， my mom taught us most of the time， but we also joined other home school classes around the city that collectively hired professional teachers.

It was fun to have my mom and sisters with me every day. I never knew any different， so it seemed normal.

Despite the implications4） of the term， home-schoolers do not stay home all day.

For me， a typical day in 8th grade began with waking up around 8 a.m. and doing a math lesson， or reading a book from my history curriculum. At 11 a.m.， I&apos；d head to my friend&apos；s house on the Upper West Side for a science class. Jessie， the science teacher who was hired by the parents of the seven girls in the class， brought whatever equipment we needed for that day. We did labs， watched documentaries5）， and some days we read from a textbook and had discussions. The class was two hours， once a week. After that I ate lunch and then went to play rehearsal directed by one of my friends. This was in a space on 57th Street rented by a home schooling organization called Different Directions that we had befriended.

Generally， when a class is taught in someone&apos；s home， it is in the living room， or at the dining room table. The subject can be inspired by anything： a textbook curriculum， a TV show， something found in nature， or a student observation about the world. We often play games to demonstrate something we are learning about， or to help us learn vocabulary words. Rarely does the teacher just lecture； the students are usually involved.

I take tests， get grades， and occasionally get homework， but I don&apos；t get report cards. Despite the flexibility， homeschoolers can&apos；t just study one subject， or not study those we don&apos；t like. In New York State， we have to fulfill requirements given to parents by the Department of Education.

Last year， I decided I wanted to attend public high school because most of my home school friends were switching. Also， I have two older sisters who decided to go to public high school where they had more opportunities than home schooling could provide. For example， my 19-year-old sister Casey went to a high school that had an internship program， and she was able to intern at a hospital. She liked it so much that she is now studying nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.

當(dāng)人們頭一次聽(tīng)說(shuō)我是在家上學(xué)的，他們都覺(jué)得我是個(gè)發(fā)展不全面且不善交際的人。他們所想象的故事是現(xiàn)代版的《草原上的小木屋》，一群兄弟姐妹都在一個(gè)單間小木屋里學(xué)習(xí)，孤立于其他孩子之外。

我在哈維斯特中學(xué)新交的朋友們對(duì)我過(guò)去的教育經(jīng)歷非常著迷。如果我覺(jué)得跟不了解在家上學(xué)的陌生人聊天很乏味的話，這跟我在公立中學(xué)度過(guò)的頭幾個(gè)星期相比根本不算什么。我完全沒(méi)意識(shí)到在家上學(xué)對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)多么陌生的概念。

“你以前真的做作業(yè)嗎？”

“我真希望我能在家上學(xué)，能從早睡到晚一定很不錯(cuò)?！?/p>

“你不缺乏社交技能嗎？”

“你為什么決定來(lái)正規(guī)學(xué)校上學(xué)了呢？”

我試著用我們家的故事來(lái)回答我的一些同學(xué)的問(wèn)題。在我大姐可以去上幼兒園時(shí)，我的父母去訪問(wèn)了不同的學(xué)校。當(dāng)時(shí)，他們跟一戶在家教育孩子的家庭是朋友，我父母對(duì)那家的孩子們印象非常深刻，他們表達(dá)能力強(qiáng)，熱愛(ài)學(xué)習(xí)，跟成人能很好地互動(dòng)。我媽媽當(dāng)時(shí)不用工作，可以全身心投入做我們的第一任老師，所以我父母決定試試在家教育孩子。

在我們小的時(shí)候，媽媽努力讓學(xué)業(yè)變得有趣。我們會(huì)在秋天進(jìn)行摘蘋(píng)果之旅，或是在她給我們讀歷史小說(shuō)時(shí)玩涂色。我姐姐有段時(shí)間迷上了猛禽，所以我們學(xué)了一陣子不同種類的鳥(niǎo)。隨著我們長(zhǎng)大，雖然大部分時(shí)間還是媽媽教我們，但我們也參加了城里其他在家上學(xué)的孩子組成的班級(jí)，這些家庭會(huì)一起雇專業(yè)的老師上課。

那時(shí)每天都有媽媽和姐姐跟我在一起，我覺(jué)得很好玩。我從來(lái)不知道還有別的教育方式，所以在家上學(xué)似乎很正常。

雖然名稱有此暗示，但在家上學(xué)的孩子并不是整天都待在家里。

就我個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)，8年級(jí)典型的一天從8點(diǎn)左右起床開(kāi)始，接著上一節(jié)數(shù)學(xué)課，或是讀歷史課程里的一本書(shū)。11點(diǎn)時(shí)，我會(huì)去住在上西區(qū)的朋友家上一節(jié)科學(xué)課。杰西是我們七個(gè)在家上學(xué)女孩的父母一起雇的科學(xué)老師，她帶來(lái)我們那天需要的所有器材。我們做實(shí)驗(yàn)、看紀(jì)錄片，有時(shí)我們閱讀課本并一起討論。這堂課每次兩小時(shí)，每周一次。上完課后我會(huì)去吃午飯，然后去參加一位朋友執(zhí)導(dǎo)的排練。這個(gè)排練在57街的一處地方進(jìn)行，是與我們關(guān)系很好的一個(gè)叫做“不同方向”的在家上學(xué)組織租下的。

通常說(shuō)來(lái)，當(dāng)我們?nèi)ツ硞€(gè)人家上課時(shí)，一般是在起居室，或是圍坐在餐桌旁。課堂主題的靈感可以來(lái)自于任何東西：教材課程、電視節(jié)目、大自然里發(fā)現(xiàn)的某個(gè)東西，或者是學(xué)生觀察世界得出的看法。我們常常通過(guò)游戲來(lái)演示我們學(xué)習(xí)的東西，或以此幫助我們學(xué)習(xí)詞匯。只是老師講課的時(shí)候很少，學(xué)生們也總是參與其中。

我參加考試，取得學(xué)分，有時(shí)也會(huì)有作業(yè)，但我沒(méi)有成績(jī)單。雖然有靈活性，但在家上學(xué)的孩子不能只學(xué)一門課，也不能不學(xué)我們不喜歡的課程。在紐約州，我們必須要達(dá)到教育部給父母規(guī)定的要求。

去年，我決定我想去公立中學(xué)上學(xué)，因?yàn)槲掖蠖鄶?shù)在家上學(xué)的朋友都在轉(zhuǎn)上公立中學(xué)。另外，我的兩個(gè)姐姐也決定了去公立中學(xué)上學(xué)，公立中學(xué)比在家上學(xué)提供的機(jī)會(huì)更多。例如，我19歲的姐姐凱西去了一所有實(shí)習(xí)項(xiàng)目的高中，她借此機(jī)會(huì)能夠去一家醫(yī)院實(shí)習(xí)。她很喜歡那次實(shí)習(xí)，現(xiàn)在去了賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)護(hù)理。

我們絕大多數(shù)人都是在學(xué)校里接受教育，與班里的同學(xué)們一起學(xué)習(xí)，一起參加活動(dòng)，一起玩兒?？墒牵阌袥](méi)有想過(guò)還有另外一種可能——在家上學(xué)怎么樣？其實(shí)，在國(guó)外，在家上學(xué)已相對(duì)比較普遍，來(lái)看看本文作者的經(jīng)歷，一起了解一下吧。

After I switched， I realized there are pros and cons to home schooling. I liked that I could eat and do work at the same time， I got to sleep until 8 a.m.， and I got to hang out with my mom more than if I was in public school.

I liked that I could take as much or as little time for each subject as I needed. Not having that choice is a problem some public students complain about. Either they say they&apos；re bored because the class moves too slowly or they fall behind and can&apos；t catch up.

Having a flexible schedule was also a plus. For instance， I discovered early on6） that I need to do math first thing in the morning； later on I become too drained7） to focus. （I don&apos；t like math.） In high school I don&apos；t have the ability to change my schedule to suit my learning strengths and weaknesses. I also don&apos；t like that I have to be in one building all day.

In high school， the pace of the school year is much more structured and if you fall behind， there are consequences. I discovered that&apos；s actually a good thing for me. Because you can go at your own pace in home school， there was more than one year where I would reach the beginning of June and realize that I still had a lot of work to do. One year， I still had 30 math lessons to complete. For the next several weeks， I was finishing this up every night and on weekends. Although I was determined not to make the same mistake the next year， I did. The high school structure helps me time-manage my workload better.

Still， it&apos；s hard to say whether I like home schooling or public school more. They are simply different experiences. If home schooling is fishing for8） knowledge， public school is like being handed it， fully cooked and well-seasoned.

For example， one year I was reading a historical fiction series about WWII， and it really sparked my interest. Over the next couple months， as I read the books， I used much of my spare school time to research the historical figures and significant events I was reading about.

But public school exposes you to things you might not have chosen for yourself. In my freshman year， I was required to take a class called Looking for an Argument， which taught us how to look at sources， form an argument， write an essay， and debate. Every week we were given a different controversial topic， such as stop and frisk9）， or if buying expensive things makes you happy. I liked it a lot， yet I probably wouldn&apos；t have taken it if I&apos；d had the option.

I think I add to the diversity of my high school as being one of the only home-schooled kids. Now， my classmates who used to think that all home-schoolers were socially awkward realize that， in fact， we&apos；re not all that weird.

優(yōu)點(diǎn)和缺點(diǎn)

在我轉(zhuǎn)到公立中學(xué)之后，我意識(shí)到在家上學(xué)有優(yōu)點(diǎn)也有缺點(diǎn)。我喜歡以下幾點(diǎn)：學(xué)習(xí)的時(shí)候可以吃東西；我可以睡到早上8點(diǎn)；比起去公立學(xué)校上學(xué)，我還可以跟媽媽有更多時(shí)間閑逛。

我可以根據(jù)自己的需要分配每一科所需的時(shí)間，這一點(diǎn)我很喜歡。沒(méi)有這樣的自由選擇是許多公立學(xué)校學(xué)生抱怨的一個(gè)問(wèn)題。他們不是抱怨因課程進(jìn)度太慢而覺(jué)得上課無(wú)聊，就是抱怨他們跟不上進(jìn)度落后于其他學(xué)生。

靈活的課程表也是優(yōu)點(diǎn)之一。例如，我很早就發(fā)現(xiàn)我在上午首要要做的就是學(xué)數(shù)學(xué)，之后我會(huì)變得太過(guò)疲憊，都無(wú)法集中注意力。（我不喜歡數(shù)學(xué)。）在公立中學(xué)，我沒(méi)法更改我的課程表來(lái)適應(yīng)我的學(xué)習(xí)強(qiáng)項(xiàng)和弱項(xiàng)。我也不喜歡一整天都必須待在一棟建筑物里。

在公立中學(xué)，每學(xué)年的進(jìn)度更加有條理，如果落后了是要承擔(dān)后果的。我發(fā)現(xiàn)這對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)實(shí)際上是件好事。因?yàn)樵诩疑蠈W(xué)你可以按照自己的節(jié)奏來(lái)，曾有不止一年我都是到6月初才意識(shí)到我還有許多功課要做。有一年，我還剩30節(jié)數(shù)學(xué)課才能完成任務(wù)。那以后接下來(lái)的幾周，我每天晚上和每個(gè)周末都在趕著完成任務(wù)。雖然我下定決心第二年絕不再犯同樣的錯(cuò)誤，但我還是重蹈覆轍。學(xué)校的條理性有助于我更好地管理我投入課業(yè)的時(shí)間。

不過(guò)，我還是很難說(shuō)我是喜歡在家上學(xué)多一點(diǎn)還是公立學(xué)校多一點(diǎn)。它們只是兩種不同的經(jīng)歷。如果說(shuō)在家上學(xué)是在探索知識(shí)，那公立學(xué)校則更像是把知識(shí)完全烹飪好、調(diào)好味道后再手把手交給你。

例如，有一年我在讀關(guān)于二戰(zhàn)的歷史系列小說(shuō)，那著實(shí)激發(fā)了我的興趣。接下來(lái)的幾個(gè)月里，我一邊讀這些書(shū)，一邊用大量課余時(shí)間研究了一下我正在讀的相關(guān)歷史人物和重大歷史事件。

但是公立學(xué)校會(huì)讓你接觸到一些你可能不會(huì)主動(dòng)選擇去接觸的東西。來(lái)公立學(xué)校的第一年，我被要求上一門叫做“如何立論”的課，這門課教我們?nèi)绾畏治鲂畔?、形成觀點(diǎn)、書(shū)寫(xiě)論文和參與辯論。我們每周都會(huì)有不同的爭(zhēng)議性話題，比如攔截搜身，又比如買昂貴物品是否會(huì)讓人開(kāi)心。我非常喜歡這門課，不過(guò)如果可以選擇的話我可能不會(huì)選這門課。

我想，作為學(xué)校里唯一一個(gè)有在家上學(xué)經(jīng)歷的孩子，我的存在為我們學(xué)校增加了一點(diǎn)多樣性?，F(xiàn)在，我那些以前覺(jué)得所有在家上學(xué)的孩子社交能力都很差的同學(xué)們也意識(shí)到，事實(shí)上，我們并沒(méi)有那么奇怪。