Home Schooling

Really?

Yes, we really have home schooled our two children, Esther and Josiah. They are doing great, and while they've occasionally wished they were in public school for some reason, this doesn't happen any more frequently than some of their friends indicate they wish they were home schooled. The grass is always greener...

For the 10th grade Esther started part time at Hilltop Academy (a private school) for her algebra and biology, and went to the same Spanish tutor she had used for a while. In her junior year she started at Hilltop full time, and she graduated in 2002. She had a number of colleges interested in her, but she spent a year in an intensive leadership program first (Honor Academy at TeenMania), then went into the army but was medically discharged. Currently she's working and trying to decide what to do about school.

For the 10th and 11th grade Josiah attended Hilltop. This was partly because he was tired of home schooling, and partly so he could play sports. He stayed near the top of his class. Hilltop closed down for what would have been Josiah's senior year and his coah moved away. Rather than transfer to another school where he wouldn't get to play much on the football or basketball teams, he elected to go into the army.

For several years, both of them attended Science Quest, a local group of former public and private school teachers who offer science classes to HSers. There was a similar program for math which Josiah attended for a year.

Is That Legal?

Home schooling is legal in most states. In Texas it's treated as private schooling, which means that the state and local governments have to pretty much stay out of it. We take it very seriously, and our kids are getting a great education.

Further Information

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Top 5 Reasons to Home School
• Texas Curriculum Requirements
• We don't strip search our kids

Copyright 1997-2007 Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved. Free redistribution is encouraged so long as the author's name and this copyright are kept intact, and the article is kept intact.