Interviews with Homeschooled Adults – Jocelyn

Name & Age
Jocelyn and I’m 35 years old.

How many years were you homeschooled?
This was back in the early/mid 80’s when it was still considered majorly on the fringe and most people thought it was illegal. My mom was a die-hard homeschool pioneer, but she took it year by year depending on what was best for our family. Therefore I was homeschooled for Kindergarten, private schooled for 1st & 2nd, homeschooled for 3rd & 4th, public schooled for 5th, homeschooled for 6th, private schooled for 7th & 8th, and homeschooled for high school. It sounds all over the board, but it includes 3 states and numerous moves.

A favorite homeschooling memory.
So many! Catching frogs and watching the eggs develop in the pond outside our house in 3rd/4th grade. Or in high school having the luxury of doing my school work late at night when the house was quiet and sleeping in the next day, doing chores and relaxing until my friends in public school would get out and come to my house to hang out. Or the numerous trips and get togethers with our homeschool groups.

Favorite curriculum.
My mom was a big believer in reading for knowledge. I loved this old 1950’s era biography series about famous people as children. I credit that for my love of history, it taught me that history was all about people and their stories.

Worst homeschooling memory.
Memorizing multiplication tables. Ugh.

Most difficult lesson/subject for you?
Spelling. Even as a voracious reader spelling never came easily for me and my mom never found a good method to help me. Thank goodness for the modern convenience of spell check!

What did you chose to do after graduating.
I started at our local community college at 16 and switched majors from Human Services (Counseling) to History Education when I transferred to a great Christian college, Lee University, a few hours from home. I loved that school, but had to drop out due to financial issues. I decided to take some time off to work and waitressed and saved money. During this time I ran into an old friend from my homeschool/high school days and fell head over heals in love. After we were engaged I began working at our local bank and found that I LOVED banking/accounting work. I moved up from teller to the loan side of the bank during the first years of our marriage.

Why you chose to do that.
I started off wanted to be a counselor or psychologist, but quickly realized I would burn out quickly and it would not be the best direction for me. I fell back on my love of History and decided that teaching that love would be rewarding. After that it may look like I stumbled around for a little while, but I truly feel that doors opened and closed where they should have helping me be in the right places at the right times.

Will you homeschool your own children if you have any?
I am currently a stay at home, homeschooling mom to our brood of four. At the moment only our oldest two are schooling (ages 10 and 8), but our younger two are swiftly approaching that age (4 and 2).

Why or why not?
Since my husband and I are both homeschool graduates who also experienced traditional schooling that gave us a unique position to truly be able to see the pros and cons of all the options. (My husband was in public school until 6th grade and homeschooled for the rest.) I knew that homeschool was hands down the best option I ever had – and that was after being in two different private schools and a small, wonderfully run public school – and I wanted that for my children. While still engaged my husband and I had many talks about our future and he was relieved that I felt the same way and we made that commitment to our future children then. Five years later I left my job to stay home with our then 1-year-old daughter and never looked back. I love the fact that my children have plenty of time to explore outside, read, play together, and learn life skills while still completing their schoolwork.

Any regrets directly related to being homeschooled?
No.

Anything you wish you had been taught?
My mother never did do any higher level science classes with me and in my time in college I never did either so I felt like I learned a lot of things for the first time when I taught Apologia’s Chemistry and Physics to my kids and that was on an elementary level. But honestly, in everyday life it has never come up or been a detriment.

How did homeschooling prepare you for what you are doing now (college or work)?
I had so many life skills when I went out into the world! It blew my mind when I was in the college dorms to see how many fellow students had no idea how to do laundry, cook food, or write a check. Thanks to my mom’s teaching I could easily figure the best deal in the grocery store and keep a running tally in my head. I also learned how valuable it was to learn new things and a work ethic that this world seems to be severely lacking. I have found myself being quickly promoted at any job I have ever had. It also helped me be more comfortable to talk to people and ask questions. Homeschoolers have to search out their friends, they are not provided for them, and that has proven true for adulthood as well!

What is the worst misnomer about homeschoolers?
The “not being prepared for the real world” thing. I found myself to be MUCH more prepared for the real world then my peers. Yes, I may still not quite understand calculus, but I was fully prepared to pay my bills and do my own taxes when I left home. Which has been much more valuable!

I thought I would add in one more story about being homeschooled. We started homeschooling in the very early years when it was legal in our state, but still extremely rare. After I had been homeschooled for a short time a neighbor approached my grandmother and very hesitantly asked if I had AIDS (remember, early 80’s). After a shocked moment my grandmother asked why she would think that. It seems the only reason the neighbor could think of for me not to be in school was if I had a deadly or contagious disease and had to be kept home. I am so grateful for how things have changed! Now when I tell people my children homeschool all I get is admiration and even comments that sound negative are because they are acknowledging the hard work that it is.

If you were homeschooled and would like to be featured, feel free to take these questions and respond to them via email – amy at raising arrows dot net – along with a photo.  I reserve the right to edit for length and readability, and I reserve the right to publish as I choose.  Submitting answers does not guarantee they will make it onto the blog, but I’m pretty easy to get along with if what you have to say is useful and interesting.  Thank you!