我在家上學，奇怪嗎

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.

當人們頭一次聽說我是在家上學的，他們都覺得我是個發展不全面且不善交際的人。他們所想象的故事是現代版的《草原上的小木屋》，一群兄弟姐妹都在一個單間小木屋里學習，孤立于其他孩子之外。

我在哈維斯特中學新交的朋友們對我過去的教育經歷非常著迷。如果我覺得跟不了解在家上學的陌生人聊天很乏味的話，這跟我在公立中學度過的頭幾個星期相比根本不算什么。我完全沒意識到在家上學對他們來說是個多么陌生的概念。

“你以前真的做作業嗎？”

“我真希望我能在家上學，能從早睡到晚一定很不錯。”

“你不缺乏社交技能嗎？”

“你為什么決定來正規學校上學了呢？”

我試著用我們家的故事來回答我的一些同學的問題。在我大姐可以去上幼兒園時，我的父母去訪問了不同的學校。當時，他們跟一戶在家教育孩子的家庭是朋友，我父母對那家的孩子們印象非常深刻，他們表達能力強，熱愛學習，跟成人能很好地互動。我媽媽當時不用工作，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。

在我們小的時候，媽媽努力讓學業變得有趣。我們會在秋天進行摘蘋果之旅，或是在她給我們讀歷史小說時玩涂色。我姐姐有段時間迷上了猛禽，所以我們學了一陣子不同種類的鳥。隨著我們長大，雖然大部分時間還是媽媽教我們，但我們也參加了城里其他在家上學的孩子組成的班級，這些家庭會一起雇專業的老師上課。

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

雖然名稱有此暗示，但在家上學的孩子并不是整天都待在家里。

就我個人來說，8年級典型的一天從8點左右起床開始，接著上一節數學課，或是讀歷史課程里的一本書。11點時，我會去住在上西區的朋友家上一節科學課。杰西是我們七個在家上學女孩的父母一起雇的科學老師，她帶來我們那天需要的所有器材。我們做實驗、看紀錄片，有時我們閱讀課本并一起討論。這堂課每次兩小時，每周一次。上完課后我會去吃午飯，然后去參加一位朋友執導的排練。這個排練在57街的一處地方進行，是與我們關系很好的一個叫做“不同方向”的在家上學組織租下的。

通常說來，當我們去某個人家上課時，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自于任何東西：教材課程、電視節目、大自然里發現的某個東西，或者是學生觀察世界得出的看法。我們常常通過游戲來演示我們學習的東西，或以此幫助我們學習詞匯。只是老師講課的時候很少，學生們也總是參與其中。

我參加考試，取得學分，有時也會有作業，但我沒有成績單。雖然有靈活性，但在家上學的孩子不能只學一門課，也不能不學我們不喜歡的課程。在紐約州，我們必須要達到教育部給父母規定的要求。

去年，我決定我想去公立中學上學，因為我大多數在家上學的朋友都在轉上公立中學。另外，我的兩個姐姐也決定了去公立中學上學，公立中學比在家上學提供的機會更多。例如，我19歲的姐姐凱西去了一所有實習項目的高中，她借此機會能夠去一家醫院實習。她很喜歡那次實習，現在去了賓夕法尼亞大學學習護理。

我們絕大多數人都是在學校里接受教育，與班里的同學們一起學習，一起參加活動，一起玩兒。可是，你有沒有想過還有另外一種可能——在家上學怎么樣？其實，在國外，在家上學已相對比較普遍，來看看本文作者的經歷，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.

優點和缺點

在我轉到公立中學之后，我意識到在家上學有優點也有缺點。我喜歡以下幾點：學習的時候可以吃東西；我可以睡到早上8點；比起去公立學校上學，我還可以跟媽媽有更多時間閑逛。

我可以根據自己的需要分配每一科所需的時間，這一點我很喜歡。沒有這樣的自由選擇是許多公立學校學生抱怨的一個問題。他們不是抱怨因課程進度太慢而覺得上課無聊，就是抱怨他們跟不上進度落后于其他學生。

靈活的課程表也是優點之一。例如，我很早就發現我在上午首要要做的就是學數學，之后我會變得太過疲憊，都無法集中注意力。（我不喜歡數學。）在公立中學，我沒法更改我的課程表來適應我的學習強項和弱項。我也不喜歡一整天都必須待在一棟建筑物里。

在公立中學，每學年的進度更加有條理，如果落后了是要承擔后果的。我發現這對我來說實際上是件好事。因為在家上學你可以按照自己的節奏來，曾有不止一年我都是到6月初才意識到我還有許多功課要做。有一年，我還剩30節數學課才能完成任務。那以后接下來的幾周，我每天晚上和每個周末都在趕著完成任務。雖然我下定決心第二年絕不再犯同樣的錯誤，但我還是重蹈覆轍。學校的條理性有助于我更好地管理我投入課業的時間。

不過，我還是很難說我是喜歡在家上學多一點還是公立學校多一點。它們只是兩種不同的經歷。如果說在家上學是在探索知識，那公立學校則更像是把知識完全烹飪好、調好味道后再手把手交給你。

例如，有一年我在讀關于二戰的歷史系列小說，那著實激發了我的興趣。接下來的幾個月里，我一邊讀這些書，一邊用大量課余時間研究了一下我正在讀的相關歷史人物和重大歷史事件。

但是公立學校會讓你接觸到一些你可能不會主動選擇去接觸的東西。來公立學校的第一年，我被要求上一門叫做“如何立論”的課，這門課教我們如何分析信息、形成觀點、書寫論文和參與辯論。我們每周都會有不同的爭議性話題，比如攔截搜身，又比如買昂貴物品是否會讓人開心。我非常喜歡這門課，不過如果可以選擇的話我可能不會選這門課。

我想，作為學校里唯一一個有在家上學經歷的孩子，我的存在為我們學校增加了一點多樣性。現在，我那些以前覺得所有在家上學的孩子社交能力都很差的同學們也意識到，事實上，我們并沒有那么奇怪。