我在家上学，奇怪吗

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.

当人们头一次听说我是在家上学的，他们都觉得我是个发展不全面且不善交际的人。他们所想象的故事是现代版的《草原上的小木屋》，一群兄弟姐妹都在一个单间小木屋里学习，孤立于其他孩子之外。

我在哈维斯特中学新交的朋友们对我过去的教育经历非常着迷。如果我觉得跟不了解在家上学的陌生人聊天很乏味的话，这跟我在公立中学度过的头几个星期相比根本不算什么。我完全没意识到在家上学对他们来说是个多么陌生的概念。

“你以前真的做作业吗？”

“我真希望我能在家上学，能从早睡到晚一定很不错。”

“你不缺乏社交技能吗？”

“你为什么决定来正规学校上学了呢？”

我试着用我们家的故事来回答我的一些同学的问题。在我大姐可以去上幼儿园时，我的父母去访问了不同的学校。当时，他们跟一户在家教育孩子的家庭是朋友，我父母对那家的孩子们印象非常深刻，他们表达能力强，热爱学习，跟成人能很好地互动。我妈妈当时不用工作，可以全身心投入做我们的第一任老师，所以我父母决定试试在家教育孩子。

在我们小的时候，妈妈努力让学业变得有趣。我们会在秋天进行摘苹果之旅，或是在她给我们读历史小说时玩涂色。我姐姐有段时间迷上了猛禽，所以我们学了一阵子不同种类的鸟。随着我们长大，虽然大部分时间还是妈妈教我们，但我们也参加了城里其他在家上学的孩子组成的班级，这些家庭会一起雇专业的老师上课。

那时每天都有妈妈和姐姐跟我在一起，我觉得很好玩。我从来不知道还有别的教育方式，所以在家上学似乎很正常。

虽然名称有此暗示，但在家上学的孩子并不是整天都待在家里。

就我个人来说，8年级典型的一天从8点左右起床开始，接着上一节数学课，或是读历史课程里的一本书。11点时，我会去住在上西区的朋友家上一节科学课。杰西是我们七个在家上学女孩的父母一起雇的科学老师，她带来我们那天需要的所有器材。我们做实验、看纪录片，有时我们阅读课本并一起讨论。这堂课每次两小时，每周一次。上完课后我会去吃午饭，然后去参加一位朋友执导的排练。这个排练在57街的一处地方进行，是与我们关系很好的一个叫做“不同方向”的在家上学组织租下的。

通常说来，当我们去某个人家上课时，一般是在起居室，或是围坐在餐桌旁。课堂主题的灵感可以来自于任何东西：教材课程、电视节目、大自然里发现的某个东西，或者是学生观察世界得出的看法。我们常常通过游戏来演示我们学习的东西，或以此帮助我们学习词汇。只是老师讲课的时候很少，学生们也总是参与其中。

我参加考试，取得学分，有时也会有作业，但我没有成绩单。虽然有灵活性，但在家上学的孩子不能只学一门课，也不能不学我们不喜欢的课程。在纽约州，我们必须要达到教育部给父母规定的要求。

去年，我决定我想去公立中学上学，因为我大多数在家上学的朋友都在转上公立中学。另外，我的两个姐姐也决定了去公立中学上学，公立中学比在家上学提供的机会更多。例如，我19岁的姐姐凯西去了一所有实习项目的高中，她借此机会能够去一家医院实习。她很喜欢那次實习，现在去了宾夕法尼亚大学学习护理。

我們绝大多数人都是在学校里接受教育，与班里的同学们一起学习，一起参加活动，一起玩儿。可是，你有没有想过还有另外一种可能——在家上学怎么样？其实，在国外，在家上学已相对比较普遍，来看看本文作者的经历，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.

优点和缺点

在我转到公立中学之后，我意识到在家上学有优点也有缺点。我喜欢以下几点：学习的时候可以吃东西；我可以睡到早上8点；比起去公立学校上学，我还可以跟妈妈有更多时间闲逛。

我可以根据自己的需要分配每一科所需的时间，这一点我很喜欢。没有这样的自由选择是许多公立学校学生抱怨的一个问题。他们不是抱怨因课程进度太慢而觉得上课无聊，就是抱怨他们跟不上进度落后于其他学生。

灵活的课程表也是优点之一。例如，我很早就发现我在上午首要要做的就是学数学，之后我会变得太过疲惫，都无法集中注意力。（我不喜欢数学。）在公立中学，我没法更改我的课程表来适应我的学习强项和弱项。我也不喜欢一整天都必须待在一栋建筑物里。

在公立中学，每学年的进度更加有条理，如果落后了是要承担后果的。我发现这对我来说实际上是件好事。因为在家上学你可以按照自己的节奏来，曾有不止一年我都是到6月初才意识到我还有许多功课要做。有一年，我还剩30节数学课才能完成任务。那以后接下来的几周，我每天晚上和每个周末都在赶着完成任务。虽然我下定决心第二年绝不再犯同样的错误，但我还是重蹈覆辙。学校的条理性有助于我更好地管理我投入课业的时间。

不过，我还是很难说我是喜欢在家上学多一点还是公立学校多一点。它们只是两种不同的经历。如果说在家上学是在探索知识，那公立学校则更像是把知识完全烹饪好、调好味道后再手把手交给你。

例如，有一年我在读关于二战的历史系列小说，那着实激发了我的兴趣。接下来的几个月里，我一边读这些书，一边用大量课余时间研究了一下我正在读的相关历史人物和重大历史事件。

但是公立学校会让你接触到一些你可能不会主动选择去接触的东西。来公立学校的第一年，我被要求上一门叫做“如何立论”的课，这门课教我们如何分析信息、形成观点、书写论文和参与辩论。我们每周都会有不同的争议性话题，比如拦截搜身，又比如买昂贵物品是否会让人开心。我非常喜欢这门课，不过如果可以选择的话我可能不会选这门课。

我想，作为学校里唯一一个有在家上学经历的孩子，我的存在为我们学校增加了一点多样性。现在，我那些以前觉得所有在家上学的孩子社交能力都很差的同学们也意识到，事实上，我们并沒有那么奇怪。