Abby Connolly
Whether or not children should be homeschooled in certain environments is a common debate among parents.
One woman recently told her older sister that it would ruin her daughter’s life if she homeschooled her, and it’s caused some major tension in their relationship.
She’s 20 years old, and her sister, Addie, is 32 years old. Because there is a pretty significant age gap between them, they were raised quite differently.
Addie attended public school until she dropped out in the 10th grade, while she was homeschooled from the third grade until high school graduation.
“I was homeschooled for most of my life, and it absolutely messed me up,” she said.
“There was nothing wrong with my curriculum, and I learned at a faster pace than children going to public school, but homeschooling made me so unprepared for the real world.”
Because she was homeschooled for most of her life, she felt she never had a proper chance to develop mature social skills. So when she went from being sheltered at home to a normal and active college campus, she felt overwhelmed and traumatized.
Her first year of college was a whirlwind, as she didn’t know how to interact with other people her age, and she’d have frequent panic attacks.
Addie has a daughter named Lily, who is about to turn five, so she’ll be eligible to start school this August. However, because Addie is a stay-at-home mom with time on her hands, she’s highly considering homeschooling her.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
