Homeschooling Interview: Jay, Change Manager

While all the homeschool interviews I’ve done so far have been positive, some homeschool students have a different experience. Sunny‘s husband Jay* and I have some things in common with our experiences. Both of us wish we had more opportunities to meet friends during our school years. I think this homeschooling interview presents some of the pitfalls to be avoided during homeschooling.

Here is Jay to share his take on his school years.

TKM: First, tell us a bit about yourself.

Jay: Change management is something I’ve recently discovered as a passion.  I enjoy the challenge of working with other people to take a problem, idea or situation and work it out into a healthy system.  Without external stimuli—a challenge, a team, or something to think about—I get bored.  Podcasts and audio books keep my brain stimulated throughout the day when working on mundane or repetitive tasks.

When relaxing, I also enjoy a challenge whether that’s playing an XBox game, learning a new recipe, drawing up plans for my future or discussing with my wife different ways to improve our house.

I have been an active volunteer in my community and enjoy meeting new people and helping them through organization.

TKM: How many years (or what grades) were you homeschooled?

Jay: Grades 5-12.

TKM: What was a typical homeschooling day like for you?

Jay: Every day was different but as long as my book work was done I could do whatever I wanted.  We did a lot of reading because my mom had high standards for our language arts and reading comprehension.

TKM: Did you like homeschooling or did you wish you could go to public school?

Jay: It was good in contrast to the private school experiences I had from grades 1-5 but I didn’t have many friends and that sucked.  I also got frustrated with  my parents constantly telling me what to do.

TKM: Were you involved with other homeschoolers or a local homeschool group?

Jay: No, not officially. We did meet some fellow homeschoolers over the years but they often lived in other communities.

TKM: What did you do after Grade 12?

Jay: I moved away from home as soon as I could so I could start living by my own rules.  First I worked as a farm manager, then I moved to a city to work in construction.  I attended a technical school to receive a journeyman ticket in my trade and obtained further experience in managing and supervising crews and tasks.

TKM: Do you feel that homeschooling helped your post-high school goals or hindered them?

Jay: Overall, I think being home-schooled held me back from many opportunities and post-secondary options.  At the time, homeschooling was not very common and it was generally frowned on by society.  I know many homeschoolers now, however, who have little to no trouble transitioning into institutions or the workforce but I do realize that I was limited in my options at the time.

TKM: If you could change something about your homeschooling experience, what would it be?

Jay: I would have liked to play more sports and have more friends.

TKM: What was your favourite part of homeschooling? Your least favourite part?

Jay: I liked being able to listen to music all day!

TKM: Is there anything else you’d like to add to this homeschooling interview?

Much of my homeschooling experience was blended with an intense religious push from my parents. As a result I often have difficulty separating the education I received from the Biblical truths instilled from the pharisee-ism of the church I grew up in.  As an adult I tend to be suspicious of the desire to homeschool as my experience was so closed to discussing other views or ideas.  I feel strongly that homeschoolers should be careful to teach a variety of viewpoints/ideas and allow for discussion while respecting their children as individuals not merely part of a tribe.

*Name changed to protect privacy.