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The title of this subject, "Evils of high school and the homeschool option", is absurd. Perhaps public high school is not for everyone, but to say that there are "evils" lurking behind those double doors is just plain mideval. Just what kind of evils are there - not all kids in high school are violent. Yes, there is violence in the school system, but there is violence on the street, too. There have been a lot of shootings at fast food restaurants in the past - does that mean that fast food restaurants are "evil"? Hardly.

As a mother who chose to homeschool her child in the elementary grade years because her daughter was gifted and the public school was not equipped to handle that situation, I can say for sure that homeschooling CAN be a wonderful option for a child. HOWEVER, I have also seen the flip side of the coin. Parents who are crazy or lazy have been known to "teach" their child the arts of witchcraft and to call it "homeschooling." This, too, is absurd.

IF the parent is knowledgeable enough AND dedicated enough to subscribe to a curriculum for their high school student that will adequately (and preferrably BETTER than adequately) prepare them for the rigors of the real world, including college if they so choose, then homeschooling can be the best type of learning there is. The one-on-one between parent and child should be far better than the 20:1 ratio that we see in the classroom. Learning is usually inversely proportional to this all-important ratio. The higher the ratio, the less individual attention is given to each student, and the learning that results is generally less. The lower the ratio (as in homeschooling, a 1:1 ratio), the greater the learning because the child is given undivided attention.

Students who find social interaction a difficult task - shy students, students who may require extra help, and even gifted students who are often misunderstood by their peers - generally feel more comfortable in a homeschooling atmosphere. They have more control to pick and choose topics that interest them more, and they should always feel comfortable asking the "teacher" questions without feeling shy.

When I began homeschooling my child, I was a strong advocate for learning from home. To me, that was the natural way to learn - and, sometimes with arrogance, I argued that it was the ONLY way to learn. School was unsafe; teachers didn't care at all whetehr a student learned or not - they were just there to collect a paycheck; school was a sespool of bad influences;

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