Oddbean

Very nice. I homeschooled my eldest son (and am still homeschooling my youngest son who has Down Syndrome). We didn't unschool, but we were flexible on what we learned and when we learned it and we would go off on a tangent when something interested us and stop something or change it if it wasn't working or was boring. He took one class online at the local community college each semester his sophomore year of highschool and 3-4 classes at the community college each semester his junior and senior year. My son got a 35/36 on his ACT and is at college at Liberty University on free tuition and 4,000 towards room and board due to being in the honors program. Although it is his 2nd year, he is a senior by credits and getting a double major in computer science and math. We were able to accentuate his strengths (logic and curiosity) and work on his weaknesses (handwriting and hyper literalness that gives him problems with things like figures of speech). He had so much issue with handwriting that he couldn't handwrite a paper properly and would've done terribly in government schools. I allowed him to type papers in 3rd grade so his brain could focus on his thoughts rather than controlling his fingers. He was able to excel, but would've struggled in government school. The best thing is he never lost his love of learning. He learns just for the sake of learning. He knows who he is, both strengths and weaknesses, and is OK with that. He isn't manipulated by peer pressure. He is a loving, caring, generous young man that is a joy to everyone who meets him. Even more important than his academic learning was his character growth. Homeschooling is the best. This world would be a better place if all kids with loving parents were homeschooled.