i’ve been homeschooled my whole life, should i try public school?
this is my first post, so bare with me.
i’m a fourteen year old female, i’ve never once gone to school in person or online, (i currently do a homeschooling micro program but it’s not like school at all.) while i enjoy aspects of being homeschooled, i overall feel that i’m not getting the education or socialization i need.
first we should probably get into the actual academic stuff, i’m mostly worried about this. my mom always knew she was going to homeschool me because public school was extremely difficult for her, not because she isn’t smart, simply because they didn’t teach her in the way she needed to be taught. she was worried me and my brother would have the same difficulties, so she went with the opposite approach, which is unschooling. for anyone who doesn’t know, unschooling is basically learning through experiencing the world and when you’re younger, mostly playing. which worked quite well for many years, i learned to read early, i had a very advanced vocabulary, etc. but now that i’m older, i feel that i need to do more typical schooling. i’m falling behind, especially in math. i don’t know a single thing about stuff like algebra and i still have to use my fingers when multiplying.
then comes the social aspect, i have a good amount of friends, i know how to talk to people, and i don’t have any trouble making friends. but, i don’t go out, like ever. for at least five days out of the week i don’t see anyone besides my family, and for around three of those days i don’t even leave the house. i’m bored all the time and i spend most of my days on my phone. i also just want to be normal, whenever i meet someone the first questions they ask are “what grade are you in?” or “where do you go to school?” and i have to awkwardly explain i’m homeschooled and have never gone to school, and commonly people will start quizzing me as if i’m an idiot. i’m just tired of it and i want to feel included.
my main worries on going to school are, one, that i would fail. two, i have severe anxiety and i get overstimulated quite easily and i don’t do super well with large crowds, although i’m not super worried, because i adjust relatively quickly. and three, how long the days are and how early i have to wake up. since i‘ve been homeschooled for my whole life, i’ve always slept in. i go to bed around midnight and wake up around 11:00 which i obviously wouldn’t be able to do if i went to school. i think i would adjust, but that would definitely be one of the hardest parts.
please tell me your thoughts and opinions, thank you!!