OPINION: Interview with homeschooled student Rachel Foy

During the early years, Rachel’s parents used a variety of sources to homeschool, including such curriculums as A Beka, Learning at Home, Saxon, Math-U-See and Bob Jones, but they decided to use an accredited high school program called Light House Christian Academy for high school. Both Rachel and her brother were sent official high school diplomas upon completion.

When I asked Rachel if she liked being homeschooled, she said she loved it. “I got to sleep until 10:00. I would get up and finish my school before all my friends came home from school. I also had more free time to do stuff I enjoyed.”

Her dad was in the military, so they lived many different places, and she says they were able to take some amazing field trips. They visited Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, the Grand Canyon, James Town, and many aquariums, zoos and museums.

There was a time during her middle school years that she wished she went to public school. She said her friends would come home talking about their teachers and classes, and she felt left out. Her parents tried to understand how she felt, but they reminded her that they were doing what they felt was best.

She says during this period her mother allowed her to pretend she was going to public school. “I would get up, pack my back pack, say bye to my mom, walk to the end of my driveway and then turn around and walk to ‘school.’ This only lasted a few months before I realized that I really did enjoy being homeschooled.”

She says she also grew up knowing a lot of other homeschoolers, though most of her friends went to public school. She says her homeschooled friends all enjoyed their experiences and are doing well now. A lot of her friends who went to public school told her they wished they could be homeschooled.

Rachel says she has dreamed of becoming a veterinarian ever since she was five years old, so she’s planning to transfer to UGA and major in Animal Science. She hopes that eventually she’ll be accepted into vet school at either UGA or Auburn.

As I have written before, there are many different kinds of homeschooling families, and there are many different reasons that parents chose to homeschool their children.

As a parent who is planning to attempt this road for her children, it does me good to meet a young adult who values her experience and who is working hard to succeed in her future. I can only hope that my boys will feel the same way.

Shelli Bond Pabis is a Winder resident and columnist for the Barrow Journal. You can send comments about this column to shelli@mamaofletters.com.