Chenise's High School Home Study Experience

by Chenise Upshur
(TN)

1. How long were you homeschooled? I was homeschooled my entire life from Kindergarten all the way through the 12th grade.

2. Did you ever want to be schooled in a public or private school? Early on I wanted to participate in team sporting events so I wanted to be in a school environment for that purpose; but once we discovered club sports I was fine.

3. What did you most enjoy about home education? The ability to pace myself. I am a fast learner and being able to go ahead or deep dive on a particular topic that really piqued my interest was great.

4. What did you least enjoy about home education? Nothing comes to mind.

5. How would you summarize your parents' reasons for schooling you at home? My mother had been a public school teacher. I feel like she felt that the crazy ratios and lack of undivided attention that I would receive in a public setting wouldn’t be to my best interests. In addition, they wanted to have the opportunity to school me from a Christ – centered paradigm.

6. Are you planning to home school your children? As a single mom that will not be an option for me at this time.

7. Did you take any classes outside your home? How was that experience? Yes. I took my advanced Math courses and all of my science lab courses outside of home. I feel that this was very beneficial to me because I wouldn’t have gotten the same hands on in a science lab just because we didn’t have that type of equipment at home.

8. What were some of the comments/questions you received from peers or adults while you were schooled at home? “Wow!!! You’re not socially awkward at all!”  my personal favorite

9. Do you think home education adequately prepared you for college, trade school, or your career? Why or why not? Yes I do. And I say this because I look at what I have accomplished. I went to and graduated from Vanderbilt University with 2 degrees on an academic scholarship and I have a great job with unlimited possibilities ahead of me.

10. If the clocks were turned back, would you want to be homeschooled again? Yes, I would. I had a blast and I learned a lot!!!