“Being home schooled is what made me who I am today” Said Kimi Takikawa, a junior here at Piedmont College. She explains the pros and cons of being home schooled until coming to Piedmont. “I became more independent making my own lesson plans and making sure that I did my school work.” Being able to make your own lesson plans is definitely a pro of home schooling because it allows the student to go at the pace he or she feels most comfortable with. But it can also be a con allowing the student to slack off. I know plenty of students who were home schooled and graduated high school much earlier or even later than they should have. But, it is much harder for a student that was home schooled to get into college than for a student that went to public school because their transcripts are not from an accredited high school so most universities will not accept their application. Ms. Takikawa said that “Piedmont was really open; they made me feel like I was acceptable even though my transcripts weren’t from an accredited high school.”

I know that when I thought about home schooled kids I thought they didn’t have any friends or any activities to do. But there are actually sports and clubs for the home schooled to join. They aren’t deprived of a social life, they have dances, games and competitions to go to just like in a public or private school. One of the best things about being home schooled for Ms. Takikawa was that she was able to miss out on the high school drama. Who wouldn’t want to miss out on the popularity contest and the “clicks” in high school that we all wish we could just forget now? I believe that home schooling your children might not be that bad of an idea. It allows them to work at the pace that would be most beneficial to them and teaches them responsibility sooner in life.