What Did My High School Education Look Like at Home?

Question

“How did your parents handle when you got older and were studying harder subjects that aren’t as easy to teach?”

ANSWER

All education boils down to two things: the student putting in the work to educate himself, and the teacher getting the student's attention long enough and deeply enough to get him started and help him keep going.

- Oliver DeMille

What it looked like for me:

My parents allowed me a lot of freedom to learn what interested me when I reached “Scholar Phase.” Most days I preferred to go down to my bedroom and delve deeply into a subject and then come up for lunch and breaks with the family.

I was excited to tell my parents about what I was learning, and if I needed a resource they could help with that.

To get the foundation, I learned from great professors, on DVD and in person; but much of my education was self-directed. When you’ve reached Scholar Phase, the world seems like it is filled with endless possibilities for learning; so coming up with what you want to learn next isn’t hard to do.

What Did I Choose to Study?

My interests included:

ordering a cocoon and watching a butterfly hatch

writing an essay on how music affects the brain

studying the creation in depth

studying hair follicles under the microscope and how chemicals work to highlight or perm hair

reading a book on evolution and coming to my own conclusions

listening to a course on herbal medicine (and learning how the body works)

practicing investing and personal finances

starting three small businesses

learning to draw and paint and then winning State competitions

teaching and commissioning art

practicing piano 2-4 hours a day and putting together a Senior Recital. attending seminary

singing in a high school choir

participating in 7 dance classes a week with my siblings (for 6 months)

studying physics

hike and identify flowers in a nearby state park

learning German

playing guitar

painting while sitting at a lake

typing

becoming a teachers aid to study how preschoolers learn

dissecting frogs and owl pellets with friends