Remember walking down the long, dimly lit aisle while "Pomp and Circumstance" was playing, while you fixed those stupid bobby-pins that barely held on that strange, square hat and you tried not to trip while wearing brand new shoes? Remember thinking, "Okay, I'm finally DONE!"? Most of us remember our graduation experience as something like that. Too bad I can’t remember Algebra...well, no I don‘t mean that.

After graduation many had the warped perception that it's done; the learning years behind us and it's time for a 'Real Life'. The cool thing about Homeschooling is that most homeschoolers already KNOW that this is not the case!

This is Cool Reason number nine (#9) because it homeschooling itself reminds us that graduation is not the goal; learning is the goal. Is a textbook or curriculum the only way to learn? Those of us who can't remember what a gerund is or how to find the square root of a number would say a resounding "NO"! Most of what we remember now we learned from life after school.

This is not reason for the homeschooled student to give up on studying. It IS, however, what is cool about homeschooling. Most homeschoolers already have more real life experiences than their traditionally schooled peers.

Some of those life lesson possibilities are: Working the family business/store, learning an entrepreneurial trade, exploring passions to see if they may be a career, learning lost arts such as sewing, baking, learning or making a hammered dulcimer, helping on the farm, or helping a widowed neighbor with home repairs. These life lessons are not taught in schools. They also have deeper ramifications than just keeping busy.

Dealing with freedom after graduation is also not taught in school systems. Sadly most parents may both work demanding careers, and don't know it's missing from their child's repertoire upon graduation.

With homeschooing, both the parent and the student have to learn to be accountable or really their lives go no where. Set your own schedule and live with the consequences, good and bad, following or not following, productive or unproductive. Homeschooled students have their own minds to make your OWN decisions such as: what to wear, who are your real friends and where you want to work, and live with the consequences of being able to make your own choices with out being left-out of the ’IN’ crowd

As adults hopefully we learned that it’s not best to blindly follow a crowd, or attempt to rebelling against the 'norm' of society simply to stand out for our own attention. The DEEPER life lessons are learned well before graduation for many homeschooled students. They really can be ahead of the game, and not just academically.

Blessings to your Family!

Donna L. Miller