By: Brianna Liburd & Sarah Comlan
For years, schools have been the standard way of receiving one’s education. At this point in time, it would seem as though it is the only way. However, a different form of learning has begun to make a more prominent appearance in our education systems. Unschooling, more commonly known as “Home schooling”, is typically when a child is taught about different topics and ideas from the comfort of their own home. With this form of learning, children are given the opportunity to flourish without the pressures of the modern day school system; all at their own pace. The school system that we are most familiar with, though efficient, has led to the loss of creativity and the soul crushing demise of the human spirit. Life for a student is far from easy. This tedious endeavor seems to most closely resemble a walk on a tightrope. And it doesn’t help that the system in place seems to be more in favour of the numbers we produce and not a scholar’s ability to manage the stress. Even now, as I type this article at 11 pm, my mind wanders back to the other homework I have yet to complete. Sleep has become a necessity many scholars often miss out on. There’s never any time for anything else. No time to breathe or think. To live. Over time, many students often find themselves losing the will to go forward: with school and life. Over the course of a single school year we’ve watched so many rising stars crash and burn. I’ve borne witness to the slow yet very obvious downfall of many great students: Laila Friday, Jelanie Mena, Ashayah Williams, Sarah Comlan, Hiram Gonzalez, Rashid Mohammed, etc. Myself included. Getting out of bed is my first obstacle and even once I do, I’m instantly overcome by a dread that stems from the deep roots of depression. It’s an amalgamation of the realities that I haven’t had the chance to truly deal with. That has been at the top of my list for as long as I could remember. I often imagine how different things would have been if I were actually able to put all my focus and passion into something I truly cared about. It pains me that I can no longer do the things that make me feel the most like myself. However, signs of weakness are not welcome in school. No one cares how you feel. Or whether or not you can handle it. When things get out of the control of authority. They try to shut you down. Discredit your pain and frustration. So, I’ve come to learn that the only way to survive is to compartmentalize everything. Or you’ll enter a dark spiral with no return. Or maybe it’s inevitable. One solution to this though, may be the idea of homeschooling.
There has been a peculiar stigma that if you’re homeschooled you tend to lack social skills but that’s far from the truth. In fact, social interactions between teenagers doesn’t solely revolve around the school setting. There are other ways of meeting kids your age. Additionally, homeschooled students aren’t plagued by the impossible standards other school students are forced to meet. My whole experience is based on cramming for tests that dictate whether I make it or not. They measure my intelligence by administering numerous exams based on topics that won’t even matter several years from now. Pushing me past my limits as if I’m a robot with no bounds. I honestly wish there was a safe word. Being in a modern school system--especially one as tedious as Bronx Prep--is probably not the best choice for a child. It’s a slow and agonizingly painful death. I reminisce about a time where my imagination held no bounds. That time has passed, I'm afraid. And dreadfully so! Logistically, studies have shown that children who are homeschooled are more likely to go to college and stay the whole 4 years. I believe this may be because the thought of “learning” doesn’t evoke a sense of dread in kids that have never actually been to school. They are more willing to push through the difficulties and learn because they were never forced to do so in the past. Overall, I think that homeschool can end the cycle of feeling helpless and imperfect. I wish, for the sake of young and creative minds everywhere, that the mode of education become an option as opposed to a watered down prison sentence.
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