Angela Smith | Inquisicook

How did you become a homeschool mom? Well, interestingly, I decided I wanted to homeschool when I was a teenager.

I was really bored in school and I went to a typical public school.

It wasn't particularly awful.

It wasn't particularly wonderful.

But I just was able to work through the material very quickly.

And then I would twiddle my thumbs and just be so bored.

And we would invent things to try to keep ourselves entertained.

Me and I had another friend that was kind of in the same boat.

And they had a gifted and talented program, but it was just once every couple of weeks, she went and did something extra.

It didn't solve the day-to-day malaise of the classroom.

So the solution was to put me to work in the cafeteria.

And so I worked in the cafeteria, school cafeteria for two hours every day in my late elementary school education.

And that was fine.

I've learned to be productive and it did take up some of the hours, but it wasn't a great educational choice.

When I got into junior high and high school, the boredom continued and, you know, idle hands are the devil's workshop.

And I found my way into a lot of trouble.

And it did not nurture a good work ethic in me because I could just show up and ace the test and not turn any homework in, which was not a good pattern.

But I just, I couldn't connect the purpose of the work with the outcome.

And one day I was watching a Phil Donahue show and they had a homeschool family on where I don't even remember who the homeschool family was.

Obviously, it was a pioneer because this was many years ago.

And, you know, the boys for their semester project were like wiring the house that they were building.

You know, it was like that type of thing.

And they were doing all these interesting things that were actually educational yet productive and practical.

And I made up my mind then, I am not going to send my children to sit and be bored in a public school.

I'm sure that there are many fine public schools out there.