Can I really homeschool high school? I see this topic asked about, or commented on, over and over again on social media, or during one on one or group conversations. People think it is impossible to continue home education through high school and they need some other kind of diploma. People think it’s far too difficult to “teach” a teenager, or to provide them with “enough”. I have already graduated one child, who decided to go on to college, completed one semester, and did exceedingly well. He has a parent issued diploma and a parent made transcript. His college accepted his transcript with no issues and never asked for his diploma. I have currently a 16 year old in what public school would place her as 11th grade. I can only speak from my experience (but I do know there are many parents who graduated teenagers).

I hear this a lot, “I don’t have the patience” to educate my kids at home, or “I can’t get my child to do the work”. Also, I hear parents say their kid begs to go to public school and the parents either do it or consider it because they just keep butting heads with their child. They say their teenager refuses to get out of bed, complete work, doesn’t try, etc. Some seem to think people like myself that continue the journey must have some special skill or ability or never have those issues. I’m here to tell you, that is not so. My youngest began educating at home before she would be entering 5th grade in the public school system. She did not want to leave public school. The decision, however, was not hers, it was mine, I’m the parent. I decided what was in the best interest for my children, despite what a 5th grader thought. She came around pretty quick to the idea, but even if she hadn’t, she wasn’t going back to public school. So, do I have some special skill or ability to continue home education? No. Have my children always done what they were told? Absolutely not. Has school at home never been difficult to do? There are some difficult times. Have I never felt overwhelmed? Of course I have. Haven’t you considered putting them back into public school then? Not even once. That is the absolute truth. My reasons for taking them out of government school don’t change because I have a difficult time getting a child to complete work, or follow the directions or because my teenager gives me an attitude of anger, annoyance, or whatever else. For me personally I can’t imagine any scenario where I would put my child back into the government school system, willingly.