Q. Homeschool?! Are you on drugs??? I'll ask you again tommorow to make sure you aren't drunk. (Thank you, Brian, for that lovely assumption!)
A. No, I'm not on drugs, nor am I drunk. I get mixed reactions when I mention homeschool to people. The very few who are educated in the field seem happy and very supportive of me, a majority of the people don't flip out, but merely ask why and are always content with my reasons/answers (However some grill me more than others). Then there are those much like Brian. Hopefully there will be a lot less of these people in the future once homeschool is more common.

Q. What exactly to you do at homeschool, and who teaches you?
A. This varies from person to person. Some hire tutors, some are taught by their parents, and some simply teach themselves. In my case, I teach myself, but am also tested/checked up on by my father. As for what I do? Whatever I want, in a sense. Homeschool is definately *not* for slackers, and the unmotivated. Yes, there are certain objectives that I have to follow, but these objectives are set by me as well. Before starting homeschool, I had to make a list of activities that I could do for each subject. (Math, English, History, etc.) You can see an example of what this should look like here. The entire point of homeschool is so that I can actually learn and enjoy it. Also that I can learn what I'm interested in learning, and learning things that will be of use to me in the future, depending on what I should decide to do.

[Further comments from Eryn: I want to say I disagree -- I think learning happens all the time, whether it is stuctured (you teaching yourself, setting objectives) or unstructured (unschooling, learning by doing, reading, living). I don't think you have to be motivated to teach yourself to learn.]

Q. Now, honestly... are you learning more with homeschool than you were at public school?
A. Yes. Honestly. Now this may not be the case for everyone, because not everyone has the independence, will power, and motivation to do something like this. Not only am I learning all of the facts taught in school, but I'm learning life lessons that are very important. Most public school kids aren't getting the kind of experience and freedom that I am.

Q. How are you going to get into college if you don't get a diploma?
A. Well, first there's the GED. This test comes in five parts, and each part takes about 45 minutes - 1 hour. You can take the tests seperately, like one test per week, and you'll have it done in a little over a month. This purpose of this test is to prove that you have a highschool education, nothing more. As you go through your homeschooling, you make a journal, recording everything you do. You also must put together a portfolio (Kind of what you would do for art school). This portfolio will go to your college of choice upon application. Most colleges will accept this, and they are becoming more and more open minded to accepting homeschoolers all the time.

Q. What about really hard classes that you can't teach yourself?
A. Assuming that you mean things like calculus, chemistry, and the like. These classes are offered at many places. Try talking to local colleges. Also, in many places there are homeschool groups that offer classes. You could also always hire a private tutor (Or a group tutor).

[Further comments from Sarah: There are also a number of organizations on the internet for homeschooled students. My parents teach classes for the Institute for the Study of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This school is an irc chat-room school which basically teaches homeschooled students college prep courses. Some students might use the school as a way to learn about certain subjects which their parents might not know very much about -- especially at the high-school level. For more information on this, go here.]

Q. How do you meet people and make friends?
A. First off all, as a homeschooler, you make a much wider variety of friends. Not just your peers, but adults, and younger people as well. You can meet them in a number of places, be it a homeschool group, at work, parties, or just about anywhere. Just because you aren't shut up in a building with lots of people your age all day, doesn't mean you can't meet people and have a social life.