Class is in Session

Did you know that I was homeschooled? I was, and I'm happy that I was. Wouldn't change a thing. My parents wanted to teach me what they believed what was important, not what the government believed was important. You know... slightly opposing beliefs and all. This was especially the case since Italy has a completely different culture. Mom and Dad wanted me to be American... go figure. Anyway, it educated me in more ways than one. It taught me a lot more than what a square root is, where Switzerland is located, or that a whale is in fact not a really big fish. I learned how to have a good work ethic, good time management, and think independently.

With my mom there was no getting by on shoddy work. Things had to be done right. And if they weren't, then they had to be redone. I didn't have the option of accepting the grade of an "F" or "D" and living with it. I remember many a time taking my work to Mom and asking, "is this good enough?" Then she would either explain what I did wrong and tell me to fix it or she would sign it with those coveted letters "DJ" (and no she did not mix beats in late night Italian clubs... those are her initials). Those two letters were like her seal of approval and I had to get them or else the work was not done.

In addition to getting my work done up to snuff, I also had to work quickly. When faced with completing a fixed amount of material by end of the year or else not get a summer break, studies started to get finished. Its funny how the prospect of being free from school over the summer can motivate a kid to do school work with such enthusiasm. Talk about the ultimate carrot and stick for a young boy. This was my time management in action. I had some major deadlines and the faster I did my work the more I had a surplus of summer time!

Over the years I was homeschooled, I learned how to get work done well and on time so I was given more and more freedom. By the time I was in high school I basically learned on my own. I would read through books or work through computer programs and complete the lessons assigned. My parents were more like supervisors at this point. The instructor's manual for my math books were even open to me! But my conscience was aways too loud and obnoxious for me to peek at the answers before I gave it a shot on my own. It was nice to be trusted by my parents. It taught me how to work on my own. It really prepared me for how to study in college.

I think that these life lessons that are learned through my process of learning have prepared me more than any set of facts ever could. These values are like the hammer that drives the factual nails into the wall of life!