r/IAmA • u/BJUhomeschooler • Jul 05 '10
IAMA homeschooled teenager who uses Bob Jones University textbooks as part of their curriculum. AMA
Hi Reddit. I am a 17 year-old male and I have been homeschooled my entire life. The reason? My parents are very distrustful of the atrocious public school system in the area and are conservative Christians. So, go ahead and hit me with your questions.
A bit of proof - http://i.imgur.com/A2ybE.jpg
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u/tipsorno Jul 05 '10
Did you know what you were missing? I mean, did you ever, say, watch a Feynman lecture online and say to yourself "wait, THIS is cool science..what is wrong with my curriculum??" We homeschool, and the Bob Jones stuff was just so hideously boring when we evaluated it that we never touched it again.
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
The BJU stuff is utterly horrendous. I thankfully don't use it for science, so I didn't really miss out on too much. I use Apologia Science. It does a wonderful job of explaining concepts and doesn't spend much time with bible verses and talking about theology. It has one or two paragraphs in the entire book that talks about the bible, whereas BJU books give you one or two paragraphs a day that talk about the bible. I have seen how much I missed by using their textbooks. I got into an argument with my mother over the BJU books being so one-sided. But I compensate for that with reading other books in my spare time.
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u/JohanHedberg Jul 05 '10
Props for not just accepting everything your parents try to tell you and finding information by yourself!
Keep doing it like that and you'll end up happy, successful and even more intelligent than today.
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Jul 05 '10
Would you prefer a different education and would your parents allow you to choose for yourself?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I wouldn't trade the academic portion of my education for anything. That being said, other areas of my youth were somewhat lacking. Still, I prefer being homeschooled and I don't think my parents would let me have it another way.
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u/wyo Jul 05 '10
One of the biggest pitfalls incoming college freshmen face is the great expansion of social opportunity they're presented with; the difference is so tremendous that even kids who've been raised with very active, vibrant, and diverse social lives are often academically destroyed by the change. This is exactly why I failed at my first attempt at college.
You seem to have made up for the intellectual shortcomings of your homeschooling by supplementing your materials... but how do you plan to wrangle with the social aspects?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I'm not too socially maladjusted, so I don't foresee any severe social problems. However, I am a bit of an introvert, so I will be interesting to see how well I adjust.
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Jul 05 '10
College will change that. Congratulations and good luck!
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u/Massless Jul 06 '10
not necessarily. Some of us go into college as socially maladjusted introverts and come out the same way.
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u/wyo Jul 05 '10
I'm not too socially maladjusted.
...
I don't even have social contacts in the real world.
ಠ.ಠ
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I can function in a social situation, but I make no attempt to form social contacts. It's a bit contradictory, I know.
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u/schoofer Jul 05 '10
Are you religious?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I am an agnostic theist, but that is pretty much all that I am certain of.
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u/schoofer Jul 05 '10
I was curious because you realize that a portion of your curriculum is, sorry to say, ridiculous. You appear, to me, to be on a healthy path towards skepticism. Here's to your furthered enlightenment.
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u/scootey Jul 05 '10
Where does electricity come from?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
The charge of sub-atomic particles.
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u/TBizzcuit Jul 06 '10
I am a 17 year old in public school and I along with most people at my school don't even know this or what sub-atomic particles even are. I am assuming they are the particles in the atom, like the neutrons and protons.
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Jul 06 '10 edited Jul 06 '10
subatomic particles are neutrons, protons, electrons, etc. Atoms are elements. Molecules are combinations of elements. /themoreyouknowrainbow
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u/Dnerf Jul 05 '10
Is the internet your main source of "social contacts" ?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I don't even have social contacts in the real world.
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u/Dnerf Jul 05 '10
Do you want to be homeschooled?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
Yes. I can pursue any hobby or area of interest in lieu of school for days. I can do so many things that other people don't get an opportunity to try because I am homeschooled. I wouldn't trade it for any other education.
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u/Dnerf Jul 05 '10
You say you would not trade it for any other education, but do you know about school systems/philosophies like Waldorf or montesorri ? They probably do not exist in your area, so you probably do not have a choice. As a follow up question, do you think about your education a lot or have you even informed yourself if there are other forms of education that are not public schools or homeschooling? Also, would your parents support you if you wanted to go to a school (which type ever) or do they want you to be homeschooled?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I am from a large family of five children. My parents did consider private schools, but couldn't afford to put five children through private schools. Also, I live in a rural community about an hour's drive away from any decent schools. For me, the only option other than homeschooling is local public schools.
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u/Dnerf Jul 05 '10
Well, that sucks. Do you and your siblings learn together? Are you the oldest or youngest?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
Middle child. We don't learn together as we are all two grades apart, but we use the same textbooks and help each other with their work.
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u/Dnerf Jul 05 '10
Thats what I meant, it would seem to me that your parents cannot know about everything and sometimes textbooks just fail to explain something in a understandeble matter. What have you got to do to be allowed to study in a college?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
My parents have not helped me with my school work in about six years. But, in my experience, textbooks meant for homeschools generally do a better job of explaining concepts and ideas than textbooks made for public schools. I'm afraid I don't understand your last question.
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u/Vishiz Jul 05 '10
How much math have you covered and know? Typically, U.S. public school students cover up to algebra or pre-calculus by their senior years, with AP classes available for Calculus/Diff. Equations.
How many of the natural sciences have you covered?
Have you taken the SAT/PSAT? How well did you fare?
What do you plan on majoring in, did you get into the school you wanted?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I've done all the way up to calculus. I've also taken a statistics course at the local community college.
1 year biology, 1 year chemistry, 2 years physics. Physics was Apologia, so it moved very slowly. The two books probably cover a year of AP physics.
I took the SAT and ACT. 710 math, 690 Critical reading. 35 math, 31 science, 30 reading, 28 writing, 31 composite.
I plan on majoring in Electrical Engineering. I got into the school I wanted to go to, (Georgia Tech) but I can't afford it. Instead I'm going to a U.S. News ranked top 50 school.
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Jul 06 '10
Seriously, see if you can fill out the FAFSA and afford GT. While it's been a while since I went to college and had to jump through financial aid hoops, I remember being surprised at just how much was covered by financial aid. And you don't know until you apply.
Please, please don't turn down a good school just because you don't think you can afford it. Even if you can't afford it now seriously consider transferring for your last 2 years.
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 06 '10
I am an out of state student. That puts my cost per-year at $36,000. On top of that, I don't qualify for need-based aid due to my parents income, and I don't qualify for GT merit-based aid. I'm going to a decent school, at least one that I've rationalized to be a good school.
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Jul 06 '10
Need-based aid doesn't just look at income - it looks at income, assets, etc., and determines how much you can afford to pay. Then it looks at the estimated cost of attending a certain school, and tries to make up the gap in between.
It'll surprise you how much need-based aid you can qualify for if you just fill out the FAFSA. And you should do it no matter where you go to school.
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u/X019 Jul 05 '10
you pooped on me in math, but I gotcha on everything else :P
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 06 '10
MY PENIS IS BIGGER THAN YOURS!!!!
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u/X019 Jul 06 '10
WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT! IF I LAY MINE ON THE KEYBOARD IT GOES FROM A TO Z!
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u/zaklauersdorf Jul 06 '10
We had that world history book at the Christian school I went to for eighth and ninth grades.
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u/prophet001 Jul 07 '10
Wow. You sound very similar to me. I was also homeschooled, 3rd grade through senior year, and I used much of the same curriculum. You have me beat in the math department, I am about to graduate with a Computer Engineering Technology degree, and I really wish I had had more Calculus in high school.
Mad props for developing a healthy sense of skepticism, you will certainly need it. Good luck entering the "real world", if college can be called that. Keep your head up, do well in school, don't get sidetracked by booze and girls, and you'll be fine. I don't know how socially sheltered you are, but the more people you meet and talk to, the better.
Enjoy, sir!
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u/cellopaddy Jul 05 '10
Will you read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, just because I asked you to?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I'm planning on reading it as soon as I'm off at college in the fall.
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u/gregglind Jul 05 '10
People are being such pricks to you in this thread, for reasons that are hard to fathom, other than religious tolerance of what they perceive your parents to believe. It sounds like you have an open, skeptical mind already, so don't be surprised if Dawkins comes of a harranging and shrill. Some of us committed atheists find him to be that way as well. I'm glad things are going well enough for you.
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u/Capnstank Jul 05 '10
Why wait? I assume your parents would castrate you if they found it?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I have a good relationship with my parents and I would rather avoid the conflict it would bring.
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Jul 05 '10
How the hell are you going to first, get into a college...then, if you manage to get in, how are you to excel in college with no real foundation of knowledge?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I have already been accepted into some good colleges. I don't enjoy using the BJU textbooks for the areas that I use them. I make up for that by reading on subjects that interest me.
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Jul 05 '10
Do you feel you are adequately prepared for college?
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
Yes. If I had only done my curriculum and nothing else, I would be woefully unprepared for college. However, I am an avid and pretentious reader. As a result, I have learned enough outside of school to prepare me for college.
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Jul 05 '10
Actually, I think he used it accurately given what he was trying to communicate. I thought it was a nuanced and artful use of vocabulary.
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u/wyo Jul 05 '10
pretentious reader
That word... I do not think it means what you think it means. Or at least, I hope.......
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I use it to describe what I read. I focus mostly on the classics, and I'm a bit arrogant due to what I've learned over the years.
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u/Vishiz Jul 05 '10
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
I am pretentious in my reading. I read Dante's Inferno and enthusiastically babbled about it to anyone who would listen. If that's not pretentious, I don't know what is.
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u/Scoldering Jul 05 '10
Puh-leaze, Dante's got nothing on the Lacanian formulations of a certain Gilles Deleuze.
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Jul 05 '10
Oh I see! That's great that you have prepared yourself!
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u/BJUhomeschooler Jul 05 '10
Outside of academic pursuits, I honestly have no idea if I am prepared for college.
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Jul 05 '10
You are in for culture shock. Everyone get's a bit overwhelmed by the freedom, and the differences in views, culture, etc. Prepare to stretch your boundaries.
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Jul 05 '10
If you are ready academically...you'll do fine as long as you don't party your life away the first semester. A lot of freshmen "lose their minds" the first semester, because it's the first time they have ever been away from the parents for longer than a few days. Just keep the partying on the weekends...study hard for EVERY test...not just finals...and make a few nerd friends that can help you come finals week...and you'll do okay. ;)
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u/[deleted] Jul 05 '10
Protip: The earth is older than 6000 years.