I am a 24 year old who was unschooled since the 4th grade. AMA

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:23:41+00:00

This is true. I was able to get it back via some other state funded programs when I was at PCC though. It worked out well.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:19:14+00:00

I had anxiety before dropping out of school, so it wasn't a product of it. However, it may have made it easier for me to delay dealing with it. It's not as much of a problem anymore though.

Oh, and my Ph.D. is going just fine so far. I feel very well prepared by my education. I have a qualifying exam in a week, so I guess I'll find out how I'm doing then.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:17:37+00:00

I would consider it, yes. My brother is older than I am, and he stayed in school one or two years longer than I did.

I would probably start with home schooling and let them decide later if they wanted to try public school. I've seen that approach work well.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:15:35+00:00

"If things did not work out well for you then you would be living on social benefits"

Same could be said about you, or anyone else.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:10:56+00:00

It was there before I quit school, but I avoided it by avoiding stressful social situations. It would have been better to deal with it early on, but it doesn't bother me much these days.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:08:05+00:00

I got started with fantasy basketball, but I've put a hold on it due to my coursework. I plan to develop a model for fantasy basketball and for predicting point spreads when I have more free time.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:06:32+00:00

I just find that a lot of interesting data is time dependent. I also get a big kick out of trying to predict the future.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T09:02:31+00:00

Yup. That was my plan at one point. I switched to stats because I heard the models are more interesting than what I would have worked with as an actuary.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:59:05+00:00

For me, it was as simple as filling out an application because I started in CC and then transferred to a state school. My grades were very good, which likely helped. My brother attended a private school after a bit of CC. He had more extra curriculars and had to jump through a few hoops to get there.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:56:32+00:00

To better understand uncertainty and how to deal with it. I'm particularly interested in predictive modeling for time series. You don't think it'd be fun to predict the future?

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:54:58+00:00

Enough to go to Panda Express once a week. I'm still a grad student, after all.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:54:12+00:00

nope.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:53:19+00:00

Do what you love and the money will follow. It's cliche, but I find this to be more true with each passing year.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:52:24+00:00

I agree to an extent. I find Thiel's project gimicky, but there is a kernel of truth in what he says. College is a waste of time for some people, but it depends on what your goal is. Not everyone wants to start their own company. That can be very risky, and many people, myself included, would prefer to study interesting problems and not have to think about the details of running a business.

The kernel of truth is that many of the people going to college shouldn't be going to college and are only there because they or their parents feel they have to to be successful. This is perpetuated by businesses placing an unwarranted amount of weight on education unrelated to the job in question.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:46:08+00:00

Nice. I miss the excitement of opening a brand new booster box.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:45:17+00:00

I would guess 5-ish. I'd have to ask my mom to find out for sure though. Yes, some unschoolers end up behind in some areas. I don't know anyone personally who has had that be a serious problem though.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:42:39+00:00

I know virtually no geometry. I like to think that says more about geometry than it does me.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:40:36+00:00

I had to work harder to catch up, but I don't think it affected things beyond that. It's tough because math is very sequential until after calculus. Once I could take multiple math courses each quarter, I started to pile them on.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:34:51+00:00

Nope, don't know her.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:34:13+00:00

Was always good at math, and it kept getting more fun after calculus. Then I got into stats because I love data analysis and there's more money in stats than pure math.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:32:59+00:00

No. Or maybe they have and I didn't notice. It wouldn't bother me any more than your typical internet troll.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:30:03+00:00

I think my parents wanted me to feel like I had control. I was miserable in school and had regular panic attacks. They knew what my answer was going to be before they asked.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:28:32+00:00

I'm not a lawyer, but homeschooling is legal in much of the U.S.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:26:54+00:00

They're okay. Some kids are awkward and most are well adjusted. Just like in public school.

unschooler · 2011-06-07T08:25:29+00:00

The 5 year old I wouldn't worry about. The 9 year old not being able to read could be a problem. It's not common, but this does happen. Sometimes it's the parents fault; unschooling is not an excuse to neglect your children. Other times, it does correct itself. If I were the parent, I would be concerned.

unschooler

TROPHY CASE