Well, hey there bloggin' friends. How goes? It's been a while! Sorry about that. Well, actually, I'm not sorry. I've had a lot of time to think about a lot of things, so I think this little break has been good. Plus I don't know if anyone actually reads this. But I'm back and I am into this stuff! So let's start, shall we?
My life has changed a little since we last spoke. I am now unemployed and this didn't happen by choice. Yep, I'm a bum. And I hate it. I really, really hate it. But I'm job searching right now and it's going okay! I just have to be patient. I've also just joined a new choir and that makes me SO happy. It's such a refreshing atmosphere.
So I have been thinking about a lot of stuff, but what I'm going to write about today, I actually just thought of, like, five minutes ago. My opinions and thoughts on this are super underdeveloped, so please don't judge me, I'm just thinking out loud over here.
My best friend and I talk a lot about technology. It's amazing; the way we've progressed, the things we know now that we wouldn't have, the unbelievable connection between people all over the world, etc., etc. It's great and it opens up so many doors that wouldn't have been opened otherwise.
Now, take a second and think of homeschooled kids. We all know a few and maybe you are a homeschooled kid yourself (Hi!). I really don't want to overgeneralize and offend and say that all homeschooled kids are "weird" because that's rude. I think there's definitely a ton of benefits that come from a homeschooled environment. You have an endless amount of class options, school only takes about three hours a day, you can wear your pyjamas 24 hours a day without judgement; overall, it sounds like a pretty sweet lifestyle! But we all know that if you are homeschooled, there is a disadvantage that is pretty common throughout the population: social skills. Many (not all) homeschooled children lack social skills. When faced with this fact, I think of all of the things I've learned throughout my thirteen years in school but not in class: wrong facts about sex at the age of eight, being exposed to the cruelty of some of my peers' parents, learning that it was cool to use bad language and all the rest of that fun stuff. When I reflect on all of those things, I almost wish that I hadn't been exposed to so much social interaction. It made me really confused and I think it made me grow up a lot faster than I should have. But, it also made me the person I am today, and I think that having those experiences really shaped my worldview.
So! Back to technology. This is the main reason why I wrote this post at all (sorry if it seems a little scattered). More than anything, I really wanted to ask what people think about this: Is it possible, in our day and age, for homeschooled children to become socially adept with such easy access to technology? There are SO many opportunities for communication and connection with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Can these kids grow up being confined to their homes and still have the same kind of confusing, weird, uncomfortable experiences that I had in my public school days? I really hope so. I had never thought of this aspect of technology until today and I think it might end up being one of the most helpful. If these social media websites can bring these kids out of their shells, we might have a whole new, better, more free form of education to consider. Let me know what you think guys! Again, this is really underdeveloped, but I would absolutely love to hear your opinions and broaden my horizons. Have a nice day!
P.S. I'll be starting a food blog soon! If you like yummy vegetarian eats, it might be right up your alley.
