Thinking About Going to Public School?

[Galla]

Hi.. So this year, I'm a teenage girl and I will be going in to the eigth grade. I have been homeschooled my entire life and I've never new what public school is like. Some people think I'm crazy to give up my advantage of staying at home, which I am going to miss.

But the only problem I have with homeschooling is that I can't make any friends. I'm the only child, so it's just me and mom all day. It gets boring. So I was just wondering, what is public school like? I live in a town where the crime rate is low, and the school I'm going to was just recently built two years ago.

Any advice? I do have some friends that I go to Church with, and all of them are public schoolers. They have told me some bad things that go on at some of the schools. Let me know, thanks!

[Ceilheb]

Public schools can be a good experience if you aren't a troublemaker.It's the same as home schooling but you get to socialize with other people.In my opinion,you should do what you want to do.

[lrgirl2013]

Public schools will be a lot different than home school but you will get used to it over time. There are some "bad stuff" that happens at school but most of it is minor behavior issues. Stuff like school shootings rarely happen and when they do, of course they are made to seem worse than they are by the media.

Depending on your school will depend on how many classes, and what classes, you have. Most schools require math, science, English, and social studies/history each year. Some schools require it both semesters while others don't and what is taught each semester depends on your state's curriculum. Once you get in high school you courses will vary and you'll have more of a choice. In middle school I had European History 6th grade year, African and Asian History 7th grade year, and NC History 8th grade year. As far as science went I had Geology 6th grade year, Environmental science 7th grade year, and Biology 8th grade year. You will take a repeat of some of those classes in high school (and even college) but they will be much more in depth and challenging. You'll have electives as well and most schools let you pick those. My middle school had electives ranging from art, chorus, band, orchestra, home economics, computer science, and microsoft computers.

Lunches normally range from 20-30 minutes and they will be different depending on schools and teachers. Some schools/teachers allow you to sit whereever you want while others require you to sit as a class. You are free to use the bathroom in between class change but class change is normally only anywhere from 3-7 minutes depending on the school. Depending on your teacher you may or may not be allowed to go to the bathroom during class. Rules will be explained on the first day.