My home is my classroom.

• Position: Voices - Homeschooling

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE--Ever since I started grade school, I've been homeschooled. When people ask what school I attend, my response usually provokes a frown, as if there's something wrong with me. I feel that's because homeschooling has been made out to seem less real than a public school education.

Some people seem to think that you are homeschooled because you're dumb or because you got in trouble for playing hooky from school. That's not so in my case. My parents decided to homeschool me and my brothers and sisters because they felt that they could provide us with the best education. They also didn't want to expose us to the distractions of a public school. I have seven siblings who are being homeschooled, in grade levels ranging from 1st to 11th. In addition, my oldest brother was homeschooled and has since gone on to college.

One misconception is that because I'm homeschooled I don't actually "go to school"--that I sit around talking on the phone, reading magazines, or watching TV. Not true. My classroom is the dining room most of the time, and my parents give the lessons, starting at around 8:30 every morning. (My 16 year-old sister and I share class time. She's in the 11th grade and I am in the 12th.) I start off with English, then math, and then I read the paper to learn about current events. At around 12:30, my parents let us have a lunch break. School resumes at 1:00, and I finish up with vocabulary, science, and computer instruction. I take tests and quizzes, too, and I have homework (usually two to three hours per night). I...