avatarDestiny S. Harris

Summary

The author, Destiny S. Harris, shares her personal experience and rationale for choosing alternative education methods over traditional public schooling, citing eight key reasons that led to her decision.

Abstract

Destiny S. Harris provides a compelling argument for alternative education by detailing her transition from public school to homeschooling, distance learning, and alternative schooling after fifth grade. She emphasizes the value of time, flexibility, autonomy, travel opportunities, financial independence, reduced exposure to perceived school system inefficiencies, enhanced quality of education, and the avoidance of disruptive classroom environments. Harris highlights her ability to tailor her education to her interests and lifestyle, which ultimately led to her success in obtaining three university degrees, establishing a career in technology, and traveling the world. Her experiences underscore the potential benefits of non-traditional educational paths for students who may not thrive in conventional school settings.

Opinions

  • Time Management: The author values the time saved by not attending traditional school, allowing for more productive use of her day.

  • Flexibility and Autonomy: Harris appreciates the control over her schedule and learning pace that alternative education provided, which is often limited in public schools.

  • Travel and Cultural Exposure: She believes that travel is a crucial component of education, offering real-world experiences and cultural understanding that traditional schooling cannot match.

  • Financial Independence: The author advocates for the ability to earn money and develop entrepreneurial skills from a young age, which was facilitated by her alternative education.

  • Critique of Public School Curriculum: Harris is critical of the public school system, suggesting it includes unnecessary information, biased perspectives, and fails to teach practical life skills.

  • Quality of Education: She argues that alternative education can offer a more personalized and diverse educational experience, leading to a better quality of learning.

  • Classroom Environment: The author expresses frustration with the disruptive behavior of other students and the lack of genuine enjoyment in the traditional school setting.

  • Personal Success: Harris is confident that her success, including her university degrees and career, is a testament to the effectiveness of alternative education paths.

Life Lessons.

Here’s Why I Dropped Out Of Public School

8 surprising reasons to choose alternative learning methods

Photo by moren hsu on Unsplash

Disclaimer: I went with the homeschool, distance learning, and alternative schooling (you physically go to 1–3 classes a couple of times a week; the rest of your schoolwork you do on your own time) route.

After fifth grade, I knew it was time to head out. Going to public school five days a week sucked. It was a complete waste of time, and I didn’t need to waste eight hours of my day in a prison-like building with the information I could learn in the comfort of my home or on my travels. Ditching traditional school isn’t for everyone, but it was one of the best decisions I made in my life. Not only did I do public school, but I also went to private school for a year (they had much better food btw).

This article outlines the eight reasons I decided to call it quits with the public educational system.

Reason 1: More Time

8 hours. Not including travel time by bus or car to and fro from home. That’s how much time school steals from your day as a kid, pre-teen, and teenager. And if your school is regular (like most), you have to spend most of your time sitting in chairs that aren’t so comfy (but this is beside the point). I left public school because I desired more time. I didn’t need to waste 8 hours of my day anymore. I remember staring at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring at 3:00 o clock so that I could head home.

Time is of the essence, which is something I learned early on.

Reason 2: More Flexibility

When you aren’t stuck at school for most of the day, you have more flexibility to start and finish schoolwork at hours that work best for your learning style. If I needed to go to the doctor, travel, do a side gig, workout, sleep in, etc., I could because I wasn’t locked into that 8-hour school schedule that most kids are handcuffed to five days a week.

Reason 3: More Autonomy (Freedom)

Freedom is underrated, taken for granted, and underappreciated. How unusual is it to ask a teacher to go to the bathroom every time you need to eliminate waste from your body? How unusual is it to get permission to do every little basic thing from someone who is not even your parent or legal guardian? It was unusual for me.

School is not prison, but in some aspects, it can be. If you don’t follow the rules, you are immediately reprimanded or disciplined, and you have to abide by the school schedule, or else you’re labeled “bad” or a “problem child.”

Reason 4: More Travel

I have always enjoyed traveling. My parents gave me the travel bug, and thankfully we got to spend a lot of my childhood exploring new places and spaces; for this, I am eternally grateful. We took some epic road trips and flights to places that expanded my mind with invaluable knowledge, beliefs, and experiences.

When I attended school, I often had to skip because our family traveled a lot, so switching to alternative schooling options worked best for my family and me.

Reason 5: More Money

I started working as soon as I learned what work was and could offer me. I took every job my parents offered and found ways to work for myself. I was an Arbonne consultant at age 9 to help with my mom’s business. At age 11, I started my own business. I did modeling for a short time. And I got involved with plenty of side gigs: blogging, publishing books, working with my parents’ businesses, teaching music, e-commerce, and more. Earning money was always of interest to me; I constantly desired to have it and be resourceful.

Reason 6: Less Bullsh*t

I’m not saying the public system is a load of bull, but a lot of it is. We had to pledge allegiance to a flag in a chant-like fashion daily in elementary school. We learned about racist White men in history class who took credit for other people’s discoveries. Yet, we learned close to nothing about the history of minorities in intricate detail, which is super sketchy. For example, Martin Luther King changed the world, but he is not Black history; countless others contributed to our culture. Moreover, I can’t even name how many other cultures we never learned about, or if we did learn about them, the information was conveyed in a biased or incomplete manner, which is a complete shame on the American public school system considering America is one big melting pot of different cultures, people, and ethnicities.

Moving along.

We are taught to memorize facts and information that have nothing to do with the real world, and we are forced to take electives we have no interest in. We are taught grammar rules instead of how to articulate our thoughts in a meaningful way.

Ultimately, we are taught from a box, which keeps our thinking patterns in a box, limiting our long-term potential.

Reason 7: Better Quality Education

Alternative school, distance learning, and home-schooling were the best decisions my parents and I made. Not only did I have more flexibility with the curriculum I learned from, but I also had more autonomy and diverse educational experiences. I even traveled abroad to 6 countries in Europe in high school as part of an educational program. Furthermore, I took plenty of road trips and traveled to countries surrounding America on our new flexible schedule.

Reason 8: Annoying Students & No Fun

I can’t name how many times kids interrupted class or demonstrated plain whack behavior — including myself. I did what I could do to have fun, like trying my Taekwondo moves on a boy at recess, starting a raisin food fight at the lunch table, living it up at P.E. and recess (the best classes), and chatting with friends. But none of the surface fun was enticing enough for me to stay.

Final Thoughts

Ditching public school is one of the best things that happened to me.

  • I got three degrees in Political Science, Psychology, and Women’s Studies at an excellent University.
  • I work in technology.
  • I’ve traveled the world.
  • I’ve been able to work since I was a kid.

I didn’t need to go to public school to be my definition of success. I also never needed my parents to keep me accountable to get my school work down when I was homeschooled. Some kids are built for alternative schooling options — like me, some aren’t.

Destiny S. Harris is a writer, poet, entrepreneur, teacher, and techie who offers FREE books daily on amazon. Destiny obtained 3 degrees in political science, psychology, and women’s studies. Follow Destiny @ instagram, facebook, destinyh.com, mailing list, or join Destiny’s tribe.

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