Jaidyn Robinson is a family-oriented and talented softball player, color guard participant, and home-schooled student. Robinson loves her sport, and anyone can tell that just by watching her play in any game. Robinson also loves spending time with her family, including her two brothers and three sisters. Robinson has never had any interest in attending public school. “I love spending time with my family at home,” Robinson said. She and her siblings have always been home-schooled by their mom.
Like Jaidyn Robinson, her younger brother Jonah Robinson, a freshman, is also involved in multiple sports and in the band. He agreed that he likes being home-schooled and has never wanted to attend public school. Jonah is involved with baseball, basketball, soccer, and band. Between sports and band, neither Jaidyn nor Jonah has never felt socially isolated. “I get plenty of socialization with sports,” Jaidyn said.
Robinson doesn’t find many differences between home-schooled kids and public school students, other than home-schooled students being more introverted compared to public schoolers, and she said that fitting into public school friend groups. is a struggle home-schooled kids deal with.
A difference that Jonah has found between the two types of students is essentially the way they learn. “We as homeschoolers get to pick our curriculum instead of being forced to use the school’s curriculum. We are also able to do school whenever our parents choose to leave room for extra activities that would be labeled as PE or Home-Ec in public schools,” Jonah said.
While Robinson’s homeschool experience has been amazing, and she wouldn’t have it any other way, not all homeschool kids feel the same way.
Ryan Scheetz, a freshman at Delta High School who used to be homeschooled, said that his homeschool experience overall was good. One of the very few downsides was “You don’t have a teacher to help you with more in-depth work, and you don’t get to see your friends every day.”
He came back to resume his public school career because he missed his friends, and he is very happy to be back. Although homeschool might not be for everyone, “I would recommend it to kids who don’t like people and have a good work ethic,” Scheetz said.
Scheetz was homeschooled by his parents, and through an online program, he started homeschooling to get ahead of the curve and to have more time for work and fun.
Another person who preferred public school after trying homeschool is Dakota Elsass. Elsass said that he started homeschooling because “ I wasn’t doing too well in school at the time, so I felt like I needed a small break while still learning a bit.” It seemed to work for him. Elsass came back for more socialization. Elsass came back for a similar reason as Ryan Scheetz: “The lack of socializing along with the lack of proper learning.”
When Elsass started homeschool, he was in sixth grade, and he resumed his public school experience in his freshman year of high school. “It was somewhat of a slow and horrible start as I had no past friends and freshman year was chaotic,” Elsass said.
Along with high school band and sports, Robinson also plays for a competitive softball team called the Slammers, based out of Englewood, Colorado. WIth her school work, sports, and band, she stays busy, and she thinks keeping up with extracurricular activities is a lot easier being homeschooled because she doesn’t necessarily have a certain time her assignments need to be turned in, and she doesn’t get grades for anything.
Robinson is a first baseman, outfielder, and she is a right-handed pitcher. Jenna Sutliff, the head softball coach at Delta High School, thinks coaching Robinson has been a rewarding experience.
`Sutliff said that she is always focused and consistent while she plays. Sutliff states she also plays a leadership role for her team and her peers. With Robinson being a senior next year, Sutliff said, “While it’s bittersweet knowing her time in the program is nearing its end, it has been so rewarding coaching her these past few years, and I can’t wait to see how she takes her opportunities.”
Robinson is loved on the Delta High School Softball team, and though it may seem that all home-schooled kids are “isolated” and deprived of socialization, she is the exact opposite. With all her extracurriculars, she stays active and busy while also staying close to her family and spending time at home.
