Thanks for taking a moment to read a request from a forum newbie.
I’ll try to keep it brief. Also, please excuse me if I’ve posted to the wrong forum and the moderators can feel free to move my post if there is another spot that is more appropriate.
I am a former homeschool student and a freelance journalist currently attending the University of Texas at Austin. I received my high school diploma from the American School of Correspondence in 2001.
The reason for my post is that I am beginning work on a freelance story about the lives of homeschoolers and their families. In addition to covering some of my own experiences with homeschooling, I am interested in speaking with any homeschoolers and parents who wish to share their stories. In particular, I am interested in two groups:
1.) Students and parents who have just began homeschooling, with an emphasis on what went into the decision to homeschool and how that decision was made, and
2.) Those who have been homeschooling for a long period of time or have already completed the process
I’d like to stress that, as a former homeschool student, I intend to give a fair and balanced portrayal of the homeschool experience that is free of any bias or agenda. Homeschooling had both positive and negative effects on me, and in general I find it to be a complicated subject in need of careful examination. To that end, I hope to hear from a broad range of homeschoolers and parents in order to paint an honest picture of what it’s like to be homeschooled.
These interviews would be conducted by telephone or email and the story itself would be published in a yet to be determined publication. Ideally I’d like to have the opportunity to speak with current and former homeschool students, but I am equally interested in speaking with parents of homeschoolers.
To give you some idea of my writing background, I have written for the Daily Texan at the aforementioned University of Texas, and I served as editor in chief of my previous college newspaper. I hope to have this particular story published in a national magazine if all goes well.
If you’d like to share your story, please reply or PM me so that I may provide my contact information.
Thank you.