Can I educate myself?

Question

I've dropped out of school,so have bought loads of books on different subjects and stuff which cover what they are doing.

Will this give me a full education?

Answer 1

Hypothetically, you could.  The problem is . . . you don't have any proof that you are intelligent enough to finish high school.  Most employers require a high school diploma.  It proves that you are intelligent and it proves that you are willing and determined to stick with something (like a job).

While you could get super-smart with your plan, it could hurt you in the long run.  High school teaches you so much more than you realize.  It goes way beyond book education and teaches life skills, social skills, how to work with difficult people, how to be responsible, that sort of stuff.  There are some things that just can't be learned from reading a book.

Answer 2

You CAN...but you won't.

Answer 3

Absolutely!

Don't forget to get out of the house and enjoy real world lessons too. Books are great, but fresh air and experience are pretty good too, right?

Answer 4

Yes you can; I would however not refer to you as someone who dropped out; you simply choose an alternative way to pursue an education.

To look up your states requirements, and home school laws go to http://www.hslda.org/

Home schooling, like public school is not for everyone, and independent study does take a student who is self motivated, and is ready to take responsibility for his/her own education; if this is you, you will do just fine.

You need to look into a curriculum that provides those classes you need, or want to study, stick to it, and complete the courses.

Your parents can function as guides, or as the primary instructors which ever works best for you all.

Upon completion you can either have them issue you a home school diploma, or take your GED.

To apply for college you will have to take the SAT, and ACT just like anyone else, and away you go.

Good luck.

Answer 5

well i have just dropped out of school and i am educating myself......it gets hard but you can do it if you have the drive to get things done!! hope this helps.....Happy Holidays :)

Answer 6

You can if you register as a homeschooler and are disciplined you can do it. But if you don't discipline yourself you'll never get anywhere. It depends on how much you really want it. Talk about it with your parents about it they could probably keep you in line or maybe you can join some online school or something.

Answer 7

it will extend your education.

Try some unschooling hobbies also

An electronics kit

A telescope and start chart

Computerprogramming software (like old Visual Basic 6 from E-bay)

That will also help

Watch Discovery, History, Science and PBS

Read lots of books

Isaac Asimov wrote lots of non fiction science books that are interesting and you can check them out the the library

Also visit web sites like How Stuff Works

Every time you're curious about something visit a web site or read a book

The hard things will be raw science and math

You have to really do them to fully understand them

Everything else you can absorbe from reading books

Computer programming will help you with math since it's ALL algebra and trig

Answer 8

Although you don't say what state you're in, most states abide by a law of compulsory age. My state is 6 -16 that you have to be in school (either home, private, or public). At your age you are not required by law to go to school. If you wish to take your GED test, study study study, and attempt it. If you fail, you will probably know in which subjects you need to study to pass the next time you attempt it.

There is a good book at amazon.com called Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School. (see below for the link).

If you wish to make sure you have a well-rounded education, I highly recommend reading and following it.

Good Luck and I hope this helped.

Answer 9

yeah, you might need to get paperwork or something filled out, and have your parents make up tests and quizzes for you, then you can see. but u can definitely get home schooled. it's just like what u do in school anyways, u just don't have teachers.

Answer 10

Yes, you can educate yourself - I'm 15 and I've been educating myself for most of my life, as have my siblings.

Whether or not, it'll give you a full education I don't know. What is a 'full education' anyway? If it meets your needs as an individual then I'd say it's a 'full education' for you.

I'd also say that if being 16 puts you beyond the school leaving age wherever you live, fine; however, if not, you'll probably be better off in the longrun if your mum pulls you out of school and officially de-registers you.

Answer 11

What is a "full education" nowadays, anyhow?

If you are attempting to homeschool, with your parents help or not, you can complete a "high school" education.

But why settle for that?

Study what you're interested in, and a little in what is essential to function in our society (Personal Finance, Government, Computer Apps).  

If you like Mythology, study it until you get burnt out, same for art, physics, zoology, bio, chem, literature, poetry, computers, electronics, cars, agriculture.... whatever!

Do what you want to do, but, like others have said, you might have difficulty finding a good job without a diploma or a GED.

Answer 12

Yes if you have a mind to learn on your own them go for it. You might benefit from taking a few courses at your local Community college. That way you are getting the best of both worlds. Good luck with everything. There are plenty of people out there that are self learners. My husband is one of them and he has a top paying job in the Technical field. My daughter also follows in her footsteps. Why not give this a try. You are 16 and it is time to start thinking about your future and things you are interested in learning and pursue those for your career. Community colleges are great for those that have a hard time with Formal education. You might find you really like it.

Answer 13

Yes, absolutely, you can educate yourself!

The fact that you're self-motivated enough to think about this, buy books, and make an effort is enough to show that you're not going to have any problems getting an education so long as you keep that attitude.  You'll probably learn much more than many high school students who only study because they "have to" instead of because they care.

I highly recommend the book "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education," by Grace Llewellyn.

Also, googling the word "unschooling" might be helpful.  Unschooling refers to a style of homeschooling that's all about self-directed learning and pursuing your own interests.

Good luck!  Have fun!

Answer 14

Have you dropped out of school with your parents' permission? If so, would they be able to file whatever they need to, if they need to, for you to be a bonafide homeschooler? It'll look better if you say you graduated from homeschooling compared to dropping out at 16 and being self-taught after that. Yes, the two may be the same thing in your case, but appearances do matter.

You can definitely educate yourself. There's no such thing as a full education--you can learn everything you can every second of the day for the rest of your life and you still won't be fully educated. If you want to have at least as good of an education as those in school, make sure to cover at least that amount. Go further in-depth as often as you can, exploring areas of interest, doing higher level stuff, etc. Textbooks alone can be very limiting. Be willing to look up more stuff in the library--biographies, other books on similar topics.

Consider also what you think you might want to do as an adult. If you don't know, then cover all your bases. If you do know, make sure to really study what you need to in order to do what you want as an adult.

Answer 15

yea i have been doin it since last december and im bout to graduate in like april..i do pennfoster