Why Are Homeschoolers Weird?

December 2, 2012 6 Comments

Here’s something I like to do: When I’m with a group of people discussing our childhoods, such as where we went to school, sports we played, etc., I’ll say something like “Did you know any weird homeschooled kids?”

People will often say some of the stereotypical things about homeschooled kids.  Things like: they’re odd ducks and socially awkward; they make their own clothes and electricity.  I’ll usually throw in a few wisecracks like “Oh, and they don’t bathe” or “they’re usually freaks!”.

Then, once everyone has poked fun at homeschoolers, I’ll say: “I was homeschooled.”

Silence.

The awkwardness is pure awesome.  But it’s true.  My mom homeschooled me until the seventh grade.

Inevitably someone will say, “Oh.  That.explains.a.lot.”

Wait a sec.  What does that mean?  I’m not offended, but over the years I’ve heard a number of commonly believed things about homeschoolers.  Some are true, others are blatantly ignorant.  Like anything, there are pros and cons.

I don’t know about other homeschoolers, but here are a few “pros” homeschooling gave me:

  • The realization I could teach myself anything.  I think this is the most important gift my childhood education gave me.  This might be why I don’t understand what people mean when they say, “I don’t know how.”  I have a hard time understanding how this is possible, especially with the accessability of information (have you heard? they have internet on computers now!).
  • How to interact with adults.  This came in handy years later as I made my way through my first few jobs, and while starting a company in my late teens and another in my early 20’s.  I never really felt out of place (in fact, I usually felt more at home with older people).
  • How (and why) to work at something I love.  My first passion was music.  It required hard work, dedication, and sacrifice — but I saw results.  Being exposed to this cause-and-effect dynamic equipped me for the work required by entrepreneurship.  In addition, I was blessed with the gift of learning that fulfillment can be found in doing something you love, despite the hard work.

Those are just a few of the things I believe to be true about my homeschooling experience.  Each of these things have deeply impacted me.  Now that my wife and I have a child of our own, we’ve discussed what kind of schooling experience we want to give our daughter, and whether homeschooling might be an option for us.

What about you?  Do you think homeschoolers are weird?  If so, why?

Filed under Entrepreneurship, Fatherhood Tagged with , ,

How To Expose Yourself In The Workplace — And Not Be a Creep

December 1, 2012 2 Comments

A few years ago, I realized that nearly all of the things that irritate me about my interactions with other people are a result of my own lack of communication.

Here’s what I mean: In any given situation where you feel disappointed, angry, or frustrated at an outcome you’re experiencing with someone, have you stopped to think about why it is you’re feeling this way?

What first comes to mind may be helpful — but if you continue asking yourself “why” after the first thought/reason (and repeat this process a few times), you may come to a more refined understanding of what’s driving your discomfort.

What I came to realize is that in my interactions with others, I was becoming upset — or feeling let down — because I operate from a set of viewpoints that are fully to known to me, but completely unknown to the person I’m working with.  From one perspective, these viewpoints are all I know, and because they’ve been with me for 30+ years, I somehow feel others know these things about me too.

But of course that’s silly and nearly impossible.  They’re not mind-readers!

Once I realized this, I decided to write out these viewpoints in a simple list (particular to the work environment), and share/discuss them with everyone around me.  I make it a point to do this with new hires.

It takes some vulnerability — and I’ve often received very surprised looks when I do this, especially during an interview or first day on the job — but I think that this exercise has helped me give the other person a frame of reference for why I behave, respond, and think the way I do.

My hope is that this makes it a tiny bit easier for us to do great work together.  And through leading in vulnerability, I also seek to give them a platform to feel comfortable with me.

If you’re interested, here’s my list, which I call “This is Dave”.

What do you think? Have you ever stopped to think about what’s on your list?  What are some of those things?  Would exposing these things be scary — or liberating?

Filed under Communication, Culture, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Tagged with

Newer posts →