Monday, December 31, 2007

A Short Introduction For a Tall Guy

Hello, Everyone!

My name is Peter. I was homeschooled back in the days when we still couldn't figure out whether "homeschooled" was supposed to have a hyphen (home-schooled), or not. These were heady times, when homeschooling was still a fairly small movement, and I had to spend a significant amount of each day explaining to new acquaintances what homeschooling was, and that, "yes," I did have friends.

My parents, a pastor and a teacher, respectively, decided to homeschool my brother and me when we were born.... and have regretted it ever since.

Just kidding, of course! Homeschooling is actually one of the choices that they have never second-guessed. People often ask me why they made this choice, and I tell them it's because my parents wanted to shelter me from things like the media, peer pressure, and sunlight. After they finish laughing, I tell them the real reason is that my mom wanted my brother and I to love learning. Contrary to what some people believe, I did not spend my days as a homeschooler locked in a closet memorizing ten syllable words; they were actually spent reading interesting things, meeting interesting people, and going to interesting places. I am fortunate to have parents who like to travel, and like doing it as a family.

After my graduation from homeschooling (although, I don't think I ever quite left) in 1998, I attended Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, graduating with degrees in International Relations and French. During my college career, I also spend a semester studying at the University of Caen, in France, learning how to say "croissant" like a proper Frenchman.

I currently work as a private tutor in the Madison area for French, Spanish, math, and reading. I also created, and run, "Adventure Languages", a small business that produces foreign language curriculum designed specifically for homeschoolers. If you'd like to check out the programs, you can find all the info at http://www.adventurefrench.com/ .

I created this blog because I like talking about homeschooling, and no matter where life takes me, I still like to think that I'm homeschooled and dangerous : ) .

Peter