Why I Believe Public School is a Scam — and Why Homeschooling Wins Every Time

As someone who was homeschooled for eight years, I’ve had the unique opportunity to experience both sides of the education system — and I can say with confidence: public school didn’t work for me. I believe public school is a scam.

I know that statement may sound harsh — maybe even offensive to some. That’s not a statement I make lightly, and I understand it won’t resonate with everyone. Not all families can homeschool, and not all students have the same experience I did. For some, public school is a lifeline — a safe place with caring teachers and a much-needed structure. I respect that.

Not every parent has the time, energy, or resources to teach their kids themselves, and not every child has the motivation to be self-directed in their learning. I get that. I’m not here to ignore those realities. But I also think it’s time we look honestly at a system that, for many kids, just isn’t working.

What I’m here to do is shine a light on a system that has long outlived its purpose — one that no longer serves the best interests of our children, but instead grooms them to conform, comply, and fit neatly into a mold designed by institutions that thrive off control and uniformity. Public school isn't designed to raise thinkers — it's designed to raise workers. And once you start to see that, it becomes impossible to unsee.

One Size Fits None

Let’s start with the most obvious flaw: public school teaches every student the exact same way, regardless of how different they are. You can’t put 25 unique students in a classroom, teach them the same content, in the same way, at the same pace, and expect them all to succeed. Yet that’s exactly what we do. Learning becomes less about understanding and more about surviving — memorizing just enough to pass a test before being thrown into the next topic. We cram 20 to 30 kids — each with unique minds, talents, interests, and learning needs — into a single classroom and expect them all to absorb the same information at the same pace, in the same format, using the same outdated materials. For what? For a test? A test to prove that you think the exact same way as the other 20-30 students? A test I'm guaranteeing you didn't even learn from, you just had to study to memorize it so you'd pass. That's not what we were put here to do.

This isn’t education. It’s factory-style programming.

In public school, I dealt with bullying, constant humiliation for not being able to keep up, and unrealistic deadlines that gave me zero time to actually learn. Teachers would read from their textbook or “script”, expect us to magically understand, and then throw us into a test — and if you asked for help? They’d just repeat the same question louder or slower, like that somehow made it clearer. When I transitioned to homeschooling in Grade 5, my entire experience with education changed. Suddenly, learning became personalized. I could spend more time on subjects I found difficult and go deeper into the ones I loved. I wasn’t just memorizing — I was exploring, creating, asking questions. School became something I looked forward to, not something I endured.

As a student who needed time to fully understand a topic, to sit with it, and build my confidence in it, I really struggled because public schools don’t allow that. It’s a new topic every week, no matter if you mastered the last one or not. That’s not education — that’s survival.

Homeschooling: Personalized, Purposeful, Powerful

Once I switched to homeschooling in Grade 5, everything changed. My mom taught me through a homeschool program that let us pick specific courses that I actually wanted to learn about - ones that mattered to me. From Grades 8 to 12, I was enrolled in an online program that had live lessons every morning — just one subject a day — and assignments with flexible deadlines. The teachers actually helped you. They worked with you, not against you. If you needed more time? You got it. If you needed more resources? They were provided. There were no penalties for missing deadlines, which significantly eased the pressure for me—especially as someone who often finds time constraints overwhelming.

One moment I’ll never forget was on the day of my diplomas. My teacher — someone I had built a strong relationship with through the years — showed up with Tim Bits, a muffin, juice, water, a variety of snacks, and a whole lot of encouragement. She even offered me a ride because my parents were out of town. I really struggled with depression and overall my mental health throughout high school and genuinely didn’t think I’d graduate, but she believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. After I wrote all my diplomas she was waiting outside for me so proud and happy for me. I hugged her and told her I appreciated her and I wouldn’t have made it this far without her. She made me feel like I was important — not just another kid to be pushed through the system, but someone worth investing in. That level of personal care doesn’t exist in most public school settings, where teachers are overworked and under-resourced. Even today, we still keep in touch and follow each other on Facebook. That kind of bond is rare, and it’s one of the many things I’m grateful to homeschooling for.

And best of all? No meaningless homework.

Public school forces kids to sit in a classroom for 8 hours a day, then sends them home to do more work? When do kids get to actually live their childhoods? When do they get to explore their passions, develop their gifts, or just be kids? Childhood shouldn’t be about deadlines and grades — it should be about discovering who you are.

In homeschooling, I had the freedom to do that. I started a YouTube channel. I launched successful businesses. I deepened my relationship with my family. I traveled. I explored. I found my purpose. I spent 2 to 5 hours a day — sometimes every other day — on school, and still graduated a year early, with no homework, honors, and acceptance into the only college I wanted. I passed all my college assignments with 98–100% scores. And yet, I spent less time in the classroom than most kids my age. The freedom to learn at my own pace didn’t set me back — it launched me forward.

So tell me again how public school is "the only way"?

What We Should Be Teaching

Public schools often focus on things that seem disconnected from real life: standardized tests, literary analysis of centuries-old texts, memorizing formulas we’ll never use again. Why are we still forcing kids to read Shakespeare in 2025 instead of teaching them how to change a tire? Why are we preparing them to pass standardized tests, but not how to file taxes, apply for a mortgage, or manage mental health? The curriculum hasn’t evolved in decades. We're still feeding kids the same material from generations ago, as if the world hasn’t changed drastically since then. I’m not against structure or standards. I’m against teaching kids to conform instead of to think. And far too often, that’s what public school ends up doing.

You don’t need 13 years in a government-run institution to be successful in the real world. You need skills, confidence, curiosity, and support. Public schools often provide none of that. Homeschooling, when done right, provides all of it.

What About Socialization?

One of the most common concerns I hear from people is, “But what about social interaction? Aren’t you worried homeschooled kids miss out on that?”

Let me be very real here: kids do not need to be crammed into a classroom of 30 peers their exact same age, every single day, to be “socialized.” In fact, most of the “social interaction” that happens in public school is forced, superficial, and — let’s be honest — often toxic. Drama, bullying, cliques, peer pressure, and childish gossip are what many kids are exposed to daily.

In homeschooling, kids still get social interaction — just better. Through sports, extracurricular programs, youth groups, volunteering, and even part-time jobs, homeschooled kids interact with people of all ages, not just a classroom of 13-year-olds trying to one-up each other. They get role models, mentors, and friends who actually share their interests — not just whoever happens to sit next to them in math class.

You can tell which kids are homeschooled and which are not — and I don’t mean that in a judgmental way. It’s just obvious. The homeschooled kids tend to have stronger vocabularies, healthier mindsets, more emotional maturity, fewer behavioral issues, and the ability to hold conversations with adults, not just their peers. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because they’re raised in an environment that nurtures growth — not conformity.

Public School Isn’t the Enemy — But It Isn’t Enough

Let me be clear: I’m not saying all public schools are bad, or that all teachers don’t care. Quite the opposite. Many teachers are doing heroic work inside a system that wasn’t built to support them — or their students.

But the system itself? It’s outdated. It was designed in a different era, for a different world. And it’s time we started exploring alternatives that actually prepare kids for life — not just tests.

Homeschooling isn’t perfect. It requires effort, support, and often a level of privilege. But when done well, it offers something public school rarely can: freedom. The freedom to grow at your own pace. The freedom to explore your interests. The freedom to be yourself. And most importantly — the freedom to think.

And that’s something every child deserves.

The Bottom Line

Public school isn’t failing kids because teachers don’t care. It’s failing because it was never designed to help kids thrive — it was designed to create obedient adults who follow the rules without question. Homeschooling helped me escape that trap. And I’ll never stop advocating for it.