Please Stop Writing Homeschooled Characters as Sheltered, Sincerely, a Homeschooler

Lately, I've read a lot of books with characters that are homeschooled or have friends that are homeschooled, and I have to say, I'm really tired of authors portraying us the wrong way.

I've been homeschooled my entire academic life, and I still am homeschooled, with three years left in high school. It's usually not very often that you see homeschoolers in YA books, but lately they've been popping up here and there. One book I read, at the end of the book, the bully of the school ended up being homeschooled as a punishment. Another book, the girl had graduated high school and because her grandmother had died before she finished high school, she didn't get to graduate, which is not all true. If a parent of a homeschooler who is about to graduate passes away, they would still receive their diploma from their state homeschool organization, a parent doesn't just type up a diploma and give it to their child, it has to be official. Most homeschoolers get their diploma from a co-op or a homeschool organization in their state.

 Lastly, the most common characteristics that the authors give to homeschoolers are that they're sheltered and don't know a lot about what certain things are or really anything going on in the world. Don't get me wrong, I am all for having more homeschooled characters in YA, but please if you're going to write them, please do some research and actually make them realistic. 

As a homeschooler, even though I don't go to an actual school, I still have extra-curricular clubs and activities that I'm involved in. One of the amazing things about homeschooling is that you interact with a variety of ages, from toddlers to high schoolers, and you learn how to interact with people of all ages. 

This all being said, I'd really like for homeschoolers to portrayed like they are, kids who learn at home, everything else is just like what public or private schooled kids do.

Also, no, we don't do our school in our pajamas. 

.............................................................................................................................................

Thanks for reading!! Have you read any books with homeschooled characters? Let me know in the comments!!