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Homeschooling: Freedom or Recipe for Unpreparedness?

1/15/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Stefan Merrill Block, author of the memoir Homeschooled, describes being pulled from school by his mother in the early 1990s.
Block says unstructured days filled with personal interests left him unprepared for high school.
Yet he graduated from a top college and co-owns a skating rink.
He warns that insufficient oversight in homeschooling can be harmful, even as some parents shield children from bullying and violence.

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Story summary

Stefan Merrill Block, author of the memoir Homeschooled, describes being pulled from school by his mother in the early 1990s.
Block says unstructured days filled with personal interests left him unprepared for high school.
Yet he graduated from a top college and co-owns a skating rink.
He warns that insufficient oversight in homeschooling can be harmful, even as some parents shield children from bullying and violence.