Customer Reviews

No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master's Degree at age 16

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This book helped me understand that there is an acceptable alternative to the public school norm without endangering the talents or acceptability of the child. I read the book when it first came out when my daughter was in second grade. She has been home schooled since, and is now a senior at BYU, she turned 19 yesterday. I have no regrets and if you are looking for assurance that homeschooling has a chance in your family, read the book for comfort. Not every child will match Alexandra's schedule, but most will thrive when given the opportunity.

Here is a story about a young woman growing up in a family that homeschooled their children before the homeschooling "movement" caught. Good narrative overall. (The book is by Alexandra Swann.)

I really enjoyed this book! I had asked around for some books on acclerated children because my 5 year old son is getting ready to begin 2nd grade work and this book was recommended to me.

Alexandra is an engaging writer and I read the book in 1 day. She was the oldest of 10 children being homeschooled and all earning their masters degrees *at home* by age 16. I also really benefitted from reading the articles written by her mother at the Homeschool World Practical Homeschooling website.

Very well written. Fascinating insight into how a mother and father homeschooled their children, the challenges they overcame and the goals they subsequently accomplished. Reading this book caused me to feel like I was a member of this household!

If you're wondering how homeschooled students feel about their experience, this is a great book to read! Alexandra Swann's parents, John and Joyce Swann, wanted to be sure their children received an exceptionally excellent education while instilling in them authentic discipline, sound Christian and orthodox values, and high morals. This book proves that this can be done, and done very well. Alexandra Swann and her nine siblings were enrolled in the oldest correspondence schools in the nation - Calvert School of Baltimore and the American School of Correspondence in Chicago - which have had reputations for excellence extending for over a hundred years. They attended Brigham Young University and California State University, completing all the coursework at home under the tutelage of their parents, most importantly their mother, who herself had never attended college. This factor alone, in my opinion, makes it the key point: parents do not have to be professional teachers, nor do they even have to have attended college to be able to successfully educate their children. This book shows most clearly that you need only common sense, a deep love of your children, and the graces of the Lord to succeed with your children.

The only issue that I do not completely agree with is the speed at which the Swann children earned their degrees. There is something to be said about having the proper maturity for college studies, something which will only come with age and time. Therefore, I do not think it is best for children to be accelerated through their studies at such a pace. But this is only a minor issue, and each family must decide for itself what will work best in their given situation.

For anyone -- homeschoolers, those considering homeschoolers and for any parent -- this book is a must read! It is uplifting and will leave you convinced that with God's grace you CAN succeed!

This book was a guiding presence as a teacher/parent in homeschooling our children. What were we to do with a 4 year old son that was reading chapter books at age 4? Public Kindergarten was out of the question, as they were just learning their ABC's. So, with the inspiration of "No Regrets" we accelerated our son's education. He was able to proceed in learning following his internal gifts. He began college classes at age 12 and currently holds a college math degree. Thank you Swann family for this book.

This book is so far quite engaging. Honestly, the reason for my purchase was to find out on how the mother managed the home and schooled her 10 children but this is mostly the story of this young woman's "schooling" journey. I didn't really care for it at first but as I continue to read I am interested in following her journey. I find it very encouraging. It makes me realize that with hard work, diligence and focus anything can be accomplished. I am very impressed by how this young lady and her family persevered in the midst of trials.....never once stopping or taking a break from their education. I am very motivated to apply some of their "ways", to the way I am homeschooling my children. I like the idea of when Daddy is at work, we work and when he is home we can take off. No such thing as a "summer" or "spring break". This is awesome! No more excuses for us.

The negative is the cover of the book. It definitely does not make sense to me on why she would have a sexy picture of herself on the front cover. The front cover does not speak for the book at all.