This week on the podcast, I sat down with Jaycie to unpack what it was like growing up K–12 homeschooled in a deeply religious environment shaped by ACE curriculum, church culture, and isolation. From role-playing public school in her bedroom as a kid to struggling with depression and culture shock during college, Jaycie shares an honest look at how homeschooling shaped her relationships, faith, and transition into adulthood.

In this episode, we covered:

• ACE curriculum often prioritized religious ideology over deep academic learning
• Homeschool isolation can make transitions into adulthood and college extremely difficult
• Many homeschoolers develop strong self-teaching and research skills
• Fear-based religious messaging can make social connection feel unsafe
• College became both liberating and emotionally overwhelming
• COVID gave many former evangelicals space to reevaluate faith and church culture
• Public school and homeschooling both have tradeoffs, but involvement from parents matters most
• Creative freedom and independent learning were meaningful positives from homeschooling

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to the Ex-Homeschoolers Club

00:35 Jaycie's Homeschool Rundown

01:36 ACE Curriculum Breakdown

03:09 Pros and Cons of ACE

09:45 Church as Social Life

11:02 Moving Missouri to Texas

13:59 Senior Year Depression

16:35 College Culture Shock

26:39 Gods Not Dead Mindset

30:23 Dropping Out and Marriage

32:50 Faith Shift During COVID

36:49 Homeschooling Reconsidered

40:22 Choosing Public School

44:33 Art Career and Reading

50:40 Cringey Co Op Puppets

53:04 Wrap Up and Goodbye

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