Ronan Gallatin has embarked on a great adventure. Homeschooled all of his life, Gallatin has left his home state of Alaska and joined the student body of Sevier Middle.
Moving from Alaska to Tennessee has been a big adjustment, especially since he is now in public school for the first time.
“It took 5 days to drive from Washington to Kingsport, and [before that] one whole day to fly from Fairbanks to Washington state,” he said. “That was the easy part. The hard part was packing everything and shipping the car.”
Gallain moved because his family was tired of the cold weather and dark.
“My parents were done serving in the military,” he said. “My dad was in the Army and my mom was in the Air Force.”
The biggest adjustment for Gallatin, however, was the heat in Tennessee.
“I got used to it,” he said.
He also had to adjust to having four seasons.
“Fairbanks has three seasons,” he said. “Winter, summer and breakup, when the snow melts.”
Now that he is a public school student, there are some things he misses about home school.
“I really liked that school was done at home and I didn’t have to get up so early,” he said. “I liked that we were done with school by lunch, but I also went to school 12 months per year.”
He has found a lot to like about the public school experience.
“It’s been great, because I get to make new friends,” he said. “I enjoy talking to my teachers and there are new experiences every day. My favorite class is social studies.”
Gallatin actually finds public school easier than home school.
“My dad is a tougher teacher,” he said. “He’s more strict and wants my best every day and not to guess when answering. My teachers [now] are less strict.”
Ronan said that he thinks being homeschooled is harder because “your parents are your teachers and also your principal”.
There are other drawbacks to home school.
“Home school kids don’t get a summer break or snow days,” he said. “It’s hard work to be homeschooled.”
When he was homeschooled, his parents also had to pay for all of the school books and supplies.
His new classmates and teachers made the switch to public school easier.
“The teachers are easy to talk to and the students, for the most part, are here to work hard, have fun, and learn,” Gallatin said.
The best part of moving to Tennessee has been that Gallatin can be outside more. Getting out of Alaska meant having much better weather.
“When we drove across the United States, I got to go to Mount Rushmore and see the place where Custer had the battle of Little BigHorn,” he said.
Ronan has some advice for his fellow students, especially those moving from homeschool to public school.
“Buy an alarm clock and pack your lunch the night before,” he said. “Don’t just stay home all the time, go out and travel and meet new people. Have an adventure.”