Ryan Gosling is the essence of “cool”. Homeschooling is the opposite of “cool”. At least, according to the stereotypes. But if you dig deep to find out how Ryan Gosling developed that independent “rebel” streak that makes him an icon of American cinema – it all started with homeschooling. Yes….homeschooling. This is his story:
Ryan had a rough time at school. His “friends” bullied him, and he had trouble focusing during class. He had all the symptoms of ADHD but there wasn’t treatment available for that condition yet. The school was failing him. At age 10 he still had trouble reading.
School was failing him. At age 10 he still had trouble reading.
Ryan described his frustrating experience,
“Because I was getting into a lot of trouble at school, I couldn’t keep up. They were trying to start and put me in special ed classes. I remember I was playing chess in special ed and I was playing against a kid who was eating his queen”
Finally, out of desperation, his single mother decided to homeschool young Ryan.
When interviewed by The Guardian in 2007, Ryan said that homeschooling gave him a sense of autonomy that he never really lost.
Ryan credits the time spent with his mother and sister for giving him the ability to think like a woman, evidently informing his next acting role as Noah in The Notebook.
Ryan is not just a rebel on screen, but off-screen. He chooses the roles he wants, for indie/lower budget movies over the big-budget Hollywood “dream machine”. That kind of integrity is rare.
Yes, homeschoolers are often seen as “un-socialized”, sheltered, weirdos. Funny enough, that’s how Ryan was perceived before he was homeschooled. In my experience, being in the homeschool community my whole life, most homeschoolers develop the same “rebel” streak of confidence and autonomy young Ryan Gosling found.
Homeschoolers work at their pace, on their schedule. They study what they want, how they want, where they want, and with whom they want.
Homeschoolers learn to manage their own time, manage their own life! They call the shots. They make the rules. With all this freedom, you can’t help but gain a little swagger.