Actually, we do schoolwork. Home-schooling takes many different forms. Form one is what is called a "co-op." Several families get together and have classes once a week or so. Most home-schoolers belong to a "home-school group," which is a lot of families getting together once a month for classes, activities and field trips. There are countless home-school groups in the area.

That's just the first model, and my family always went for a very broad mix. This year, for example, I took two courses in English literature at the University of Pittsburgh. My dad, who is a physics professor at Pitt, taught a physics class to me, my brother and two other girls. Other subjects, such as math, we do simply out of a textbook.

Extra-curricular activities -- music and sports, for example -- are quite easy to participate in. Often public schools allow home-schoolers to play for them. I myself am on a coed home-school volleyball team. I am also in a home-school acting group called SERVE, which does exceptional drama.

Be assured that if you ask a home-schooler this question, they will be chuckling inwardly. Of course we do. If there's anything you should know about home-schooling, it's this: Home-schoolers are not un-socialized. OK, I take that back. There are always the exceptions, and home-schooling is no different. I would not want to be home-schooled if I lived in the country. But here in the city, the opportunities are endless. Home-school groups, sports teams, kids you take classes with, kids on your street -- trust me, we've got friends.

Often people ask me if I like being home-schooled. The first time someone asked me, I had to stop and think for a moment. The answer, I found, is yes. There are so many things I've learned that I believe are unique to being home-schooled.

The first thing is that my friends are so varied. Home-schooling puts you in an environment where there are not hundreds of kids your own age, taking the same classes as you. Instead, I am taking classes as a junior with freshmen, sophomores, seniors and even college students.

Home-schooling allows kids to relate to adults better, especially their parents. Being with my mom all day, and learning through her and my dad shows me more and more that I can trust them and that they want to be my friends.

Home-schooling teaches you to adapt to learning at your level, and forces you to create good study habits. You can learn at your own speed, and form your own opinions. A lot of parents home-school because they don't want their children force-fed public-school ideas. As I grow, I am learning how to form my own opinions -- not those of my parents, per se, but founded on the principles they taught me.

Will I home-school my own kids? If my circumstances are right, it's a good possibility. But the foundation of independence and strength of family that home schooling builds will continue to impact my life forever.

Ruth Snoke, 16, is home schooled in Regent Square.

If you are a young person who shares a passion for writing and have stories and ideas you'd like to share, write Young Voices in care of Living, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, D.L. Clark Building, 503 Martindale St., Pittsburgh, PA 15212, or e-mail tribliving@tribweb.com. Pieces should be no longer than 600 words. Include your telephone number and address.