Why do I find this question, well, frankly abhorrent?
I'm not doing anything grand, which the "I could never homeschool my kids" sounds like. Nor am I some kind of weirdo (the other way it could be taken). Nor am I hero. I'm just a Mom. Doing what she feels is best for HER kids. To me, it's much like being praised for adopting Katie, I didn't do anything special.
If it's because the person says they don't have the patience. Well, if you've known me at all, you KNOW I'm not a patient person. Not ONE single bit. In fact it's a trait I'm working on, and working on, and working on, and working....
If it's because the person is not sure they could teach their children (and said children are oh 4 and 6), then I have to wonder if they can read. ;) Well, not really, but teaching your own children for the early Elementary is VASTLY different than teaching a roomful of kids for early Elementary grades. It's more an extension of what you are doing already as a parent. Now, if their children are older and you are getting into some of that complicated math, or hitting the part of science where you are having to dissect things, or you are in the part of language arts where you having to oh..."dissect" a sentence (what was that called again?). Yeah, I worry about that too. But honestly, every single place I'm worried about being "deficient" there is another family in our cover school who has that covered in a BIG way.
If it's because the person is not sure they could stand being around their kids all the time. I will probably look at them a little funny. It's an honest answer, but if their kids are considered mostly normal...it's also a little sad if you really think about what they are saying. But trust me, the "no break from the kids" is one of the negatives I list.
If it's because the parent is not organized, then yeah...they probably could not homeschool very well in a state that requires LOTS of records. I struggle with that aspect a lot.
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3 comments:
I love the comment I get all the time: "YOU, homeschool? YOU? Really?"
Makes me feel so equipped...perhaps it's because I don't wear the smocks or bake bread or let my boys wear highwaters?
I totally understand what you wrote, and have been working on a draft of a similar post myself for a few weeks.
Two schools of thought on why I think people say this: 1. They have no idea at all about all the resources out there to equip a parent to homeschool or 2. They do know about the resources, what homeschooling really means but know THEMSELVES well enough to know that it really isn't for them. I look at it and wonder if it really would be good for me and my daughter. I LOVED going to school, and I went for a very, very long time because I loved it so much. And either choice we make, my daughter will be missing out on something, it's just a matter of what sorts of things she'll miss out on (because no matter which choice you make you, you've eliminated certain other possibilities).
One of the things I love most about homeschooling is that I GET to be with my kids all the time. I can't imagine not wanting them with me...
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