Why I still homeschool
It’s September, and there’s been a flurry of back-to-school posts plus the flurry of not-back-to-school posts from the homeschoolers. And in our house we just went along our business. I did get a couple of emails inviting me to guest post elsewhere with our reasons for homeschooling, or our daily schedule, or whatever.
But, you know, we were busy. Doing stuff.
That, I think, is ultimately our homeschooling life. It’s not this “thing” we do. It’s life. It’s why we continue to do so, because it works for us. And yes, we are creatures of habit.
No, we don’t hate school.
No, we don’t hate teachers either. I think they have one of the hardest jobs out there. (the kids are the easy part)
Yes, I think public education needs serious reformation.
No, I don’t think everyone should homeschool.
Yes, I have wished all these kids would go away for a few hours each day.
Most of the time, we just roll along, learning as we go, grownup, children, teens and all. Mostly thing roll off my back. I’ve done this too long to defend myself to others or to get my feathers all ruffled when someone decries homeschooling or unschooling as something that can’t possibly work.
Whatever.
Sometimes, like the other week, when the grocery store clerk was absolutely shocked to hear that homeschoolers actually met up with other homeschooling families and their children *gasp* would play together, I get a little riled. Then again, she also had an opinion when I commented on the final price of my groceries. ‘Well, when you buy stuff like this..” pointing to my frozen boxed goods that we buy only occasionally, and only that week because of a huge looming deadline. I’m sure she did a snap judgment on the lack of vegetables, not knowing that we live across from a veggies stand and have all we can eat now. Thanks for that.
It’s our sixteenth year. Sixteen. In years. We might have a sense of what we are doing now. my family all know it works. Anyone who talks to any of my children – my CHILDREN, not me – for any more than five or ten minutes can clearly see we’re doing something right.
What ever it is, no matter how much they don’t/can’t/won’t understand it.
i know there are people fighting the good fight, being indignant for me, or watchful, and having the arguments. But for me? I’m tired. It’s been 16 years, it just works. Not in theory, not in a long discussion, not in a book.
Three of my children are arguably adults. They are, on their next birthdays, 17, 19, and 22. Two of them no longer live at home and live on their own as adults who have jobs, pay bills, interact in this “real world” people told them about, sometimes while they were active participants. The third one helps run the household, arguably a lost skill. Right now, she’s finishing up painting the kitchen. Unsupervised even. The youngest is 8, almost 9. Still a ways to go there, but like I said above – I think we can handle it.
So in the end, anonymous stranger, I don’t care what you think. Whether you feel my kids don’t get enough contact with other children, or don’t know X by Y, or spend too much time in front of this screen or that, or if home renovation is a useful skill or not, or will they be able to get real jobs or go to a real college, it doesn’t matter. They’ve been educated according to their talents, their needs and their own interests.
Not mine, not yours.
Theirs.
Because in the end, homeschooling my children is all about them. And it will continue to work just fine, thanks.
11 Responses to “Why I still homeschool”
Amen to all that.
(Especially the grocery thing; good God, what the grocery delivery guy must think of me and my no-produce-ordering self.)
Great post- well said! We’ve just started the homeschooling odyssey (my older son is 4) so we have not yet encountered some of the ignorance first hand as you have, but we’re expecting it for sure.
::applause::
That is all.
Well, *I* admire the hell out of you. Keep on keepin’ on, friend!
Yes, yes, yes – exactly! Well said, Andrea.
Bravo! Bravo! Very well said.
did you never have times when all your kids wanted to do was watch TV, play on the puter or fight?
It’s those days that I doubt unschooling. And we are having far too many of those.
That almost made me cry. Thank you very much for that. “whatever” is how I feel about it too. I can’t believe how people will compliment me on my wonderful kids and in the next breath they are asking if I am going to put them back in school ever?
*shrug*
Whatever.
Double-triple LIKE! (yes, I’m a Facebook addict who wants a LIKE button on everything now)
This was great. I’ve been doing it for 4 years now and still get all annoyed with the comments from others. I need to let go – it’s my life, not theirs. I know for a fact I don’t want the public school or private school lifestyle. It’s affirmed every time I get together with friends who’s kids go to school.
Just found you through a link on your wpmu site. I like the post. The only bad part about homeschooling is that it ends! My first went to college last year, and it was hard on all of us.
Nice to meet you,
Kelly aka rawarrior