I haven’t had much time to write this week, no time actually. But I did manage a thought. I find it very funny that when people find out you homeschool, their initial reaction is always (at least in my experience) something along the lines of “How is she going to make friends!?”, “Aren’t you worried about her socialization skills?” or “What about baseball!” Yesterday I was thrown “She gonna miss all da’ fun” (direct quote).
I’m sorry. “She gonna miss all da’ fun”? Last time I checked, the purpose of ‘School’ was to learn, become more educated, elevate the mind. I don’t see what friends, social events or fun have to do with it. Sure we have friends, sure we have social events and by golly, you should know from reading this blog that we have lots of fun, but are those legitimate reasons to send someone off to school? Never once have I had someone say “Oh, that poor child is going to be under-educated”. SO…….if EDUCATION is the point of school and my child is getting that then…….what is the problem people?
I understand that there are lots of socially awkward, under-taught and over-protected homeschoolers, I get it. But there are lots of socially awkward, under-taught and over-protected kids in public and private school too.
So please, just breathe, calm down and remember before you freak out, you are talking to a former homeschool kid.
Ask me how it turns out, I know.
The Wicked Chicken 
Amen!!!!!
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Well said my dear…
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I’m not sure what “da’ fun” is, but I can tell you that past about 7th or 8th grade, I was ‘done’ with school life. I couldn’t wait to leave, and when I was given the opportunity to graduate early, I did. Senior year was a joke (I had 2 classes: Government and English), and I was SO ready to go to work!
I assure you that my high school years were purely a social experiment and I wasn’t in the least concerned with my grades or classes, with exception to the electives I chose (Art and Auto Mechanics). I even failed my favorite subject, Biology. Twice. I would lay my head down and sleep.
Homeschool gives us the freedom to explore topics and subjects that the kids are most interested in. For Zoe, it’s history and science. For Ande, it’s writing, literature, and anything survivalist. We are closer as a family than we have ever been before; who doesn’t want that? I have seen the girls go from enemies to friends-who-occasionally-become-annoyed-with-each-other. I can see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. I couldn’t see that with the papers they brought home from public school. Numerical grades mean nothing to me anymore. Either you understand a concept or you don’t. If you don’t, we go back over it. If you still don’t, we will wait a bit and reintroduce later. If you do, we move on. It’s as simple as that.
Socially speaking, we are more social than we have ever been. No, the kids are not in a classroom of 20 kids of the same age. Instead, we are a group of kids of many different ages, and we go out and interact with many people of varying ages, too. They need to know how to address and interact with the public, not just 20-odd 11 year olds. We are in soccer and guitar lessons now. We have done cooking classes, field trips, and family trips away from home. We like to get out and about when possible. Yes, there are those who seclude their children, but from what I’ve seen, that is very much the minority.
I can’t even get into the definition of ‘education’. I’ll take up the entire comment section.
Anyway, some self-promo, but this is what I found the other day on our classroom board: http://mylittlecountry.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/when-the-answer-is-in-front-of-you/
No, this was not a lesson and this was something created completely on her own. She is the type of child who exudes great joy and passion when her emotions take hold.
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Amen. And I loved that post of yours! Happy Heart!
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