While it is not as true as
I’m sure it once was (kudos again to the pioneers of home schooling), home
schoolers still find themselves defending their choice. There are probably some U.S. states
where the need to defend home schooling is more necessary than other states and
I’m ignorant as to what the climate is toward home schooling in other
countries. Unless it’s a country, like China, where
home schooling is illegal, I have no idea how accepted home
schooling is in other cultures and countries.
Because home schoolers still
feel the need to defend their choice, if even only to the “concerned’ mother
in-law or family friend, we can be a little tight lipped about the challenges
of home schooling, for fear that those challenges would be used against
us. Even more than that though, home
schoolers, for the most part, don’t talk too ‘openly’ about the *real* benefits
of home schooling. Oh, amongst each
other, we may chat a bit about it, in very subtle ways, least there is a
militant home schooling mother in the group who finds anything short of 6 ½
hours a day of rigorous study to be criminal.
But out in the wide open, say like a blog, the benefits of home
schooling are listed in very clean, sanitized ways. I haven’t seen a lot of chatter about some of
the *real* benefits of home schooling.
Now, in all fairness, it
might just be me. I may be the only one
in the home schooling universe who has these *real* benefits or who will admit
to them in a non-sanitized, inappropriate way.
But I am the inappropriate home schooler. Perhaps you (yes, you who is reading this
post) experience a few of these *real* benefits of home schooling, that you
mention to no one, or yours are different than my list – but would still be thought inappropriate! But I think we all have
these secrets that we fear to reveal least we be judged, if not by ‘outsiders’
then by others in the home schooling community.
First, the ‘Code’.
These are some common reasons listed as
the benefits of home schooling.
1) A quality education
2) Going on vacation for
educational pursuits…
3) Turning anything into a
‘lesson’…
4) Creating our own
schedule...
5) Freedom to explore
personal interests…
6) Real life experience
7) Personal choices in
establishing and continuing real friendships
These may reveal me to be a
bad parent, let alone a bad home schooler, but here is my interpretation of the
benefits of home schooling. The list of
the real (inappropriate) things that I love about being a home schooling
family!
A vacation to Walt Disney World is an educational field
trip!
Cartoons are educational if I’m trying to have a phone
conversation…
Sleeping in ‘til noon…
Breakfast at lunch time.
Playing the games of ‘Life’ for the entire day…
Watching old movies to study ‘time periods’. The 1950s was a LONG time ago to Punky!
Following a whim - like eating lunch out then spending
the rest of the day wandering through Barnes n Noble.
Skipping all the parts of Science and Social Studies
that are boring...
Working a grade (or two) below level because it’s
easier sometimes...
Not having to deal with little shit-head classmates...
That’s just us though……and
you know, we’re inappropriate!
Happy Schooling!
~Mari B.
I love it. Especially that last reason- the one with the little punk. That reason is huge for me. :)
ReplyDeleteLove it! I could totally identify with most of those :)
ReplyDeleteI sent my 10 year old son to bed when I woke up at 6:00 this morning. Now, I'm getting ready to eat lunch without him because he's still in bed...but we did a lot of math yesterday, so it's all good.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite: staying in our pajamas . . .all day.
ReplyDeleteThat last one... yes. That's the one I most identify with. When my kids were in school, I remember a 2nd grade bully of my kid giving ME the stare down. I had to stand my ground and stare back. I WON.
ReplyDelete