Friday, May 23, 2008

Homeschooler's Rant.


I homeschool. I haven't always homeschooled; always wanted to but it took a while & some heartache to get Dearest on side. I've done the Public School thing. I've worked there & seen it from the inside out. Just so you know because I'm getting incredibly miffed. I am miffed all the way down to my toe socks.
I should really like to know where some people's head space goes. I would never, either on line or in real life, attack someone for their choice to send their littlest & dearest off each day into the jaws on their local Public School. Their family, their choice & I have enough to do with juggling my own life to worry about anyone else's choices. So why do people feel they have the right to wade into spaces clearly labeled *Homeschooling* & deride, ridicule, slander people who have made a different choice? I do not get it. Heavens above, there is plenty of variety to choose from amongst public schools: good schools, bad schools, mediocre schools, good teachers, bad, teachers, mediocre teachers, good kids, bad kids...& on it goes. I've attended enough P&C meetings, stood waiting enough times for classrooms to empty out their regulation quota of children to know there are lots of unhappy parents around but suggest that they don't have to put up with this & they are horrified.
I don't get this attack on the island where we are well known for being a little different & having great kids. I rarely get it at the supermarket or on the bus or while waiting at the cinemas on a Tuesday morning but any time I wander into a Homeschool forum (clearly marked as for homeschoolers!) some public menace arrives to tell all the homeschoolers just how wrong their choice is, no matter what reasons they have or how awful their local school was.
I sort of expect it from the secular left who would like everybody to be the same despite all evidence that God particularly likes variety & no two snowflakes are the same let alone two people, even twins, even identical twins! I know there are people who are great advocates of the great smelting pot called public schooling & they are entitled to their opinion; I just happen to disagree with them, as is my right. What stuns me is the number of Christians who wade into this debacle declaring that public schooling is going to pot because all the Christians are pulling their kids out to homeschool. Say what??? When did this get to be our fault. When did it get to be the wrong thing to nurture & disciple our own children before worrying about the *Great Commision*? When did it become the right thing to send immature, inadequately trained children to fight the sort of battles most Christian adults successfully manage to disengage from? Who decided they got to interpret God's revealing of His will to our family? And while we're at it when did people decide they had the right to be so jolly rude?!
Not impressed. Not by a long shot.

8 comments:

MamaOlive said...

You go, girl!

(Sorry you are upset.)

Anonymous said...

That's funny. Mamaolive stole my thought...

Constance said...

Although I have never home-schooled my children, I would NEVER deride someone for their decsion to do so! I know of many home-schooled kids who are better educated than most of what floats through the Public Education system. Why someone would feel the need to be mean about such things is beyond me! If I encounter something that is not in line with my own thoughts or ideals, I would just move on to something else or respect another's decision to to do things differently. I have learned that you can disagree without being disagreeable!

I have been gone for over a week and trying to play catch up, not an easy task, I might add!

Hugs
Connie

Ganeida said...

Welcome home, Connie. I'll be along later today to leave a welcome message on your blog!

Diane Shiffer said...

woah, preach it sistah!

i especially love it when "well-meaning" folk start quizzing my child on his times tables or give him scripture verses to read from the kjv once they find out we homeschool... sheeesh:P

((hugs)) to ya my friend!

kimba said...

Was going to write a reply but having already told you my opinion in person I decided not to pursue it as something happened last night that I decided was much more interesting!(yes I have blogged). I am still a bundle of nerves!

molytail said...

I think I know where this came from (well, that attitude exists in many places, but the timing...I saw the thread) ....that guy was a rather odd sort, I thought...

I don't really understand it either - even if a person has strong opinions about the whole 'sending them to ps to be the salt & light' (is it salt and light? why do i think 'salt' isn't right? LOL), it can be expressed without so much rudeness and attack-ish-ness. (Yes I am making up words at 5am *grin* ) ......

>^..^<

Ganeida said...

There's another one now, Moly. Ranting & raving but sooo rude. I don't get the rude. Het, I'm pleased to see you; thought you'd been lost in transit! ;)