One of the hardest parts of being a homeschooler is dealing with the criticism that goes along with it. Just reading the occasional article or blog makes it clear that by homeschooling people have the perception that we are doing a bad job with my kids.
Many of us do try to prove that we are not doing a bad job. We write, we blog, we discuss, we try and try and try to prove to the general public that we are good parents and educators. This approach however is a colossal waste of time. It tends to come across as preachy, pompous, judgmental, and even insecure. Our remaining choices are to ignore the judgments and to continue to live our lives.
Still there are times when it is hard to ignore accusations that you are being a bad parent by homeschooling. People tend to make some pretty mean statements. Some of these are brought to us through the media. Others come to us through people we know, and in some cases even like.
Nevertheless, my point here is not to whine. It is to encourage homeschoolers to not let the assumptions and perceptions of others get you down. It is also wise to not let these perceptions make us angry. We need to always consider the point of view from which the accusations and assumptions come. Some people just do not know anything about homeshooling. Others may have had a bad experience with a homeschooler. Others may have had bad experiences in their life or with their parents that makes them think too much parental influence is a bad thing. Others are conformists who do not understand how homeschooler can throw away the stats quo and do something so different. Most of these people actually care, no matter how perverted their “caring” may be presented.
Meanwhile, we as homeschoolers cannot take our eye off our real job, which is educating our children, and raising them to be productive citizens. When met with an accusation that we are doing our kids a bad service we perhaps should stop for a moment and ask ourselves if we are indeed doing the best we can for our kids. If there is any truth in the accusation, we should make some changes. Barring that, we have to just let people have their perceptions and hope that our actions and examples will change their minds.
Misinformation About Homeschooling: Don’t Believe the Hype!
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?