Our Education blogger here at families.com gave an assessment of what she feels are invalid reasons to homeschool. We all know the cliché of how the grass on the other side of the fence always looks greener. Well, in an educational setting, we often see our grass as greener than that on the other side. It takes a special pair of rose-colored glasses to educate children. So, while I agree with her in some aspects. Of course, as a homeschooler, I am looking at the grass from a different perspective.
Fad/phase: I have written about this phenomenon before in The dangers of short-term homeschooling part 1 and part 2. However, since then I have seen instances where one year or even six months of homeschooling may have saved a child’s life. Self-esteem is nothing to play with, and removing a child for a season can be best when that child is under extreme duress. In some cases, the child may even achieve a great deal academically in addition to pulling out of a depression or depressed situation.
Anger: I AM homeschooling because I got mad. I was beyond mad. I was irate and on the war-path. I was so mad that when I looked at a particular teacher and some school officials, that I saw fear in their eyes. I thank God every day for that anger. My anger was followed by realizations that my kids are unique, and could achieve great things on their own terms. This was followed by many successes large and small. So you see, ANGER is valid and often needed to get to the next step. For those who did not get to the next step, perhaps they did not get mad enough, or perhaps they were angry for the wrong reasons, which is why they returned the children to school.
Laziness: Lyn is so correct that some homeschoolers are lazy. But, laziness is hardly a reason to homeschool, and I doubt that anyone starts homeschooling because they won’t have to wake up their kids in the morning, and take them to school. A lazy person would be more likely to jump up and down waiting for the chance to hand their kids over to a teacher. This does not mean however, that homeschooling cannot evolve into a situation that befits laziness. As children get older and take care of themselves more, this could be very beneficial to someone who likes to do the bare minimum. Older children can homeschool themselves with the use of computers and games if the parents are lazy or otherwise occupied. Still, allowing capable children to take care of themselves, or to use computers and games for education does not mean a parent is lazy. Sometimes these methods are the result of careful strategic planning. It can come out of a philosophy of empowering children to become stronger people. So I guess what I am saying is that while there may be a modicum of truth in this statement, it is a difficult label to apply.
Still I agree with Lyn that there are reasons you may not want to homeschool, but this is hardly a black and white situation. It is more akin to shades of green. Finally, I would like to thank Lyn for expressing her opinions on homeschoolers. How would she get a better understanding of what we did if she did not express how she saw it? How would we learn how homeschooling looks from the outside and have a chance to change those perceptions if we were not aware of them?
Ps. I do believe that Lyn does respect support homeschooling in many cases.
Read
Valid reasons to Homeschool
Reasons to quit homeschooling
Homeschooling did not work for me
Forum: Are there homeschooling families that abuse the system?