So we were over at my ILs for dinner tonight and my MIL was chatting with me about some recent pictures on my blog from our cottage vacation. She mentioned that she would love to share my blog with some of her relatives and friends who don't understand homeschooling. My blog is currently set to invite only but I told her I would be happy to send invites to anyone she wanted to share it with.
So the conversation evolves to her recounting an ongoing discussion she is having with a friend she sees weekly about homeschooling, specifically my kids being homeschooled. My MIL was trying to explain it to this friend about how my kids are educated. MIL was saying that they are never not learning - that they do tonnes of interesting things, have plenty of friends, make all these great connections between things they learn, paticipate in track and field, sports, science clubs etc etc (
for my MIL - love her). But her friend, who I admit I find annoying in general, won't let it go and is really giving her a hard time around why she supports homeschooling. It's the usual stuff people unfamiliar with homeschooling bring up: they won't know how to get along with peers; what will they do when they are confronted with a line up, a test, or an authority figure; 
, they won't get into university; how can they learn what they need to from someone who isn't a certified teacher in every subject; how will my kids learn to be competitive and to stand up to bullies or manage in the real world; and will they ever be properly socialized? 
So my MIL, in an effort I think to fend off her friend told her that I had done plenty of research and thought through all of this and that if this friend has questions, she should ask me. And then my MIL sort of looked at me expectantly.
I've been homeschooling for 6 years now. I usually don't engage in this kind of stuff in real life, particularly with people like this friend who is unlikely to ever "get it", and who, I suspect, is a bit miffed at the (imagined) notion that I think the same schools her grandkids go to aren't good enough for my kids. However I am wondering if I should see if my MIL wants me to talk to this friend to answer her questions, in an effort to move her off the topic or give her access to my blog (which I really don't want to do mostly on principle). I love that my MIL is supporting our homeschooling - defending it even. And I would love to support that. So I am waffling a bit about what to do. Offer to talk to this woman? Pass on an article to read if this friend is interested? Ignore it and or play pass the bean dip because I'm not sure the conversation will go anywhere anyway?
Blah
What would you do?
Karen
So the conversation evolves to her recounting an ongoing discussion she is having with a friend she sees weekly about homeschooling, specifically my kids being homeschooled. My MIL was trying to explain it to this friend about how my kids are educated. MIL was saying that they are never not learning - that they do tonnes of interesting things, have plenty of friends, make all these great connections between things they learn, paticipate in track and field, sports, science clubs etc etc (
for my MIL - love her). But her friend, who I admit I find annoying in general, won't let it go and is really giving her a hard time around why she supports homeschooling. It's the usual stuff people unfamiliar with homeschooling bring up: they won't know how to get along with peers; what will they do when they are confronted with a line up, a test, or an authority figure; , they won't get into university; how can they learn what they need to from someone who isn't a certified teacher in every subject; how will my kids learn to be competitive and to stand up to bullies or manage in the real world; and will they ever be properly socialized? So my MIL, in an effort I think to fend off her friend told her that I had done plenty of research and thought through all of this and that if this friend has questions, she should ask me. And then my MIL sort of looked at me expectantly.
I've been homeschooling for 6 years now. I usually don't engage in this kind of stuff in real life, particularly with people like this friend who is unlikely to ever "get it", and who, I suspect, is a bit miffed at the (imagined) notion that I think the same schools her grandkids go to aren't good enough for my kids. However I am wondering if I should see if my MIL wants me to talk to this friend to answer her questions, in an effort to move her off the topic or give her access to my blog (which I really don't want to do mostly on principle). I love that my MIL is supporting our homeschooling - defending it even. And I would love to support that. So I am waffling a bit about what to do. Offer to talk to this woman? Pass on an article to read if this friend is interested? Ignore it and or play pass the bean dip because I'm not sure the conversation will go anywhere anyway?
Blah
What would you do?
Karen
but my MIL shocked me by fighting back and listing benefits of hs over public school and then grabbing her grandson and hugging him and saying, "I think my grandchildren are pretty wonderful, don't you?" in a very pointed manner, which got the point across to her sister that she was treading on dangerous ground! She backed off and we managed to change the subject, I still can't believe the nerve of her and wish I could have said something.
