And You Intend to Homeschool????

[sparkprincess]

Ugh!! I hate it when people say this, like in order to homeschool I have to be perfect and not make any mistakes!

I ordered curriculum. I accidentally put an extra item in my cart and had to call and have that straightened out. Then, after waiting forever for my order to arrive, I finally tracked the package only to find that it had been shipped to a totally random town. I had my address right...except the zip code. I put the zip code for my work which I type in over and over for two hours a day.

Sigh.

I know my husband was sorta teasing when he said the whole "and you intend to homeschool???" bit, but I was ticked anyway. I'm NOT usually this flighty!

[littlemizflava]

good it will teach them that no one is perfect. when we make a mistake we try to fix it and most of all the world will not come to a end because it::: my daughter knows that i dont know everything but i am very open to learning new things and we enjoy learning together:::

[Nomadmama]

I have to say that I've had several people say this to me. It was in response to telling a friend and my mother on separate occasions about bad days I was having with the kids. Both times it was met with a snicker and a "And you want to homeschool? (snicker snicker). It's a nasty, demeaning thing to say to someone with the best of intentions. Can I vent anymore? Nope. To the people I can't trust with my feelings, there is no more venting. We are just a happy, perfect homeschooling family with no problems whatsoever.

Sorry to vent about this. I know it's not exactly what your post was about, but the phrase certainly applies! YES. I INTEND TO FREAKIN HOMESCHOOL! Arrgh.

:

[jadedone80]

lol!
My friends and I have to come to the point that when one of us does something unintellegent, we just laugh and say, "And we actually homeschool." lol

Have fun on your journey!

[chaoticzenmom]

Originally Posted by Nomadmama

I have to say that I've had several people say this to me. It was in response to telling a friend and my mother on separate occasions about bad days I was having with the kids. Both times it was met with a snicker and a "And you want to homeschool? (snicker snicker). It's a nasty, demeaning thing to say to someone with the best of intentions. Can I vent anymore? Nope. To the people I can't trust with my feelings, there is no more venting. We are just a happy, perfect homeschooling family with no problems whatsoever.

Sorry to vent about this. I know it's not exactly what your post was about, but the phrase certainly applies! YES. I INTEND TO FREAKIN HOMESCHOOL! Arrgh.

:

Well, that does sound demeaning....and you WANT to homeschool, as if you have to have her permission. I'd respond with "no, honey....I AM homeschooling."

But on a lighter note, with my homeschooling friends, if our children say something totally off, like "gooder" we'll likely joke "way to go homeschool!" We can joke with ourselves that we have no clue, but nobody else better do it. With peers, it's a joke, with others, it's condescending.

[Peppermint]

Originally Posted by chaoticzenmom

But on a lighter note, with my homeschooling friends, if our children say something totally off, like "gooder" we'll likely joke "way to go homeschool!" We can joke with ourselves that we have no clue, but nobody else better do it. With peers, it's a joke, with others, it's condescending.

Same here.

Sorry to those being hurt by people you should be able to count on for support.

[tankgirl73]

You know, I think my response to that would be...

Yes, I intend to homeschool. Because me and all my idiot ways, is the result of a regular public school education.

I want better for my kids.

(Remember that for the most part, homeschool parent are guides, not "teachers", and the kids learn more on their own than because of your intelligence or teaching skill)

I use the same rationale when people say "I can't homeschool because I'm no good at math, how could I teach it to my kid?" Well, the alternative is sending them to the same public school system that did such a great job with you that you don't even think you can explain elementary-level math to another person. How many hours of homework and study and years of effort were wasted in your 12-year mathematical journey??

[laurata]

Eh, parents of public schoolers make mistakes too. You'll just have more time to rectify them. :-) If public school teaches mediocrity, well, you'll just have an easier time surpassing that bar.

[mommy68]

Geez, I make mistakes often. And my mistakes are much bigger than putting the wrong zip code on stuff. lol! I must be terrible to think I should be homeschooling my kiddos.

hmm..and as a parent that just removed her kids from school this past year...what is up with all the parents that are constantly late dropping off their kids at school every day?? ((not to mention those that forget the pick-up instructions day after day after day)) And I'm talking about stay-at-home-moms that have nothing to do BUT get their kids up and ready to go to school. You'd think after 10 mos of taking children to a school five days a week you could get that part right. So uhhh.... yeah, I'm good to go with this homeschooling gig I think.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by tankgirl73

I use the same rationale when people say "I can't homeschool because I'm no good at math, how could I teach it to my kid?" Well, the alternative is sending them to the same public school system that did such a great job with you that you don't even think you can explain elementary-level math to another person. How many hours of homework and study and years of effort were wasted in your 12-year mathematical journey??

eggggg-cellent point!!

[sparkprincess]

Originally Posted by Nomadmama

I have to say that I've had several people say this to me. It was in response to telling a friend and my mother on separate occasions about bad days I was having with the kids. Both times it was met with a snicker and a "And you want to homeschool? (snicker snicker). It's a nasty, demeaning thing to say to someone with the best of intentions. Can I vent anymore? Nope. To the people I can't trust with my feelings, there is no more venting. We are just a happy, perfect homeschooling family with no problems whatsoever.

Sorry to vent about this. I know it's not exactly what your post was about, but the phrase certainly applies! YES. I INTEND TO FREAKIN HOMESCHOOL! Arrgh.

:

No, this applies too!! I've heard people say this and it always irritates me.

[eilonwy]

: Well, I'll be the voice of dissent here. I don't think that everyone should homeschool. Putting the wrong zip code on something is one thing-- it's not a huge deal; people make small mistakes all the time, nobody's perfect. Imperfect grammar? Typos? Whatever-- we all have days when we can't manage to add 2+2 and get 4. On the other hand, I regularly read posts to an online homeschool support group which make me cringe. I'm not talking about small syntax errors or typos here, I'm talking about entire paragraphs which are indecipherable; A long string of exclamation points and single-letter "words" which don't seem applicable to anything. Some of these women can't communicate effectively, they seem to be utterly incapable of it... and if it makes me an elitist twit to say that they probably don't have any business homeschooling, then I'll wear that t-shirt. :

[3momkmb]

I really don't think it's fair to judge someones ability to homeschool from reading posts on a message board. I know my posts are very much *stream of thought* and often don't have correct grammar/spelling. Plus, a lot of how a post reads has to do with typing skills. It really bugs me when I hear that someone is thought to be not good enough from their posts and makes me reluctant to post lest I be judged. JMO of course.

I do agree that not everyone should homeschool, just as not everyone should be a parents and not every couple should be married. Thing is, it's not my call to make and I don't feel I should judge.

I think the OP here was simply venting that she felt it unfair that she was expected (even jokingly) to be *perfect* in order to be thought worthy to homeschool. My DH can sometimes be that way when I complain about my day to day struggles. I usually remind him that *he* sometimes complains about his job and nobody suggests he quit! I consider hsing my job and although I love it overall, I am not going to love everything about it every minute! To expect that is unrealistic.

[chaoticzenmom]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

: Well, I'll be the voice of dissent here. I don't think that everyone should homeschool. Putting the wrong zip code on something is one thing-- it's not a huge deal; people make small mistakes all the time, nobody's perfect. Imperfect grammar? Typos? Whatever-- we all have days when we can't manage to add 2+2 and get 4. On the other hand, I regularly read posts to an online homeschool support group which make me cringe. I'm not talking about small syntax errors or typos here, I'm talking about entire paragraphs which are indecipherable; A long string of exclamation points and single-letter "words" which don't seem applicable to anything. Some of these women can't communicate effectively, they seem to be utterly incapable of it... and if it makes me an elitist twit to say that they probably don't have any business homeschooling, then I'll wear that t-shirt. :

WEll, maybe those parents outsource some.LOL, I know I do. There is actually very little that I do educationally at home. They take classes at a resource center for 2 days a week and I call it good.

Children of parents who aren't that great in written communication don't deserve to be institutionalized any more than children of brilliant, perfect parents. This took me awhile to understand.

[caspian's mama]

there is SO much stuff i *should* have learned in PS but did not. i'm pretty bright in areas that interest me but i'm definitely one of those people who could correctly place only 2/3 of the states on a map. (those are US states- the country i've lived in all my life. don't get me started on naming the capitals or on world geography.) c's dad was just lamenting how he wishes he knew more about geology and i reminded him that one of the best parts about homeschooling is all the stuff WE get to learn too! i really dig rediscovering so much information that either i didn't know before or only had "drilled" in from school (so subsequently forgot), especially since it's all under the umbrella of c's natural enthusiasm.

this is SO much fun.

[umbrella]

I agree about not using a message board post to judge how well someone can write. Especially when I had a nursing baby, I was often doing my surfing while nursing, and therefore typing with just one hand, and in the dark to boot. It's pretty hard to type with just one hand, in the dark. Hunting and pecking when you can't see the letters, not an elegant product at the end.

[eilonwy]

I too have fallen prey to the "nak-at-night" typing scheme; The posts I'm talking about go far, far beyond those kinds of mistakes. I'm speaking of things like ending every sentence with an exclamation point, or having no whole sentences to speak of. The message board can be awful, the email list is far, far worse.

[littlemizflava]

i see typing on line is the same as texting and instant messages. it is based on shorthands and shortcuts. when you hear someone speak it is nothing like the way they would type.

on the fit to homeschool i think if more would do it it would be better. i know some parents couldnt do it because their eyes lighted up with the joy in their kids being out of the house for hours. it is daycare not even school. they dont care if they learn or dont learn.

if they cant do math how do they plan on helping with homework? i know 2 adults that were not able to the k work and they did it worng (not once everytime) and both of them finished highschool.

on a selfish note i think learning it along with your child would be beter then not learning it at all.

[Messac888]

I have had people question, "Wouldn't you rather they be in a school so they can learn?" like I'm incapable of helping them learn anything. :

I love people who ask why I feel I'm more qualified to teach than teachers. I usually reply, "Because I graduated high school so I am supposedly educated enough to teach kindergarten mathematics. I didn't spend four years learning classroom management techniques but I still think I can teach Kindergarten Math." Usually quiets them down a bit. Mind you, I think that "more qualified" nonsense is just, well, nonsense. I'm just differently qualified.

I love my kids and would never purposely screw them up.

[chaoticzenmom]

Originally Posted by Messac888

I have had people question, "Wouldn't you rather they be in a school so they can learn?" like I'm incapable of helping them learn anything. :

I love people who ask why I feel I'm more qualified to teach than teachers. I usually reply, "Because I graduated high school so I am supposedly educated enough to teach kindergarten mathematics. I didn't spend four years learning classroom management techniques but I still think I can teach Kindergarten Math." Usually quiets them down a bit. Mind you, I think that "more qualified" nonsense is just, well, nonsense. I'm just differently qualified.

I love my kids and would never purposely screw them up.

I usually respond to stuff like that with "I couldn't stop them from learning if I tried!" That usually shuts them up.

That said, it's true. My son has started division all by himself. He's started talking division problems out in his head during normal conversation. I wasn't going to start division with him until sometime next year.LOL