Have you ever sat in a restaurant and suddenly something peaked your interest from another table?
Maybe it was a word or a laugh or something that caught your attention.
This happened to us Wed. at Chick Fil A.
Will, Amy and I went to eat lunch and run a couple of errands ~ 2 men in suits were sitting at the table right beside us. And they were talking about different things.
Then I heard the word homeschooling. Ah ha ~ a passion of mine. Let just say they were totally ignorant of the families, education, lessons, etc.
According to one of these "experts"
we are over protective (duh, yes)
we live in our own world (doesn't everybody)
our kids never have any outside activities (this is about where I was choking)
we don't do school ~ its just an excuse (Amy wants to live there, cause I didn't get that memo)
its a fad (18 years is a little long for a fad)
we stay home and do nothing (again, severe choking going on)
we are unsocialized ( bahahahahaha)
the children don't live in the real world (I guess he meant the one where you sit in a classroom with 30 other people your exact same age and do the exact same things everyday)
homeschool parents don't expect anything of their children (again ~ Amy wants to know where that family lives)
At this point my tongue is bruising because I am biting it. It was all I could do not to barge in and straighten this expert out. I don't know where his info came from but it was WRONG.
We finally deduced that these were school board officials, or something similar, maybe with the county. Amy said when we got up to get our drinks refilled before leaving ~ they looked startled and stared at us.
YES, we heard.
YES, you are wrong.
And YES, we managed to get out of the restaurant before I clubbed them over the head with my purse ~ but I guess that was my unsocialization oozing out!
So to Amy, Will, Katie, Allen & James
I am sorry that ~ I expected you to do schoolwork ~ that I had you involved in Scouts, church activities, dance, 4H, Keepers, missions, and neighborhood friends ~ that I took you out in public instead of locking you in the house ~ that we rounded out our educational experiences at National Parks, Historic Places, Epcot & Disney, field trips, Civil War Reenactments, trips to Wash DC ~
that I made you get up every morning and get dressed & not lay around in your pjs ~ that I expected you to behave, use good manners, and be considerate ~ that I expected you to act like ladies and gentlemen ~ that I didn't let you experiment like some of the kids in public schools do.
Please accept my humble apologies!
And if I had it to do over again.......I would!
They do more activities being home school, then my daughters did in regular school. We as a family rounded out their education with museums and outings.
ReplyDeleteEver crusing your sites in a hurry and something peaks your interst? Maybe it was a word or the title that caught your attention?
ReplyDeleteHaven't read in weeks because I'm behind, as usual, but saw your title post and had to read! Wow, I love the way you worded ALL of this! And, I'm so proud of you for not making a scene in public (another thing we DIDN'T teach our kids to do).
No outside activities? No socialization? Ha! I was more socialized, and more involved in outside activities when I was homeschooled, than when I was in public school. I wouldn't have changed anything about being homeschooled either, thank you for "forcing" me out of the system to teach me at home. It was a great blessing to me!
ReplyDeleteNo outside activities? No socialization? Ha! I was more socialized, and more involved in outside activities when I was homeschooled, than when I was in public school. I wouldn't have changed anything about being homeschooled either, thank you for "forcing" me out of the system to teach me at home. It was a great blessing to me!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'm not sure I could have held my tongue though - and I know my husband wouldn't have been able to!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone~....4 months and counting!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record ~ I am not totally against public school ~ it serves its place in society just like homeschool does. But I am against narrow minded individuals who think their way is the ONLY right way.