Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Novice Homeschoolers Argument

It hasn't happened much- although we've only been homeschooling for one year. The other night I started a creative writing class for children. Happily enjoying the energy buzzing in the room (and being out on my own for the first time in a long time) I was sidestruck when the gentleman on my left dropped a bomb.

Him: "If you don't mind my asking, why do you homeschool? Religious reasons?"

The teacher was beginning to talk-how could I delve into all of the reasons...

Me in a whisper: "Oh, do you have experience homeschooling, too?"

Him: "No, but I have very strong theologies on why it's not good socially for children."

Wait- he said no, didn't he? No experience yet strong beliefs. Hmmmm.

My response was a weak one.

Me: "I'd be happy to discuss this more with you when we get time".

Did I mean that? I don't know.

1 comment:

Melissa @ Homegrown Catholics said...

you are certainly not alone in this regard. I go to the same haircutter everytime, and everytime they ask me about homeschooling. And of course everyone's first questions are WHY? and are they socialized? My general response is "Because it works for our family. Also, school is not for socilizing it's for learning. We do that after school with some 300 homeschool families in this area." It's really fun to watch their faces change from "all-knowing" to "more curious."