Michelle's Family

Recently I found a website that was apparently intended for public school teachers to post articles about topics they deem relevant.  I was quite surprised to read one person's "rant" about why he didn't believe in homeschooling.  He had a degree in journalism, so many of the home school families were quite disappointed at how misinformed and unresearched his "reasons" were. 

He began his article by calling home school moms "self aggrandizing, society phobic mothers".  It only got better from there.  Later, after being bombarded by comments from home school parents who were shocked and angry at the audacity of his article, he somewhat tried to soften to the blow of these words by saying, he didn't mean this as harshly as it sounded...so take it with a proverbial grain of salt.

Just a few of his (10) reasons are:

1.  College kids use the term, "You were totally homeschooled" as an insult. 

(The interesting thing about this "reason" was that it was implied that PUBLIC schooled kids would be doing the insults. He also pointed out that one could be taunted with this irregardless of whether they were *actually* home schooled.  What he failed to realize...this would be a sign of BAD socialization skills in the real world.  We don't go around randomly insulting people in the real world.  He also failed to notice that going to a public school would not prevent this either.  Apparently, our kids could possibly have this insult thrown at them, irregardless of whether they home or public schooled...so what's the point of sending them to a public school again?)

2. Homeschool parents are "selfish" because we are not sending our kids to the public school to help the not so smart kids there.

(I thought this was an insult to public schooled kids personally.  I think there are some brilliant children in the public school system and it's sad that he wants to encourage such peer dependence.  I also fail to understand how sending a smart kid to school will make another kid smarter anyhow.  His argument made NO sense what-so-ever.  I've paid local taxes all of my adult life...most of which goes to the public schools.  My kids do not directly benefit from this at all.  Plus, by me teaching my kids at home, that is 7 less kids in the classroom...making the classrooms smaller and allowing the teacher to focus on the other students.  So in actuality, I've been selfless since I've taken the burden of educating my children off the system, thereby reducing teacher/student ratio and do not partake of the resources that we help pay for.)

3.  As a teacher, it just makes him angry (except he didn't use that word).

(Well, there's a good reason to send our kids to a public school....it just makes him angry.)

4.  There was no way a regular parent could teach as well as him.

(This one was funny.  He had a double major in English and Journalism, and yet multiple home school parents pointed out grammatical errors.  Note:  Not me!  Whereas, I can do a good job of editing my grammar mistakes, I don't usually bother.  So I cast no stones on this one, lol.  However, other's obviously felt that he needed to have it pointed out, so as to prove their point...they CAN educate their kids as well as he can.  His point was even if we could teach English as well as him, we can't be an expert in every subject.  Well, the problem with this way of thinking is that we don't HAVE to be an expert in all of these subjects.  We have to have access to good curriculum, be willing to learn WITH the child, or hire tutors for our kids.  Problem solved.)

He went on and on with such things, ending with this last reason...."not to hate, but homeschoolers are kind of geeky".   

Well there's a reason to send our kids to public school. 

As a Christian, I take that "geeky" name and wear it with pride.  We are called to be different.  Titus 2:14 and I Peter 2:9 calls us a "peculiar" people.  That New Testament word for peculiar is periousios and is actually a compound of two Greek words that means "being beyond usual, that is, special (one's own).  "Peculiar",  I think, is this mans word, "geeky".  I've told my children for years that they are not supposed to be able to "fit in" with most kids.  If they went to a public school, private school, home school co-op, or even church, it's rare that they completely fit in.  If they act just like the kids cursing at the home school co-op or, disrespecting their parents, disrespectful towards things to do with God, or in one case making out at co-op, then we have failed and we need to come up with a new plan fast (and pray that it's not too late for US to influence our children for Christ.  Our influence as a parent rarely ever "stops" but it certainly slows down as our children get older). 

After being swamped with angry homeschooler's comments, (according to him there were over 25,000 words posted in the comments section in one day) he's now decided homeschoolers are the "Kenyans" of filibusters and if he were ever in a fight he'd want us on his side, lol.

His next post was titled, "Homeschoolers: Do they care too much?".

This time his list was even worse...because it revealed the real danger that I see in the public school "system" (not necessarily the teachers, or at least not all of them, or even the principal but as an organization).

This time he pointed out that he thought it was dangerous for our kids to get all of their information from one source because then no one would be there to challenge that information.  He equated this to "brainwashing".  In other words, he's telling us that part of the public schools "job" is to make sure that the things you teach your kids is being challenged.  According to him, part is to counteract people's religion and morality. 

Let me quote: 

 This sort of attitude toward the vast majority of mainstream society worries me if it comes just from a parent. But since this comes from the two major authority figures in a child?s life?both parent and teacher? I?m downright terrified myself. How will the child come to learn any different?

Do you think abortion is wrong?  It's the PS's job to counteract that belief according to this author.

Do you think homosexuality is wrong?  It's the PS's job to teach your kids otherwise (and he specifically mentioned "sexuality" as one of those beliefs that public schools help to counter...but that seems to have disappeared from the original post now.) Again, according to this author, it's the PS's job to teach differently. 

Do you have ANY moral that is different than mainstream, liberal America?  If you do, then a public school would be the place to ensure that your belief system is not passed on to your child.

I loved my son's public school teacher this year. She was very sweet and she truly loved my son!  How can I NOT love someone who so clearly loved my child?  But at the end of the year, he was struggling and I was given a choice.  I can either keep him in Kindergarten so he can learn to read but the math will be too easy for him....or I can send him on to first grade, where he will be left behind in reading...but he'll get the math he needs.  I was to choose between math and reading.

No thanks.  This society phobic, self-aggrandizing, selfish home school mom will keep her son at home next year, so I won't have to choose between learning to read and learning to add.