I’ve been homeschooling for a fairly long time; we’re in our 8th year.  In the beginning, it was difficult to tell people.  I wasn’t very confident and was just muddling through some very murky waters and at the end of the day, I didn’t feel like justifying myself to strangers, but still I tried.  A couple of years and some great experiences into it, I was much more confident and could hold my own in any discussion or debate, whether it was friendly or not.  The most common argument I faced was the socialization issue.  Total strangers would confront me in the supermarket and demand to know what I planned to do when my children couldn’t handle public places.  Never mind, that we were in a public place and my children seemed to be “handling it” just fine.  I had some real experience to share with people and some pat one liners for the rude questions, but as time wore on and homeschooling became more of a mainstream choice, the rudeness stopped and people, when they even mentioned it, were more curious and open and truly interested in what we were doing.

I enjoyed years of no confrontation.  People would comment on how well my children behaved, how polite they were, how well they spoke.  It happened so often, that while nice to hear, it became a bit trite if I’m being completely honest.

Recently, in the last six months or so people are starting to confront me again.  Again, it’s the socialization issue.  I can’t wrap my brain around why people
a.) feel that it’s any of their business
b.) think that they can say things without any real data to back them up
c.) are so blind that they can’t see what’s right in front of them

My children have lots of great friends from all different walks of life.  We see them very often.  They have different backgrounds, different religious views, different political ideas, different everything.  The children that I have met (and I have met hundreds of them) are by and large the most social people that I have ever seen.  They can speak publicly, they can have conversations with adults and very small children and everything in between.

I could take the low road here and attack other education choices, but I won’t.  I think that’s really what the problem is.  People aren’t respecful of other people’s choices and their rights and that’s a bigger problem than any socialization issue.  Supposed free thinkers, who I thought were progressive are spewing the same rhetoric at me that I heard 8 years ago.

The difference is that I no longer feel the need to justify my choice.  If someone has questions, I’ll be happy to answer them. The real question is, do you want to discuss it, or do you just want to fight?  I’m ok with it either way, but be clear what your intentions are.

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