Here Goes Nothing...

I don't like writing about homeschool on my blog. Sometimes I'd rather people just didn't know I homeschool. Some people are supportive, and other people bring up tired arguments against it that I'm weary of hearing, and still other people seem to get defensive--as if the mere fact that I homeschool means I look down my nose at them for not homeschooling. Let me set the record straight. I don't. I am not a die-hard homeschool mom. I am not in any way going to suggest that you don't love your kids as much as I do if you don't homeschool. Ever. So this is my effort to clarify why, exactly, I do homeschool.

1. I love flexibility. LOVE it. I love being able to have slow mornings when I need it, and work double time to get lots done on the days when I am very motivated. I love being able to visit my family in Columbus or go out of town when the mood and opportunity strikes, without being tied down to a school schedule. I love that all of us can spend the day together if Christian happens to get a day off work for some reason. I love that our schedule is what I make of it.

2. I need something to devote my time to. I know there are those of you who are extremely self-motivated. If given some free time you will use it to do something productive, important, and life-changing. If I have free time I will use it to....sit around. Having my children's education in my hands is very motivating. It gives me something to work at, to devote my energy to, to give the day meaning.

3. There are advantages to homeschooling. My kids' education is tailor-made to my and my husbands specifications. We go at their pace and we teach them our own values. This is where people can get defensive, but just hold on. If I didn't think there were advantages to a homeschool education I wouldn't do it. That doesn't mean there are not advantages to a formal school setting. There are disadvantages and advantages to every choice we make. All of us decide which advantages and disadvantages we want to deal with. Why do we feel we all have to make the same choices in life? Why do we seem to think that if we decide on a certain path and someone else takes a different one, that they are somehow saying we are wrong? The world is made up of public school students, private school students, homeschool students, unschooled students--all kinds of students. These differences are good. We have different perspectives, and when we rub shoulders with people who have taken different paths we bring something different to the table.

4. I am 100% certain that socialization is a non-issue. Unless we are talking about knowing which tennis shoes are the trendy new thing, parents and life in general socializes a child, not a formal school setting. Whether my kids go to school or not, my husband and I must teach them how to interact with those around them, and especially how to show God's love to those around them. Sure, there are those parents who value isolation from the world more highly than being salt and light in the world, and those parents will probably choose to homeschool. Don't allow them to speak for all homeschoolers, please. And I promise I will not point out the weirdest child in public school or private school and ask you if you are afraid your child will end up like them.

Okay, I think that's it for now. There are lots of other things I could say, but for now I have to end this. Thanks for listening.