Sometimes I get so mad at homeschoolers I could just spit. To clarify, it’s not all homeschoolers…it’s just the over-achieving kind, the kind that LOVE the school part of homeschooling.
It’s not that they’re so bad or anything, it’s just that they don’t know when to stop. They say things like, “My kids do math every day for two hours…my fifth grader is doing advanced calculus this year…I’ve been working through Latin roots with my pre-schooler.”
And it’s not that what they do or don’t do, say or don’t say, is bad, it’s just the way it makes everyone around them feel that is bad.
No wonder we have homeschooling moms ripping out their hair in handfuls and dropping out of homeschooling like old people at a dance marathon. We’ve allowed people who love the SCHOOL part of homeschooling to lead the way. The problem is that the vast majority of homeschooling moms don’t love the SCHOOL part. They feel inadequate, unmotivated, and ungifted in certain areas.
As leaders, we’ve perpetuated that kind of wrong thinking. We should have said from the beginning that SCHOOL is just part of homeschooling. The biggest part is the HOME part.
And while some might actually believe the not everyone is qualified to homeschool, the TRUTH is every parent is qualified to homeschool their children. They may not want to…but they are qualified to do so if they feel so led.
So here’s the deal, over-achieving mom, if you like the school part – great!!! Just don’t rattle off all you or your children’s accomplishments to everyone…and don’t think that it’s the norm. It’s really the ‘ab-norm’.
And if you’re part of the group of homeschoolers who are committed but don’t necessarily love the teaching part, you’re doing just fine. Keep plugging away, loving your children, and refusing to compare yourself against the other over-achieving homeschoolers.
Only the truth!!
Todd