I remember the first time I heard about homeschooling.
I was at a friend's house. Her daughter was about 4. It was--1985 or so.
"You're planning on homeschooling her for first grade, aren't you?" her husband asked conversationally.
HUH? I thought. Honestly, I had never heard of homeschooling. He might as well said "You're planning to remove her gallbladder at home, aren't you?" or "You're planning to cook food on our stove for supper, aren't you?" Both concepts seemed equally ludicrous to me.
Since then homeschooling is the new black it seems.
Now I totally respect moms and dads who do this--I actually have a very cool efriend who homeschools a whole amazing tribe of kids.
But I'd like to take a minute to defend public schools. God knows, they need it! Nobody likes public schools any more.
I went to a large, impersonal high school. It was brutal! Boys scorned me, I had to fight to make the good grades, I tried out for numerous things and failed miserably, oh it was awful!!
And I'm planning on sending the girls there one day.
Why?
Because it was great training for the real world.
Where did we ever get the idea that we're supposed to smooth the path for our kids--expose them to nothing but warm, cuddly environments? Lord knows the job world isn't warm and cuddly.
Boys ignored me--so I learned, slowly, how to become more attractive to them.
I didn't make the exclusive clubs--and I lived. I'm not in the exclusive clubs as an adult, either.
I had some difficult and demanding teachers--and I learned how to please difficult and demanding bosses, thus ensuring a weekly paycheck comes rolling in.
I figured out how to "work the angles"--how to get a good parking space, how to get the easiest teachers at the best times, how to get the best dorm rooms in college, how to finangle early graduation. (Finished college B.A. Journalism magna cum laude at age 20) Figuring out how to "work the angles" has come in very handy in real life.
It made me into a fighter.
I am glad I went to public schools.
Not to mention the fact that even trying to help a kid with homework makes me develop an involuntary tic in my eye and start talking to people who aren't there.
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5 comments:
I love difficult and demanding teachers! The ones I still talk to were the ones who pushed me the hardest. BUT my kids wasted a few years in public school because their teachers were not demanding at all. So they are in private school, where things are much more difficult, as far as academics go. And the huge amount of homework is giving me hives (but the kids are learning a lot)! I applaud anyone who can pull off homeschooling. But I can't!
the mere thought of homeschooling gives me hives except for the fact that you can take vacation as often as you want and whenever you want. my son starts kindergarten in august and i dread it as much as i look forward to it. he's going to a parochial school because the district i live in semi-sucks and i want a small school where i can keep an eye on him and those who interact with him. i figure that way he doesn't have to explain the asian/adoption thing over and over again.
More power to the people who can do it and do it well, but I would never have the discpline to be one of them! Homeschooled kids occasionally enroll at my school and while some are up to standard others are woefully behind, esp. when it comes to math - they have huge gaps.
It's all I can do to help my 8 year old with homework, much less do it all day long and try and teach her stuff from the get-go. Love this entry - right up my alley...
And you know Denise I don't just mean FAIR difficult and demanding teachers, I also mean that I think it's valuable to have UNFAIR teachers once in awhile.
Not psychos of course, but teachers who just aren't reasonable. Teachers who take some work to figure out.
Good training for the job world.
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