Don't You Want Your Children to Experience the Real World?

You know the questions. Sometimes they even come from well meaning friends and family members.

• “What about socialization?”

• “How will you ever teach math and science?”

• “You don’t have a teaching certificate. Are you really qualified to teach your children?”

• “Don’t you want your children to experience the real world?”

And on and on the list goes.

As those of us who are homeschoolers know, these are loaded questions that have little to do with what is best for our own children. Rather, they convey to us what the questioner actually thinks about homeschooling as an educational choice, and sometimes it is even a passive aggressive way to express their disapproval.
That last question, especially, always makes me laugh.

Is a 30 X 30 foot classroom full of boring textbooks and 29 other equally foolish and insecure young people the real life of which we speak? The ludicrousness of this statement hit me again over the weekend as I stood at one of the Wal-Mart “intersections,” waiting for my poorly socialized and inexperienced homeschooled children to finish their shopping.

In an act that I am certain would make Margaret Sanger proud, in strolled a teenage girl pushing a cart that held a doll-sized infant carrier that slid back and forth in the basket as the driver rummaged in her purse. Circling around and heading down the make-up aisle, another 5 girls appeared and all began talking at once.
“I was sooo wasted last night.”
“Yeah. Did you hear about Cassie? She was so wasted, too. They thought she died.”
“She didn’t die, she just passed out in her own puke.”
“No, I heard she died.”
“Whatever.”
“Hey, I forgot to take the kid along last night,” said the “mother” of the group, pointing at a 5 pound bag of flour that had been dressed in a pink knitted hat and wrapped in a pale pink blanket. “Yeah, but I brought it along today.”
One of the group reached down inside the cart and, picking up the “baby,” laughed as she adjusted the blanket and held the bundle under one arm.
“So, you wanna go out tonight?” asked another one of the girls.
“OK, said the “mom.”

“Hey, did you see who Tyler left with after the game?”
“Yeah, I saw. And they were both so wasted.”
Tossing the “baby” back into the seat, but failing to fasten the seat belt, all six of them disappeared into the nail polish as I pondered this notion of the “real world.”

In my real world, most homeschoolers have instant access to babies, whether it is younger siblings or nieces and nephews of older ones or fellow homeschoolers little ones. No one needs to tell them that babies require responsibility and hard work because they watch their moms every single day.
They are the most often requested babysitters of parents in the church because they know how to change diapers, make healthy snacks, and they actually enjoy being with little children.
“I was so wasted” is not in their vocabulary because they are too busy writing computer programs, attending NASA science camps, maintaining home businesses, creating culinary works of art in the kitchen, and writing novels.

I can’t help but wonder if those people so busy passing judgment or offering unsolicited advice even know what “the real world” is in 2010. And if they do, then my question is, "What are you doing to change it and create a better world?  I homeschool."
And, by the way, in my real world, flour is used for baking. I wonder how many of those girls knew that.

SOURCE: http://www.thatmom.com/?p=5280
Edited by Soutenus
Cartoon Source: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/whynot.htm

School-homing

Okay, time for a quick humor break, courtesy of The Onion.   H/T Ignatius Insight Scoop

Hilarious (but in a "not too far from the truth" kinda of way):

WASHINGTON—According to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education, an increasing number of American parents are choosing to have their children raised at school rather than at home.

Deputy Education Secretary Anthony W. Miller said that many parents who school-home find U.S. households to be frightening, overwhelming environments for their children, and feel that they are just not conducive to producing well-rounded members of society.

Thousands of mothers and fathers polled in the study also believe that those running American homes cannot be trusted to keep their kids safe.

"Every year more parents are finding that their homes are not equipped to instill the right values in their children," Miller said. "When it comes to important life skills such as proper nutrition, safe sex, and even basic socialization, a growing number of mothers and fathers think it's better to rely on educators to guide and nurture their kids."

"And really, who can blame them?" Miller continued. "American homes have let down our nation's youth time and again in almost every imaginable respect."

According to the report, children raised at home were less likely to receive individual adult attention, and were often subjected to ineffective and wildly inconsistent disciplinary measures. The study also found that many parents expressed concerns that, when at home, their children were being teased and bullied by those older than themselves.

In addition to providing better supervision and overall direction, school-homing has become popular among mothers and fathers who just want to be less involved in the day-to-day lives of their children.
"Parents are finding creative ways to make this increasingly common child-rearing track work," Miller said. "Whether it's over-relying on after-school programs and extracurricular activities, or simply gross neglect,† school-homing is becoming a widely accepted method of bringing children up."

Despite the trend's growing popularity, Miller said that school programs are often jeopardized or terminated because shortsighted individuals vote against tax increases intended to boost educational spending.

"The terrifying reality we're facing is that the worst-equipped people you could possibly imagine may actually be forced to take care of their children," Miller said.

Parents who have decided to school-home their children have echoed many of Miller's concerns. Most said that an alarming number of legal guardians such as themselves lack the most basic common sense required to give children the type of instruction they need during crucial developmental years.

"It's really a matter of who has more experience in dealing with my child," Cincinnati- resident Kevin Dufrense said of his decision to have his 10-year-old son Jake, who suffers from ADHD and dyslexia, school-homed. "These teachers are dealing with upwards of 40 students in their classrooms at a time, so obviously they know a lot more about children than someone like me, who only has one son and doesn't know where he is half the time anyway."

"Simply put, it's not the job of parents to raise these kids," Dufrense added.

Though school-homing has proven to be an ideal solution for millions of uninvolved parents, increasingly overburdened public schools have recently led to a steady upswing in the number of students being prison-homed.

 

Parents of school-homed children say they relish the extra time they are able to spend away from their kids.

Silly Spanish Rap

uhhmm. . . . . . followed by more silliness!

Hooked on Phonics . . . . and Elephants

My five year-old students are learning to read. Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said, "Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"

I took a deep breath, then asked, "What did you call it?"

"It's a frickin' elephant! It says so on the picture!"

And so it does...

"African Elephant"

Hey, what can I say? We are hooked on phonics!

Table Manners

The Goops!

Here is an excerpt from Lisa's wonderful blog chronicling those Goops!
Courtesy Begins with Children

When the Goops' mother told them that Mr. Jim Payson was coming to dinner, they all wanted to be at the table , because he always made them laugh. But Korlaway annoyed her mother so much, and Obaynotte was so naughty that they were not allowed to eat dinner with the company. Only Goblick was permitted to sit at the table, and when they began dinner, what do you think he did?

He licked his fingers, he licked his knife,
you never saw such a sight in your life!
He growled at the food, and he kicked at his chair,
he wiped off his spoon and his fork on his hair!

He talked while he chewed, and he teased for more sauce,
he took the best orange, and drank like a horse!
He played with the salt, and he played with his food,
his eating was horribly, horribly rude!

He scraped at his plate, and he spilled all his soup,
he sneezed and he coughed like the worst kind of Goop.
He made such a mess with his butter and bread
that his mother could stand it no longer, and said,

"Goblick leave the table instantly. I never saw you behave so badly!"

You see Obaynotte and Erlyden watching him on the stairs?
Erlyden is calling out "Goblick, Goblick, you make me sick !

Important Educational Clip