Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Irony of Homeschooling

So.

We're now officially launched into another year of this crazy-making adventure of home education.

Because you know what the best thing about homeschooling is?  I'm with my kids all the time.
And, you know what the hardest thing about homeschooling is?  I'm with my kids all the time.  ;D

But what really just chaps my hide cracks me up is the stereotyping of homeschoolers.  Because in the very same day you can run into folks whose expectations run the gamut.

On the one hand, you get people who expect homeschoolers to all be brainiacs, like the Colfax family, who homesteaded in California and worked so hard at it, that studying looked like a fun little hobby.  Three of their four sons were accepted into Harvard and the fourth went to another Ivy League school.

Or, failing academic genius, homeschool kids should all be musical prodigies, right?

But on the other hand, other folks think homeschoolers are all weird, unsocialized geeks.  (Because - you know -  the public schools certainly don't have any weird, unsocialized geeks.)

And then there's the absolute classic, Tim Hawkins homeschool family.  (Go watch it.  You'll laugh.  I'll wait.)

News flash:  I don't own a denim jumper, I still only have three kids, and I don't grind my own wheat.

I guess some of us are destined to be average.  How's that for a stereotype?

7 comments:

Ritsumei said...

That video is a hoot! I hadn't seen it before, thanks!

Ruby said...

yes, it's ironic all right! We don't slot nicely into the stereotypes either. Love how you Americans call them jumpers...over here they're known as pinnies (pinafores) but not worn much except by the expectant mums. Denim skirts are a bit of an unofficial uniform though.
Yes, I've seen the clip before and love it and know a few families who might fit the description!!!!
Being with the kids all day, everday certainly has its pros and cons!

traci said...

We homeschooling families are a little "weird", I guess.....In the worlds eyes. Because we are raising our kids to be themselves and not a lemming........

GodLoveandBows said...

Your main blog picture is just gorgeous. I love it. :)

Guggie Daly said...

hahaha, my mom loves the denim jumper look. She buys every style from Christopher and Banks and wears them during school hours. Even as a little kid the hilarity was not lost on me.

She even made sure to wear the "teacher ones" with the embroidered apples and little zoo animals. Or around the holidays she'd wear holiday-themed ones.


Oh and before life got too busy she used to HAND GRIND her own wheat and make her own breads. hahahaha

Stereotype...hahaha.

Except I turned down Harvard's offer. And WashU's, too. So I guess I don't fall into the typical category.

The dB family said...

I guess we're starting to fall into that stereotypical homeschool family -- well except that I'm not homeschooling right now. We've started looking at buses, er, I mean BIG vans. Anyways, I like being weird. Who wants normal?!? :o)

Blessings!
Deborah

The Hibbard Family said...

Yay for average! So much less stressful! And, I was just watching the Tim Hawkins video the other day - and laughing yet again.