Comments on Toast Floats: 10 Ways to Piss Off Homeschool Parents

aww... i loved high school. 'course i just graduat...

2009-08-31T15:44:56.408-07:00

aww... i loved high school.
'course i just graduated last year...
middle school was the real killer, but that might've been cuz of the behavioral side effects of the Ritalin.

good for you guys who home-school your kids and are satisfied with the results. it's no secret that the public school system sucks (under ideal circumstances, every goddamn child should be able to read upon entering high school. alas, this is clearly not the case). if you can socialize them well, it does seems like a better option.

but what i most looked forward to in school was club activites and seeing all my friends and favorite teachers (there is no way in hell i would want to spend eight hours a day with my parents). even if you get a teacher who doesn't teach you anything, you can still have a good time (completely defeats the purpose of class, yes, but i'm speaking as a student, not a parent. also, when since graduation have you needed to have a comprehensive knowledge of British literature?). all the people you meet, good and bad, and the new ideas they will expose you to is, in my opinion, what makes school fun (but you can't wring the bad people by the collar, as i learned in seventh grade). plus all the field trips and dress-up days and the football games i never went to... the environment is what makes it special.
although as parents, that's kind of what you're worried about, isn't it? i don't blame you. i am not a parent. however, if i was, i'd probably also enroll my children in public school for the social experience and simply supplement them from there. not everybody has bad memories of school, and i think it's a little unfair for some of you to generalize based on negative past experiences.

that's just what i think, don't burn me in effigy over it.
or do. i don't care; this is the internet.

While I was not home-schooled, I have rarely met a...

2009-08-24T14:34:56.011-07:00

While I was not home-schooled, I have rarely met a child who's being home-schooled (or adult who had been previously home-schooled) that did not receive an education that far exceeds that which is available through the common path. Quite simply, it appears that tailoring the curriculum to the individual child, plus the individual attention given to such child, produces adults that are far better prepared to meet the challenges that life presents. I congratulate you, and all others similarly situated, for your success.

We unschool, and it makes me shake my head when pe...

2009-05-10T11:38:23.887-07:00

We unschool, and it makes me shake my head when people ask how he is going to get into college...he's 5! Let's just enjoy the 5 year old, and then the 6 old, and so on...

Great post! I'm tired of trying to defend myself ...

2009-01-08T06:23:10.457-08:00

Great post!

I'm tired of trying to defend myself against those who insist that my son needs to go to public school and learn how to handle himself against bullies and such. I don't think they would appreciate me saying "I'm so glad that you send your kids to public school, bet they must be REALLY good at handling themselves against bullies." HA

This was a fabulous post. The comments are equally...

2008-11-26T14:31:55.796-08:00

This was a fabulous post. The comments are equally great. I live in IN, so we have some of the BEST laws in the country.
Pretty much, after 15 years of hearing just about every objection, I just have to smile and laugh. Of course, we are socially irresponsible because we have 8 children too, so I get a lot of practice smiling and saying something instead of laughing at the ignorance of the misinformed. [Truth be told, I had never even heard of the QF movement until after we had our 6th child, and NO, we are not Catholic!]

Thank you for expressing in such honest and comedic words what many of us feel. I hope that new homeschoolers get to read this so they know that it may never end, but they aren't alone in how they feel!

Have a great Turkey Day!
Jacque

Math can be hard, but that's what's fun about it! ...

2008-11-20T00:44:43.195-08:00

Math can be hard, but that's what's fun about it! If it were easy, what's the point in doing it? Aeron, do your math homework!

If I'm homeschooling young kids, don't ask how I'm...

2008-11-17T21:11:56.517-08:00

If I'm homeschooling young kids, don't ask how I'm going to teach calculus or high school physics.

Seriously, do I question your ability to change a lightbulb simply because you would most likely be unable to properly install a new electrical outlet?

I agree wholeheartedly! Couldn't have put it bette...

2008-11-17T18:17:45.640-08:00

I agree wholeheartedly! Couldn't have put it better myself. Oh wait - I'm no good with words anyway. But our five homeschooled kids couldn't have put it better themselves.
We have even had the senior editor of a national magazine publicly print in their (un-named) magazine how ridiculous it was for our seven year old daughter to earn her extra class ham radio license. After all - what could a seven year old girl possibly do with that license? (We won't mention the commendation that she got from Boeing and Nasa for that and a couple of other things like talking directly to the International Space Station on her own vhf radio at home - I'm sure that doesn't count anyway...)
My discussion with a co worker the other day was along the lines of who is REALLY teaching his kid at public school. He agreed that it was sure not the school teachers.

When they ask if I am worried about socialization,...

2008-11-16T18:39:04.821-08:00

When they ask if I am worried about socialization, I say in ernest, "Yes, I am, that's exactly why I homeschool."

I then get MY pet peeve comment about sheltering our kids. "Well," they say, "They have to learn how to deal with these things."

They will learn, and I will teach them, not a bunch of poorly-supervised, ill-mannered kids. Should we send our toddlers out to cross the street by themselves since they have to learn to deal with that someday anyway?

Ha! And don't tell me my kids will never get a dec...

2008-11-16T00:53:15.105-08:00

Ha! And don't tell me my kids will never get a decent job if they don't go to school - when you are working cashout in the local store!!

As a person who spent his whole life involved in e...

2008-11-15T12:30:13.544-08:00

As a person who spent his whole life involved in education, from the first day walking myself to kindergarten to the day in 2001 when I retired as a school principal, I say "what a wonderful education you are providing for your children".

The fastest way to piss us off is to start quizzin...

2008-11-15T08:57:57.991-08:00

The fastest way to piss us off is to start quizzing my kids! I don't remember adults quizzing me as a kid, but it seems it's the first thing people want to do when they find out they're unschooled.

Great post.My kids played on recreational sports l...

2008-11-14T15:40:53.374-08:00

Great post.

My kids played on recreational sports leagues.

Oh, Toast, you're always so heterodox, you gadfly!...

2008-11-14T12:48:48.896-08:00

Oh, Toast, you're always so heterodox, you gadfly!

Your girls are primus inter pares, well, since they're girls (feminine and plural) I guess they're primae inter pares.

The thing I find most confusing (It sorta pisses me off.) is adults who indulge in idyllic reminiscences of school. Those people had a completely different experience than I did if those memories are accurate and not mental/emotional revisionist history. School was an unending festival of pain and horror! Shudder! I wouldn't wish it on anyone but RRR cultists except that they're mostly homeschoolers!

Ya just can't win, but living well is the best revenge! Live large and prosper, my floating friends!

Tell me that while what I'm doing is "okay" your n...

2008-11-14T11:25:16.592-08:00

Tell me that while what I'm doing is "okay" your neighbor (or whoever) shouldn't be trying to do it because they don't have the (whatever) it needs.

My mil does it ALL the time. And while I appreciate that she's not on my back, I wish she'd stop telling other people that unless they do "exactly" what I'm doing, they shouldn't even try.

99.9% of the cruising kids and / or homeschooled k...

2008-11-14T11:22:50.020-08:00

99.9% of the cruising kids and / or homeschooled kids that I have met were the most interesting, well adjusted, well behaved, advanced and most enjoyable kids I have ever met. You go girl!

The socialization one always gets me boiling. But ...

2008-11-14T09:50:08.195-08:00

The socialization one always gets me boiling.

But my number one pet peeve is when someone asks me how I can consider myself able to teach my kids school when I am not a certified teacher. Grrrrrrr.