Five Questions That Make This Homeschooling Mama Crazy (Nablopomo Day 9)

*This post is Day Nine of the January Nablopomo 30-day blogging challenge hosted by BlogHer.

I don’t mind when non-homeschoolers ask me questions about our choices. I know that the vast majority are coming from a place of genuinely seeking understanding about a lifestyle they are unfamiliar with. I get it. It’s kind of fun to share and, often, I get ideas from the input of others.But there are a few questions that make me want to bang my head on my non-existent teacher’s desk in our non-existent classroom. I try to be polite but… seriously…

1) What curriculum do you use?

What I think: Why do you care? Do you even know the difference? What curriculum does your public school kid use? I bet you don’t know! Do you even know what they taught your child in public school today? Who uses just one curriculum, anyway?

What I say: We use Khanacademy.org for math. In other subjects we vary our resources, according to our needs.

2) How many hours a day do you do school?

What I think: How many hours a day does a public school kid actually DO school? Maybe 3? 4? Assuming it’s not a holiday, or a snow day, or the day before a holiday when all the kids are wound up, or the day after a holiday when no one is in the rhythm, or someone’s birthday…

What I say: Some days are longer than others. We focus more on meeting goals than keeping track of hours.

3) Are you confident that your child is where they should be, academically?

What I think: Who came up with the idea that a person of a certain age should know a certain number of facts, anyway? Is every public school kid on the same page, academically? Does no one ever fall behind in one subject or excel in another?

What I say: I’ve seen my daughter really grow and flourish in exciting ways since we started homeschooling.

4) Do you worry about your kids getting into college?

What I think: I have one child who is in training pants at night and one who is still little enough to think that “fart” is the funniest word in the English language. I’m not too worried about college just yet. Are you worried about your public school kid knowing how to think for themselves when they graduate after being taught to conform for 13 years?

What I say: As they get older, there are a number of resources to help them prepare for continuing education if they choose that path.

And MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE QUESTION (directed at my child):

5) Do you know _______ insert random quiz question here ____________? (ie. Who the first 5 presidents are? What 1/3 times 1/8 is? The capitals of all 50 states? The name of the leader of Denmark? What year the cotton gin was invented? The moral of the book “Of Mice and Men?”)

What I think: Do YOU know any of those things?! Do you quiz EVERY child that comes across your path or are you specifically targeting MY child for some reason?

What I say: Baby girl, maybe you could go play with your brother while Mommy talks to this nice man.

Are you, too, seeking to save the earth, promote world peace and raise productive citizens without expending too much effort?

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