Judgment

There is nothing more that I hate than being judged for living our life outside the norm. I am not one to make a rash decision. I research and try to find what works best for our family. I never go into anything blindly, at least not when it comes to my children or my family. I do not put my children at risk, whether that is physically, socially or emotionally. So it goes without saying that I am pissed off now that I am being called out yet again for my decisions. Decisions that I did not come into lightly.

The kids' grandfather has yet again bashed my choice to homeschool the children. He is concerned that they are not performing academically as well as their peers. Yet I find it odd that they never bring this up to me. They only bring it up to the kids' father who is not really present in their day to day activities so he has no clue about what they are doing. I wish they would say something to me about it. I have no concerns over the kids academics, I know that they know the same, if not more, than their age-related peers in terms of the core subjects, you know those ones that are only taught to achieve AYP (adequate yearly progress) in public schools. In terms of subjects that public school children are not tested on, they know much more. I am so tired of being called out in regards to what they are learning, especially from people who rarely interact with them. I know that their cousins are never quizzed about their knowledge of what society thinks they should know and I am almost certain that their parents are not questioned or judged about the education the children are receiving in public school. Even when these children are struggling with the academic aspect of public school the parents are never questioned. It seems as if only my choices are condemned because we refuse to "walk the line."





Apparently another concern is the fact that Dawson has never been in school, and probably will never be in school, so to them that means that my children are sheltered and do not have any friends. For those of you that know us know how laughable that is. Dawson is a very outspoken child who loves adventure and has never had a problem making friends. In fact often times we have quite the opposite problem with him. He makes friends where ever he goes. Often times on the playground Dawson has a following of children that look up to him and want to play with him. He will interact with people of all ages without concern. So I do not see how I am socially stunting my children by keeping them home. We belong to a wonderful, secular, home school co-op where the kids are able to interact with other children, and honestly they both have fallen right in with their friends, as if they have been a part of that group for years. We also have an amazing family that we get together with every week so that our children can play and explore together.

The kids also attend classes at the various museums, where they have had no trouble making friends. They each attend a karate school, again where neither of them had any issues blending into group. Kyley takes theater classes where she has made numerous friends as well. Making friends has never been a concern of mine, at least not since pulling Kyley from public school. I will admit that Kyley did have some shyness to overcome in her early years, but during those years she was not home schooling, she was attending the local public school. Since pulling her she has really come out of her shell, so yes let's blame home schooling for all of the social awkwardness in children. I am not doubting the fact that there are some home schooled children who are sheltered, mine however are not. We are rarely home because we are always out exploring everything that our city has to offer.




I really wish that these concerns would be brought up to me so that I could put all of their concerns to rest. I have researched everything that our family does, whether that is the food that goes into our bodies, the medications that we take, or the education that our children receive. We are doing what works best for us and right now not attending public school is what is working best for us.