{"id":2053,"date":"2024-09-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test4.honeycombdesignstudio.com\/?p=2053"},"modified":"2024-09-12T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T21:39:08","slug":"public-school-parents-guide-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com\/public-school-parents-guide-to\/","title":{"rendered":"The Public School Parents’ Guide to Homeschool Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Public School Parents’ Guide to Homeschool Parents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of misconceptions about homeschoolers. Most of those tend to be centered around the kids, but there are a lot of misconceptions about homeschooling parents, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m often surprised to hear some of the things that people who don’t homeschool, public school parents among them, think about homeschooling parents.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I understand public school parents as I went to public school myself. As an adult, I got an education degree and taught school for a couple of years before having my own children. Then I sent my special needs child (my oldest) to public school for a few years before bringing her home to homeschool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, I do have public school experience from various viewpoints. But I didn’t know many homeschoolers until I became one myself (many years ago!), so I really didn’t think much about them one way or the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d like to make some homeschool mom confessions (at least, as they relate to this <\/em>homeschool mom). Oh, and the title just sounded fun.  No negative implications intended here at all. Some of my best friends and favorite relatives are public school parents or teachers (and I have been both myself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here are 10 points that public school parents might find interesting when it comes to homeschooling parents (myself, in particular).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.  We do not have superhuman patience.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I can’t tell you the number of people who say to me, “I couldn’t homeschool; I don’t have enough patience” or some variation thereof. Let me tell you, my name and patience rarely occur in the same sentence unless someone is saying, “Kris has no patience.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have told people, “I know that homeschooling isn’t for everyone, and I’m not suggesting that you should homeschool, but if you’re going to give me an excuse, you’ll have to come up with a better one than that because if I have enough patience to homeschool, anybody does!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we began homeschooling<\/a>, I told the neighbors, “If you come home from work one afternoon, and there is yellow police tape around the house, you’ll know that one of us (the kids or me) ran out of patience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, we’ve all survived, but seriously? I’ve done homework with my oldest when she was in public school. So far, my worst day of homeschooling hasn’t been any worse than my worst night of homework. We homeschool parents are in good company with you public school parents in this respect: we probably all need a little more patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.  We don’t homeschool because it gives us the warm fuzzies.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are almost as many reasons to homeschool as there are homeschoolers, but I don’t know of anyone who does this just because it makes them feel good … because you know what? Some days, it does not <\/em>feel good. Some days involve tears, whining, yelling. All before breakfast. And not necessarily just from the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n

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3.  Some days, we watch with envy as that yellow school bus drives by.<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Here’s a confession for you public school parents: we don’t do this because it’s easy or a cop-out.  Some days, homeschooling is just hard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few of us have been known to threaten to send our kids to public school. (My kids can tell you exactly how far we live from the public school because I’ve mentioned it a time or two.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of us have spent more time than we’d care to admit daydreaming about what we might do if our kids were in school all day.  And, there are some days when it takes every ounce of willpower not to chase down that school bus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(In my daydreams, anyway.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when push comes to shove, we know there is nothing else we’d rather do than homeschool our kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  We don’t think our kids are better or smarter than yours.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just like your normal public school parents, most of us homeschool parents are average moms and dads with average kids. They have their areas of strength and their areas of weakness (academically and personally) just like yours. We have our hopes and fears, doubts and insecurities just like you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do some homeschool parents have gifted kids?  Absolutely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do some homeschool parents have kids that the parents think are gifted, but in reality, not so much?  Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do some public school parents have gifted kids?  Yep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do some public school parents have kids that the parents think are gifted, but in reality, not so much?  I think you see where this is going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all, <\/em>public, private, or homeschool parents, think our kids are pretty special.  That doesn’t mean that homeschool parents think our kids are better than those not educated at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  Our decision to homeschool is not a personal commentary on your decision not to.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to popular belief, we do not think that homeschooling is for everyone.  We don’t think that you’re a bad parent or that you don’t care about your kids as much as we care about ours because you don’t homeschool them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see educational choices as yet another personal parenting choice, and we realize that you are making the choices that are best for your family, just as we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6.  Our decision to homeschool is not a personal commentary on the jobs of public school teachers.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of us do<\/em> have a beef with the public school system as a whole but I don’t think that is exclusive to homeschoolers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we may see the system<\/em> as flawed, this observation does not typically extend to individual teachers.  Most of us realize that the majority of teachers are good people, doing a good job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they’re doing it with a whole lot expected of them for pitifully low compensation based on the time and effort their jobs require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s to say nothing about the issues that current teachers are facing with kids using devices like smart phones in the classroom. It is NOT easy to be a public school teacher in today’s era.<\/p>\n\n\n

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7.  We realize that there are homeschooling families who probably should not be homeschooling.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is true in every area of life.  There are public and private school teachers who have no business in the classroom. There are parents who have no business having kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We try not to judge others, and we definitely don’t want our rights as parents restricted because of a few sensationalized cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of parents who homeschool are doing so honestly and with integrity, raising kids who are just as ready for life after high school as any other kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8.  Just because we’re Christian doesn’t mean that we are “religious homeschoolers.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lots of us are people of faith, but we wouldn’t necessarily say that we are homeschooling for religious reasons.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being able to share our faith with our kids and looking at our studies with a Christian worldview is a huge<\/em> benefit of homeschooling, but many of us would not consider it the<\/em> singular reason we homeschool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, there are a lot<\/em> of homeschoolers who aren’t Christian or religious at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9.  We don’t do this to shelter, over-protect, or isolate our children.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People who don’t homeschool often don’t realize what is available to homeschooled kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our area offers band, soccer, baseball, football, tennis, track, volleyball, prom, monthly socials, graduation, graduation banquet, yearbook, co-ops and classes, and so much more. These kids are not sitting at home by themselves every day. They’re out with other kids enough to experience their fair share of mean kids, bullies, and teenage angst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, look how many of us have more kids than the national 2.5 average!  Seriously, if you have siblings, you know that there’s no one better to help you practice interpersonal and conflict resolution skills than them.<\/p>\n\n\n

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10.  We don’t do this to annoy you.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Homeschooling parents homeschool because we feel that it’s the best choice for our<\/em> families. We don’t ask you to think it’s the best choice for your family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn’t wake up one morning and flip a coin to decide to homeschool. Most of us prayed about it, researched it, and talked about it long before deciding that homeschooling was the right choice for our family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don’t come to your blogs or corner you at the soccer game to tell you how bad we think your decision to send your kids to public school is because we don’t care. <\/em>Not in a negative way. In a “that’s your family’s decision and we respect that” way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You public school parents are doing what you feel is right for your kids, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do<\/em>.<\/strong> It’s what we’re doing, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about you?  What misconceptions would you like to address when it comes to public school and homeschooling?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Might Also Like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>5 Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe <\/a><\/div>\n
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<\/a>5 Essential Ingredients to Homeschooling Successfully<\/a><\/div>\n
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<\/a>What If My Homeschooled Kid Really Is Weird?<\/a><\/div>\n
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Thinking about homeschooling? Check out my eBook, Homeschooling 101<\/a>. If you’re already homeschooling and would like to add more hands-on educational opportunities in your day, you might like Hands-On Learning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to visit our sister sites: Hip Homeschool Moms<\/a><\/strong>, Love These Recipes<\/a><\/strong>, and Only Passionate Curiosity <\/a><\/strong>for all kinds of great content and resources specifically for homeschooling families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of misconceptions about homeschoolers and homeschooling parents. Here’s a lighthearted public school parents’ guide to homeschool parents. What points or thoughts would you add to this 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