Do you frequently feel harassed/persecuted for being a homeschooler?

[Erin]

Mostly because we live in the land of, "Is it time now to hate on the government??  It is?!  Right on!!  Government schools suck!!"

 

Here on the rural plains, I live in a very similar "land."  What's ironic is that "government schools suck" until we're talking about our schools.  

OUR schools, of course, are the exception to the rule.  :001_rolleyes: 

"Why aren't both of your kids in school?!"

 

 

(And no one ever remembers that the kid that IS in school doesn't even live in their state.  lol  We opt her across state lines, into the district.  You mean you think the district needs BOTH of my kids??)

[VeteranMom]

Harassed?  No.  Have I ever felt disapproval?  Yes.  I don't think we're ever going to get away from having people express disapproval, directly or indirectly, about our choices on anything.  It's going to happen.  I don't let that get to me...too much.   :laugh:  I have a cousin who is constantly "hinting" her disapproval for my choice to homeschool.  I don't really engage with her about that topic.  

[shawthorne44]

Strawberrymamma, that is an interesting point about being the Black Sheep generally.  Someone else had pointed out the other side of the coin, that those who have been heavily involved in school before homeschool would likely get a huge backlash.  

 

I am used to being the black sheep.  So much so, that if Everyone does something I will give it extra thought before doing it myself

[raptor_dad]

I've gotten far more flak from other homeschoolers than I've ever gotten from family, friends, or random strangers.

 

I self identifiy as an unschooler using classical resources. The classical people aren't a good fit for our family for various reasons. The unschoolers, waldorf, etc folks have also been a bad fit at local meet ups. As an example at one event, I went from being a too hot housing, academic parent when DS5 wanted to spend the 1st half hour finishing reading "Ozma of OZ"... to being to lax when I admitted we weren't doing ANY math for his K year. Then I wasn't supervising enough when he convinced a group to play some sort of wolves and deer game... apparently predation isn't accepted among certain folks...

 

 

[ChristyB in TN]

 No, never, and we've been at this since 1999. I know when someone doesn't think it's a good idea, usually a schoolteacher, but no one is going to harass or persecute me. That would be hilarious.  :rolleyes: I did have a woman become irate in a doctor's office over the fact that we homeschooled and that she felt it was the privileged who had the opportunity to do so. She said she could always tell a homeschooler by their shoes. Evidently, in crazy lady land, our kids always wear good shoes and are wealthy therefore we home school. She went insane and the office staff had to drag her back and out of the waiting area. My kids and I just sat there with our mouths open. 

[Seasider]

No, never, and we've been at this since 1999. I know when someone doesn't think it's a good idea, usually a schoolteacher, but no one is going to harass or persecute me. That would be hilarious. :rolleyes: I did have a woman become irate in a doctor's office over the fact that we homeschooled and that she felt it was the privileged who had the opportunity to do so. She said she could always tell a homeschooler by their shoes. Evidently, in crazy lady land, our kids always wear good shoes and are wealthy therefore we home school. She went insane and the office staff had to drag her back and out of the waiting area. My kids and I just sat there with our mouths open.

Oh my. That's pretty shocking. I can only imagine what caused that rationale. Makes me think the poor woman must have had a traumatic past. How did your kids process that?

[ChristyB in TN]

Oh my. That's pretty shocking. I can only imagine what caused that rationale. Makes me think the poor woman must have had a traumatic past. How did your kids process that?

We were just all stunned. It's been years ago. She asked why they weren't in school and was very nice in the beginning. Evidently, she was a secretary in a school in a neighboring county or something. We just smiled and nodded as she escalated the emotion. None of us moved. My daughter has whatever that issue is where she laughs uncontrollably when something is stressful, so you know how funny THAT was. The nice elderly couple sitting across the room were so sweet started making sweet, comforting conversation with the kids. Maybe we are a little too comfortable with crazy? The boys weren't very threatened by it and were mostly entertained by my daughter's hysterical laughter. She laughs when someone gets hurt, too, it's a problem. I remember going home and writing the whole thing on this forum. It was maybe 8 years ago or so, I suppose.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, the two different elderly ladies who went off on us were shocks too because it was so out of the blue.  One was a docent at a museum, she started to scream at my son who was only 5 at the time, not even legally at compulsory school age.  My mama bear came out on that one and I let her boss know exactly what I thought of her overstepping the line.  The other was a lady who was in the hot tub at the YMCA pool.  She started stridently yelling at us about homeschooling.  Even though we had barely been there 5 minutes, I gathered up my kids and we left.  I didn't complain to anyone since she was just a patron.  Both experiences felt a bit surreal since why should they even care?  And their reactions were so over the top that I didn't bother to explain or anything.  But as I said upthread somewhere, these were just two weird experiences in 12 years of homeschooling.  I've had weird encounters with people who have come unglued in a parking lot or other places too so I don't really blame it on homeschooling but on unstable people.  

[Violet Crown]

I was set upon for homeschooling, many years ago, in what had been a perfectly nice religious retreat, by a priest and a diocesan employee, both of whom I quite liked and had been getting along with swimmingly until they uncovered the homeschooling secret. I count it as harassment because I couldn't get away from them and they wouldn't let it go. The diocesan guy kept insisting homeschooling was a self-indulgence of the wealthy and therefore a betrayal of the poor. I (foolishly) countered that I knew homeschoolers barely above the poverty level. He insisted, no, you had to have a computer to homeschool - so you could contact other homeschoolers - and many people couldn't afford a computer. I said people had homeschooled before computers and lots of people just used the phone to talk to other people; he countered, triumphantly, that there were people in the diocese too poor to pay a phone bill. I surrendered. He was right, I am a sinner to homeschool until every family can pay their phone bill. I slunk from the meeting room, where the priest's independent comments about what a Bad Thing I was doing had encouraged other retreatants to start offering their own unsolicited criticisms, and drove home early.

 

Haven't been on a retreat since.

[Cricket]

No, never, and we've been at this since 1999. I know when someone doesn't think it's a good idea, usually a schoolteacher, but no one is going to harass or persecute me. That would be hilarious. :rolleyes: I did have a woman become irate in a doctor's office over the fact that we homeschooled and that she felt it was the privileged who had the opportunity to do so. She said she could always tell a homeschooler by their shoes. Evidently, in crazy lady land, our kids always wear good shoes and are wealthy therefore we home school. She went insane and the office staff had to drag her back and out of the waiting area. My kids and I just sat there with our mouths open.

Ah! YOU were the shoe lady! I remember stories I read here but don't always remember who posted them. Crazy stuff. I don't have any awesome anti-homeschooling stories.

[ScoutTN]

nope

[Desert Strawberry]

 No, never, and we've been at this since 1999. I know when someone doesn't think it's a good idea, usually a schoolteacher, but no one is going to harass or persecute me. That would be hilarious.  :rolleyes: I did have a woman become irate in a doctor's office over the fact that we homeschooled and that she felt it was the privileged who had the opportunity to do so. She said she could always tell a homeschooler by their shoes. Evidently, in crazy lady land, our kids always wear good shoes and are wealthy therefore we home school. She went insane and the office staff had to drag her back and out of the waiting area. My kids and I just sat there with our mouths open. 

 

 

Oh my. 

 

We are working our way out of poverty, but my kids wear nice hand me downs. D's grandma works at a church resale and keeps my kids outfitted. They have pretty nice shoes, too, free from grandma or $2 at another resale. 

 

Now I need to go check my kids shoes, and see if they are ostentatious. 

[Donna]

I have been homeschooling for 13 years and have always received complementary reactions when I tell someone I homeschool…usually along the lines of "good for you." 

[kdeno]

I don't feel harassed at all. Some family had concerns but they got over it when they saw how it was working for us.

 

[Heathermomster]

I wouldn't call this harrassment...It's just that my mother is seriously slipping and can't seem to control her words anymore.  She feels sorry for DD and will mention it at odd times. I usually then ask if her local ps offers ballet and Latin to first graders and then she is silent.

 

I fear my mother's end of days are going to be extremely brutal emotionally with homeschooling adding fuel to it.