Do homeschooling families live in bubbles?!

[Sputterduck]

We have a lovely bubble. It's rose-colored.

[Crimson Wife]

My almost-6yo is totally that kid raising his hand to offer the random comment in a class. Also forgetting to raise his hand/raising his hand too often. My husband and I have both noticed this -- the other (conventionally schooled) children in his music and sports classes definitely have a better grip on classroom norms. We are working on it, but it's a process, and in the interim I am sure that people find it annoying and/or judge our parenting negatively.

 

OTOH, I regularly get compliments on how nicely my older boys play together and how sweet they are to other children on the playground. Are we doing well, or poorly? Hard to tell.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree:

I go over raising one's hand and not interrupting prior to classroom type situations but my 8 y.o. has a tendency to forget when she gets excited about something presented. It's so NOT the case that I don't give a d*** about her behavior. She just hasn't spent all that much time in situations where she has needed to follow traditional classroom rules.

[SEP]

I really don't think this is a homeschooling issue. I think it's a parenting issue in general. There's PLENTY of rude public and private schooled kids.

 

 

I agree.

 

It ALL comes down to parenting, unless there is a biological issue that cannot be helped as easily. (I always add that b/c I have a close friend with an autistic son who 'looks' his age, but has some social issues.)

 

Poor parents are in every realm of society. However, considering the flack HSers get, I would like to think that we would step up the game and try extra hard to defy the stereotypical behavior.

 

We should be above reproach... :)

[mommymilkies]

I'm pretty surprised by all the hs bashing. I will say that last year I was a girl scout leader. My girls were the only homeschooled kids. I think it's 50% parenting, 20% personality, and 30% leader of class/group/presentation. My Girl Scouts were angels when I was speaking, but all of the girls suddenly lost all semblance of manners when my co-leader spoke. Except my dd and one other girl, who are both shy.

 

The roughest, strictest parents did have the least behaved girls, though. You could tell they were attention starved.

[newbie]

We are in a bubble and I love it, it is not the end all. My oldest is doing exceedingly well in college, which was the true hs test.

 

I guess we are so much in a bubble, youngest dd has been reading the Ovid and asked me what incest and rape mean at the breakfast table. Hmmm, bubble bursted.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I tend to think it's more a societal thing. So many parents, homeschooling or public schooling, seem to let little Johnny and Jane do whatever they feel like. I'm not sure if that's apathy, romanticizing childhood, not wanting to squash their psyches or exhaustion.

[Miss Sherry]

We should be above reproach... :)

Above the reproach of whom ?

Just in this thread alone there are those who are ready to judge you simply for the fact that you homeschool (although they homeschool too, but you are not worthy, only they are ). They will not associate with you. Shhhh. Don't tell them you homeschool if you want to be above reproach. You see, some people are impossible to please. Only they count for something, it seems.

 

This thread just makes me tired.

Some people just need to GROW UP and stop thinking they can judge other families by little snap shots they have of their children's behavior in one particular setting. sheeeesh. Let's just get our noses out of the air. No one on here is too good to associate with those OTHER homeschoolers, I would dare to guess.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Miss Sherry

[Miss Sherry]

Okay, I am homeschooling and loving it, so with that said . . . does it ever seem that a) you live in a bubble as a homeschooling family, or b) other homeschooling families live in their own little bubble world?! Let me try to explain: as I am at my co-op (which I will most likely NOT sign up for next year!) it occurs to me that maybe I am the only teacher/mom who cares whether or not my children learn that there is a time and a place to raise their hand and share what their little cousin told them about 3 weeks ago at the family picnic . . . and that time is NOT in the middle of my States class, thank you very much. :D

Or another example: while attending a recent homeschool convention (without my lovely, homeschooled offspring), I noticed that MANY families had brought THEIR lovely, homeschooled offspring . . . and left their common courtesy at home. Said families were talking, playing with disruptive papers and toys, and generally being rude DURING presentations. Hello?! I know that people who homeschool get the "socialization question" a lot, but I think I know why! Isn't common courtesy supposed to be COMMON?! Isn't rude behavior rude no matter if you are homeschooing your children or sending them to someone else to learn?! Isn't one of the reasons we homeschool because we want our children to attain a level of achievement (in life AND in academics) that is superior?! I am the FIRST to admit that I am not perfect (nor are my lovelies!), but I try to be IN the world enough to know how to FUNCTION in it with grace and courtesy. Isn't that probably what Jesus meant when He told us to be IN the world without being OF it?! Just wondering if I'm the only one who has noticed these issues in the homeschooling community at large.

The tone of this post doesn't fit my definition of common courtesy.

Acutually, the judgmental tone that's been expressed, is part of what I would call being "of" the world, as you were saying.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Miss Sherry