Annoying things non-home schoolers say

[Bassoonaroo]

I love the area I'm in. Just today our librarian asked my oldest when school starts. After she was informed we homeschool she said, "oh? Which curriculum did you choose?" :D

 

Answer: "Ours..."

[Guest KEMomma]

I am also surprised by how many public school teachers/friends are supportive of homeschoolers. Many of my homeschooling friends have a spouse who is a ps teacher or they themselves were ps teachers and that is why they homeschool. :) (BTW I was a ps teacher) But I do run into the teachers who are totally against homeschooling..."What about testing?" "How will they get into college?" "What about getting a job?" "How will they be able to handle a structured environment?" -- REALLY???!!!! My response is usually to ask them how much they've researched homeschooling and why homeschoolers are making better grade than ps.

[Hedgehog]

I do :001_smile:. Homeschooling is not legal where we live, but I do it anyway.

 

Granted, we're enrolled in an umbrella school in the US, and that should cover is on the "all children must be enrolled in school", but our family is one of a handful of people in this country taking that step.

 

AND, I am dreading having to respond to that very question.

 

Wow - you are braver than me! Perhaps the second part of my response could apply?!

[susankenny]

I've heard a few annoying comments, but the one I hear most often & find most annoying is, "Oh, I could neeeeveeeer do that!".

 

Um, you don't have to do it. Ever. Never. So shut your pie hole.

 

I don't say that really, but I think it sometimes:)

 

 

Susan

[amsunshine]

I've heard a few annoying comments, but the one I hear most often & find most annoying is, "Oh, I could neeeeveeeer do that!".

 

Um, you don't have to do it. Ever. Never. So shut your pie hole.

 

I don't say that really, but I think it sometimes:)

 

 

Susan

 

I occasionally fantasize about answering: "Yeah, you're right. I don't think you could, either."

 

:tongue_smilie:

[GingerPoppy]

My son's best friend asked his mom to homeschool him, and she replied, "I wouldn't do that to you."

 

:001_unsure:

 

I don't know why, but that one still hurts.

 

I had almost the exact same thing happen to me. My daughter's friend, when she heard last year that I was pulling her out to homeschool, got all excited and asked her mom if I could homeschool her as well. Mom said, in a disgusted voice, something along the lines of "Absoutely not!" as if it would be a fate worse than death. And this woman is a friend of mine. Not a close friend, but a friend. Yep, it hurts.

 

She also recently asked me, "So, was there an exam K had to write at the end of the year to make sure she learned everything the school covered?"

 

"No."

 

"What!? Nothing at all? No testing? Do they check on you in any way?"

 

"No."

 

"Well THAT explains a lot," says she, in a snooty tone. Now, to be fair, she meant it in reference to another family who sent their kids back to school at some point and apparently the kids were very far behind. But what bugs me is that there are kids IN the system, who have ALWAYS been in the system, who are very far behind. I work closely with the ex-school... even when we were homeschooling last spring, I still played piano for the choir. I've helped with reading, and even did some free tutoring one-on-one with a couple students. Believe me, there are plenty of kids who are waaaaay behind.

 

When I first started (last March) she looked at me incredulously and said (with shock, horror, and snottiness dripping from the voice), "WHY???" She still brings it up regularly and tells me her daughter is begging for me to let K come back to school. Gee, right... I'm going to make decisions for my daughter's education based on YOUR child's wants.

 

Nice to vent! She's been bugging me for a while!

[NittanyJen]

:lol::lol::lol:

 

Yes, I love when I get asked things like:

"But what about PROM???" (I was asked this frequently when I had a K-er and a 3 yr. old :confused::001_huh::lol:

 

My MIL is already working on my kids (10 and 8). "Your cousin M is going to the PROM this year. ONLY kids who go to SCHOOL get to go to the PROM you know. Do you know what the PROM is? It is ONLY the most exciting, best part of the entire high school experience, and the most memorable part of that entire 4 years. The most important people in the ENTIRE school are the PROM KING AND QUEEN and EVERYBODY is anxious to find out who they are and is so excited when they are revealed, and EVERYBODY always remembers the theme song for the rest of their LIVES! Your Mom and Dad went to their high school PROM together too, and it was just the BEST THING they ever did together!! You should be thinking ahead to when you want to go to your PROM When you are in high school one day!"

 

I could have shaken her teeth out.

1) If it's that big a deal, you can get a date to an existing prom in this area. There are about 500 schools around, including all-girl schools full of girls who need dates.

2) Her thesis that it is the 'most memorable' part of high school is scary-- I would hope my kids also remember some physics, math, and literature. As boys, I doubt they would remember much about dresses and flowers.

3) I have no idea who the prom king and queen were at either of the proms I attended. Nor did I care. I didn't move in the same circles as those people.

4) I have no idea what the theme songs were at those proms. We probably did dance to them. I was likely worried about looking like an idiot on the dance floor or wondering how much I could kiss him in public without grossing out my friends.

5) Since we got married after college, 4 years after prom #2, prom is definitely not the best thing we ever did together. I would rate getting married, having two children, helping each other through college educations, and a thousand-mile long list of other things ahead of going to the prom. About the only thing really special I remember was that Mom made my dress for the first one, and it was cool, and I got my makeup professionally done for the second one, and everyone nearly dropped dead, because I generally didn't pay much attention to my appearance in school. That was kinda fun.

 

I really, really loathe it when MIL goes around me to try to work on the kids directly to subvert the way we raise our kids-- one of the reasons I don't love living so close together. Fortunately, my kids are already savvy to it, and she thinks she is being subtle (like a lead baseball bat). We leave and they'll ask why she's trying to pressure them out of homeschooling when it isn't her decision :lol:

 

I may secretly love their pickup, but we sometimes have to have a chat about making sure we treat her with respect even when we disagree with her ideas.

[pahansen]

ONLY kids who go to SCHOOL get to go to the PROM you know. Do you know what the PROM is? It is ONLY the most exciting, best part of the entire high school experience, and the most memorable part of that entire 4 years.

 

Wow. Guess I'm a failure. I was never asked. Now I realize that I should be depressed about how unfulfilling my life has been heretofore. ;)

 

As for the bit about the school giving you books, in PA the Department of Education strongly encourages local school districts to share books and any other materials with parents of homeschoolers. They cannot enforce it, but I'm sure that somewhere out there it happens. Whether or not you want to use that curricula is a separate issue. So I do think the books question is a legitimate one.

 

--Pamela

[johnandtinagilbert]

I am also surprised by how many public school teachers/friends are supportive of homeschoolers. Many of my homeschooling friends have a spouse who is a ps teacher or they themselves were ps teachers and that is why they homeschool. :) (BTW I was a ps teacher) But I do run into the teachers who are totally against homeschooling..."What about testing?" "How will they get into college?" "What about getting a job?" "How will they be able to handle a structured environment?" -- REALLY???!!!! My response is usually to ask them how much they've researched homeschooling and why homeschoolers are making better grade than ps.

That gets me too..the testing I mean. PS teachers hate testing, yet they want us to have some too. Okay. I usually say that, too....how many homeschoolers have you met?

 

I've heard a few annoying comments, but the one I hear most often & find most annoying is, "Oh, I could neeeeveeeer do that!".

 

Um, you don't have to do it. Ever. Never. So shut your pie hole.

 

I don't say that really, but I think it sometimes:)

 

 

Susan

I love that expression. It cracks me up every.time.

 

I occasionally fantasize about answering: "Yeah, you're right. I don't think you could, either."

 

:tongue_smilie:

My polite way of saying that is, "It's definitely not for everyone."

[wtrmlnlabs]

 

Friend shared a T-shirt caption she saw: "I homeschool because I've seen the village, and they're not raising my child."

 

 

:rofl:

 

Wow. Guess I'm a failure. I was never asked. Now I realize that I should be depressed about how unfulfilling my life has been heretofore. ;)

 

As for the bit about the school giving you books, in PA the Department of Education strongly encourages local school districts to share books and any other materials with parents of homeschoolers. They cannot enforce it, but I'm sure that somewhere out there it happens. Whether or not you want to use that curricula is a separate issue. So I do think the books question is a legitimate one.

 

--Pamela

 

 

Went to a prom at my school, hated it, couldn't wait to get home. Never was my thing, hanging out with other people! So I have used this if anyone ever said anything about "missing out" on something... which is exactly why I went to the prom. I was going to college a year early, early admissions they called it, and I didn't want anyone to ever say I "missed out" not being in school my senior year.

 

Yeah, PA does leave it available for you to go to the school and get the stuff they are doing at school for your hs kids... HOWEVER you can only get the stuff for their actual grade. So for DS8 who should be in 3rd grade but is starting 4th grade I could not get the 4th grade curriculum from the school. (Not that I'd want it!) Plus around here they don't give the kids at school books anymore, they have a classroom book everyone uses. So the teacher would have to make copies of everything that they use in school. I bet THAT would go over well :tongue_smilie:

[dakarimom5]

I don't worry about prom. There are about 4 different hs proms in our area a year. We're good!:D

 

I always get the question, "How will your children learn to play with other kids?" Really? I have 4 children at home, do you think they don't play with each other?

 

My youngest 2 are tag teaming my dh and I to get them both Lalaloopsy dolls. My son wants the pirate so he can play with his little sister. If he was in school kids would make fun of that.

[tiredbuthappy]

Sadly my best one came from my mom. When I told her we were going to homeschool, she said, "Isn't homeschooling for parents that can't let go of their kids?" Really? I had no response because I was shocked!

 

Another one I got recently was "Oh, that's right, your homeschool. How's THAT going for you?", said in a certain tone of voice. In the meantime, her almost 5 yr old son was smashing my 4 yr old's hand with a train and subtly shoving him out of the way, while my son was politely saying "excuse me, please". Hmmmm.... I wanted to say "oh you send your son to school; I can see how THAT is going for you."

[Angie in VA]

I occasionally fantasize about answering: "Yeah, you're right. I don't think you could, either."

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

 

I said that once, with a twist. He didn't think he couldn't do it, he didn't approve of ANYONE's doing it.

 

A man, out in public, never saw him before, haven't seen him since, just kept saying, "I don't believe in homeschooling. I resisted the urge to say, "Well, it DOES exist, whether you believe in it or not!" and instead, after his 3rd time saying, "I don't believe in homeshooling." I replied, "Oh, well, then you certainly shouldn't do it!" And then I walked away.

 

Honestly, if he'd stopped after two times of saying it, I wouldn't have been snarky. But three? That was too much for me.

[felicity]

A couple of years ago I interviewed a pediatrician that looked at my kids and told them that they would have a lot more friends if they went to public school. They looked at him confused. I had just picked them up from a pool party at a friend's house where they had been hanging out with about 20 other kids.

 

They tried to tell the dr that, but he blew them off. I tried to do my best "regal walk out." I later wrote him a letter telling him how rude he was and that we would never use his services. I don't think he cared but I felt better.

[Stacie in UT]

Oh, my, oh my, laughing myself silly. Yes, after 17 years homeschooling under my belt I've heard them all.

 

Funniest yet, for me:

 

10 years ago a woman in my church group said to me, "My grand children would only be homeschooled over my dead body."

Yesterday she send me an email, "Wish I had a grand daughter old enough to marry your oldest son (he's 21)."

 

He's busy looking for a nice girl who wants to homeschool their children. Wonder if my church friend knows that.

[huntchaos]

2 things, both actually said by children (one a 7 yr old (really more funny than annoying b/c she just simply doesn't understand.....however annoying that her parents didn't attempt to explain.... and one 14 yo)

 

7 yr old neighbor: I made your kids a bunch of clocks so that they can learn to tell time. (she had made 7 clocks out of paper and brads)

 

14 yr old at a church teen meeting: The leader asked a question and asked if anyone knew the answer. Dd raised her hand and replied. The girl sitting next to her said, "You understood what he was talking about? I thought you said you were homeschooled."

 

In a similar fashion, my daughter was told by a girl in her dance class that it was "clear she was getting dumber now that she was being homeschooled because she didn't know that peanuts are actually meat." :confused:

[SheriGene]

We did not have a prom at my christian high school - just a banquet, but since it only lasted until about 10 pm, some friends and I went a few blocks away to another hotel where there was a prom. Since we were dressed formally, we walked right in, danced a little, got bored and left. It didn't look like the big magical night described in a former post. I am not scarred at all for never attending my own prom. Now my wedding reception on the other hand was magical... I think our kids will be just fine!

[Skadi]

My best friend growing up was a girl who was homeschooled (we met through Girl Scouts). She was creative, outgoing, independent. My parents didn't really like her, because they thought her parents were weird (they were liberal hippy-ish homeschoolers) and my friend was the type to ask, "Why?" instead of immediately following a direct order.

 

The breaking point came when, after seeing how awful a time at public school I was having (coming home in tears half the time, bored to death with the material, etc.), the girl's parents gently asked my parents if they could homeschool me alongside their daughter. They wouldn't ask for any money or anything like that -- they just thought I might be happier doing more advanced work in an environment without bullies. My parents freaked. I was never allowed to hang out with the girl again. I wish I could find her (I've looked on Facebook and the like) and thank her parents for their kind offer. My life would have gone a lot differently had my parents agreed.

 

Needless to say, my parents have a hard time dealing with the fact that we homeschool.

[ubermomto5]

"oh, i couldn't homeschool my kids. i love them too much."

 

was she trying to say that i don't love my kids?

[ubermomto5]

i have to say the flip side of all the annoying questions is the reverential awe that i often face when someone finds out that i homeschool and have 6 kids. i actually hate it because i know what they *think* about me and what i really am are 2 different things, but it's true, it does take a lot of patience.

[musicmommy]

From the 8 year old up the street: (whose parents quit associating with us as soon as they found out we homeschooled)

Girl: Can the boys come out to play?

 

Me: In about 20 minutes, they need to finish up a project they are working on.

 

Girl: Is it their school work?

 

Me: Yes, it is. I'll send them out when they are finished.

 

Girl: You know, there is a perfectly fine school just up the street that they could go to like me and just do their school work there. We get to have lots of fun and play. And then they don't have to do any work at home and you can just watch tv.

[MrsBasil]

A friend spent 20 minutes detailing the horror that is our local schools and talked about how much time/effort she spent into fundraising and volunteering for the private school she sent her kids to(it was the equivalent of a 3/4 time job) and so on.

 

I mentioned we were considering homeschooling. Just considering.

 

"Oh! I hope you don't do that. I could never do that. I could teach math, but how would I teach history right? Anyway I've met a homeschooled kid....well 4, and 2 of them were so weird. One actually asked me if a breast pump was LACTATION DEVICE!! He was 12, what kind of 12 year old knows those kinds of words. The other one was a 10 year old girl and she was just mean. Her brothers were OK, but she was a snot. You can't do that to your kids."

 

Me: "So in your 35 years every single person you've met who wasn't one of those 4 homeschooled kids was polite, well behaved, had no social issues, was never awkward, mean, snotty, and used what you consider age appropriate vocabulary in every situation? Or are you just saying that the 2 homeschooled kids were weird because they were homschooled while you don't think whether someone went to public or private school affects them?"

 

She got really quiet and after a couple of minutes was just like, "Well, those are good points. I think I need to freshen up my drink, excuse me."

 

We're still good friends and has joked that I could homeschool her kids for high school because she doesn't like her options.

[Tarreymere]

"oh, i couldn't homeschool my kids. i love them too much."

 

was she trying to say that i don't love my kids?

 

 

:lol:

 

Well, maybe she knows something about herself that she isn't sharing!

[9763653]

One actually asked me if a breast pump was LACTATION DEVICE!! He was 12, what kind of 12 year old knows those kinds of words.

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Maus]

One actually asked me if a breast pump was LACTATION DEVICE!! He was 12, what kind of 12 year old knows those kinds of words.

She's got her cause and effect backwards! My public-schooled brother talked like that* at that age. He's gifted; he's never been officially tested, but the school counselors (old school kind that helped pick us pick a college, rather than an ADHD medication) estimated him at 145+, probably closer to 155.

 

With all the cuts in gifted education funding, you have to homeschool kids like that now.

 

---

*He still talks like that. It just doesn't stand out as much in a 38 year-old!

[TC5]

(I haven't read all 20+ pages yet, so maybe this has been mentioned)

 

In California: I thought it was illegal to homeschool in California. (Nope, although there was a court case a few years ago attempting to require teacher certification. It failed.)

 

My husband is on the phone much of the day with people all over the world. He often mentions homeschooling, and invariably they will say it sounds wonderful but is illegal in their country. They say this as though they have no doubts. Several times, I have checked the HSLDA web site for my husband, and every time I have found that homeschooling is legal in that country. Unfortunately, HSLDA doesn't have anything listed for Costa Rica.

 

Here in Costa Rica: It's illegal to homeschool here. (I haven't been able to find out for sure whether it's legal, but I have met other homeschoolers here.)

 

In Italy (my husband was talking to someone there for work): It's illegal to homeschool here. (Not according to the HSLDA.)

[TC5]

i have to say the flip side of all the annoying questions is the reverential awe that i often face when someone finds out that i homeschool and have 6 kids. i actually hate it because i know what they *think* about me and what i really am are 2 different things, but it's true, it does take a lot of patience.

 

This is true. Those who don't think I'm turning my children into delinquents think I'm an amazing role model. And really, more people seem to appreciate what I do than not. And this being put on a pedestal is also a bit stressful. :tongue_smilie: It's easier to ignore those who truly don't understand what homeschooling is and bash it than it is to ignore those who think I am what I wish I could be.

[Classically Minded]

Just got one recently that was new to me, just when you think you have heard of all the criticisms of homeschooling:

 

"I'm not like you - I'm not going to spend 12 hours of my life being with my child."

 

How you do you respond to that? Even though I'm home and with my child most of the day, I'm not sitting with her for 12 hours. I didn't know what to say, I think I was in shock with the sarcasm towards me and it took me off guard, so I said nothing.

[swellmomma]

Just got one recently that was new to me, just when you think you have heard of all the criticisms of homeschooling:

 

"I'm not like you - I'm not going to spend 12 hours of my life being with my child."

 

How you do you respond to that? Even though I'm home and with my child most of the day, I'm not sitting with her for 12 hours. I didn't know what to say, I think I was in shock with the sarcasm towards me and it took me off guard, so I said nothing.

 

What a sad comment to be made. Some people just should not have children if they can not handle even 12 hours with them. Is the child in activities all day on weekends and holidays? I am not saying that everyone needs to spend 12+ hours with their kid, don't get me wrong, but to put it in such a harsh way I have to feel sorry for the child kwim

[musicianmom]

I'm annoyed by the relatives who couch their anti-homeschooling sentiments in terms of concern for my well-being. I'm annoyed by their attitude that I'm only obligated to be a full-time mom until my kids turn 5, and then I'm entitled to the 8-hour break so that I can "get things done."

 

What they don't realize is that I actually enjoy homeschooling, and I'd rather be doing that than anything else "productive" I could be doing.

[Homemama2]

"I'm not like you - I'm not going to spend 12 hours of my life being with my child."

 

Yikes! Bet they're fun on Christmas. Or by the end of summer break.

[Momma2Many66]

 

"I'm not like you - I'm not going to spend 12 hours of my life being with my child."

.

 

 

Mom.......Mom......::::looks around:::::is that you ?

 

 

 

The quote above was fed to me my whole life by my own mother. You know, cause as she used to tell us, she has a life too and her whole life ( those few hours a day afterschool that we saw her) couldn't be taken over by her children :confused:

 

Now that I am grown, she does it to me about my children and how I give them way too much of my time and I have "no life" of my own. :glare:

 

Thanks Mom....but I saw "YOUR WAY" and now I am trying things my way for awhile. :001_smile:

[Classically Minded]

Mom.......Mom......::::looks around:::::is that you ?

 

The quote above was fed to me my whole life by my own mother. You know, cause as she used to tell us, she has a life too and her whole life ( those few hours a day afterschool that we saw her) couldn't be taken over by her children :confused:

 

Now that I am grown, she does it to me about my children and how I give them way too much of my time and I have "no life" of my own. :glare:

 

Thanks Mom....but I saw "YOUR WAY" and now I am trying things my way for awhile. :001_smile:

I asked my daughter the other day to draw a picture of what she remembers me doing the most. I was afraid she would draw me at the computer LOL! :tongue_smilie: She didn't, she drew us together with happy smiles and wrote "To help me cook" and had us in the kitchen cooking together. It meant SO much to me!

[Alicia64]

Mom.......Mom......::::looks around:::::is that you ?

 

 

 

The quote above was fed to me my whole life by my own mother. You know, cause as she used to tell us, she has a life too and her whole life ( those few hours a day afterschool that we saw her) couldn't be taken over by her children :confused:

 

Now that I am grown, she does it to me about my children and how I give them way too much of my time and I have "no life" of my own. :glare:

 

Thanks Mom....but I saw "YOUR WAY" and now I am trying things my way for awhile. :001_smile:

 

I read an interview once with Mary Tyler Moore. Her son committed suicide in his thirties. Mary said that today when she watches her old shows when she was on the Dick Van Dyke show. . . she wonders what her son Richie was doing at the very moment that she was working.

 

Broke my heart.

 

Alley

[Alphabetika]

You're not going to raise IDIOTS, are you? (Actual quote)

 

Who's keeping track of what they learn?

 

How will they learn to get along in the real world?

[johnandtinagilbert]

I'm annoyed by the relatives who couch their anti-homeschooling sentiments in terms of concern for my well-being. I'm annoyed by their attitude that I'm only obligated to be a full-time mom until my kids turn 5, and then I'm entitled to the 8-hour break so that I can "get things done."

 

What they don't realize is that I actually enjoy homeschooling, and I'd rather be doing that than anything else "productive" I could be doing.

I know Exactly what you mean. I don't love the canonizing, either. I think I'm just doing what I need to do as a parent.

 

One of the best answers I've heard is my dd's comment to the school board's president's dd, who was teasing her about hsing. The girl was hassling her about "missing out" and "not getting to do field trips". My dd pointed out that SHE'D been back East to Washington DC, the Smithsonian and Chincoteague Island and had gone to London, Amersterdam and Ireland earlier that year...

In our house, we would say, "Ooh, BURN!"

 

You're not going to raise IDIOTS, are you? (Actual quote)

 

Who's keeping track of what they learn?

 

How will they learn to get along in the real world?

Boy, sometimes I wonder about the idiots part (:lol::D), but I sure am making an effort Not to Raise idiots. I'll do my very.best, though.

[Alexa]

"I wish I could homeschool my kids, but I just don't have the ________ you do." Fill in the blanks with almost any quality you wish: patience, expertise, time, money, etc. I feel like it's a way of saying that they think I think I'm better than them. I don't. I'm not. It does take a lot of time, planning, patience, etc, and often I don't live up to my ideal. But I choose to shoot for it anyway. They could, too.

[kkierekp]

My best friend, who actually got me on the homeschooling track (she was all about it, unschooling, freedom ......), decided to pursue her passion in the photography and send her children to very expensive Montessori school. Her words right now: OMG, this school is the best in the world, I love it, they teach exactly what I want them to teach. Everybody should send their kids to school, I am just a better Mom now. I just could not take them anymore

I just do not get it, how somebody who wanted un-school is not so exited about school, even if the school is "the best" in town. I feel let down, if you know what I mean. And sometimes thinking, what if what I am doing is not in the best interest of my children :(.

[RootAnn]

Setting the scene: Very small town. Local school started last week. We don't start until after Labor Day. We just got back from vacation. Brought my 8 yr old with me to pick up our accumulated mail without girding my loins for questions. USPS clerk asked why daughter wasn't in school. Not expecting the question, I blurt that we homeschool:

 

USPS clerk: "Well, you have to send your kid's work into the state to get it checked & certified, right?"

 

Me (smiling): "No."

 

USPS clerk: "Well, they have to take some test each year, right?"

 

Me (still smiling): "No."

 

USPS clerk (exasperated): "Well, I thought there were some LAWS about kids actually learning something!"

 

:tongue_smilie:

 

Edited to add: Later that day, I was sitting in the gymnastics waiting area for dd#3 to finish when several parents around me started talking about how glad they are that school has started. One mom said, "I am so happy to see that yellow school bus everyday. I just couldn't stand it a day longer with those kids." Other moms agreed. It was sad, but not as sad as it would have been if they were talking right in front of their kids -- which a former friend of mine used to do on a regular basis. And I remember how much she wanted kids & tried for so long to get pg. :-(

Edited August 27, 2011 by RootAnn

[Jamauk]

My kids caught colds last winter, because you know, that's what happens in winter, right? My mom said "How did they get sick? You homeschool!" Yup, it must've been that ONE time I let them out of the closet they picked up those nasty germs!":lol:

 

Yesterday on FB, we were discussing the article about grades being inflated for education majors and my brother said "it's still more structured education and testing than you've received and yet, you still feel you're qualified to teach" *OUCH*

[Muffin]

"You're going to homeschool? That's a BIG responsibility!"--from a teacher at my dd's former elementary school.

 

"Yeah, God gave me that responsibility.";)

[jewel7123]

These are all great!

 

My favorite one is from my MIL: "Don't you think there are better ways you could be spending your time?"

 

In other words, what she really meant was "Don't you think it's time you went back to work?"

 

:boxing_smiley:

[jewel7123]

Oh, I just thought of another one. We were at a local restaurant and my daughter struck up a conversation with the lady at the table next to us. We found out she is a PS teacher at the very school my daughter would be attending if she went to PS. The lady asked my DD where she goes to school and when she heard that we homeschool, she looked at my daughter and said

 

"Oh, your Mommy must be VERY smart!"

 

Somehow I felt as if she were trying to insinuate that I wasn't, lol. That's right, I'm not intelligent enough to teach my then 5 year old.

[JadeOrchidSong]

You homeschool? Then you have NO break.

[9763653]

These are all great!

 

My favorite one is from my MIL: "Don't you think there are better ways you could be spending your time?"

 

 

 

The answer is obviously - absolutely no better way to spend your time than giving your children a good foundation!

 

Actually, homeschooling is the most exciting and intellectually stimulating thing I have done since leaving a great job before I had kids. It is so much fun, and so very rewarding.

[NittanyJen]

From MIL:

 

She's just homeschooling so she can buy all this stuff for herself. It's not really for the kids.

 

(I am usually discussed in the 3rd person when my MIL is involved).

[NorCalMom]

Oh, I just thought of another one. We were at a local restaurant and my daughter struck up a conversation with the lady at the table next to us. We found out she is a PS teacher at the very school my daughter would be attending if she went to PS. The lady asked my DD where she goes to school and when she heard that we homeschool, she looked at my daughter and said

 

"Oh, your Mommy must be VERY smart!"

 

Somehow I felt as if she were trying to insinuate that I wasn't, lol. That's right, I'm not intelligent enough to teach my then 5 year old.

 

Or....she might have meant that you were very smart to NOT send your kids to PS. My SIL is a teacher at PS, and because she knows exactly what goes on (at her school) she has often said that she would never send her kids there. ;)

[jewel7123]

Or....she might have meant that you were very smart to NOT send your kids to PS. My SIL is a teacher at PS, and because she knows exactly what goes on (at her school) she has often said that she would never send her kids there. ;)

 

 

Well, it was more her tone of voice when she said it that made me think it was an insult, but I could have just been jumping to conclusions, lol. Every time I have a conversation with a PS teacher I always get a little nervous about bringing up homeschooling, because most of the PS teachers I've spoken with want to fight to the death about how the public school system is the best choice, etc.

[Hedgehog]

Well, it was more her tone of voice when she said it that made me think it was an insult, but I could have just been jumping to conclusions, lol. Every time I have a conversation with a PS teacher I always get a little nervous about bringing up homeschooling, because most of the PS teachers I've spoken with want to fight to the death about how the public school system is the best choice, etc.

 

Sounds like some PS teachers need validation of their career choice. It can be easy to do this with our homeschooling too I think.

[NorCalMom]

Well, it was more her tone of voice when she said it that made me think it was an insult, but I could have just been jumping to conclusions, lol...

 

Ah...yes, the tone could imply something very different! :)