Comments on: Homeschooling according to our own stereotypes

By: Principled Discovery » Concerning homeschooling

Principled Discovery » Concerning homeschooling — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:52:01 +0000

[...] most of the challenges I face are those I construct myself. I measure myself against an ideal, which as I look back on it now, I’m not even sure how ideal it really is. But the biggest [...]

By: susan w

susan w — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:45:15 +0000

Dana,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I do appreciate what you’ve written on this post. Wish I’d come to that realization sooner.

susan

By: How do you compare?

How do you compare? — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:12:43 +0000

[...] and motivational, or counterproductive/self-defeating. For some bonus reading, try this favorite of mine from Dana at Principled [...]

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:03:26 +0000

Interesting…I went into my spam folder and found three trackbacks. None of them were you, though. Maybe you’ll have to link to me more until we figure out the problem. : ) Maybe everybody should…you know, just so we can figure out what is going on.

By: Renae

Renae — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:20:34 +0000

Well, I was excited to have a trackback for you, but it didn’t work. The note says this post has been pinged, and the URL is correct, so maybe you’re spam catcher is catching me now.

Here is my handmade trackback:
Supermom Exposed

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:45:29 +0000

Thank you, everyone! And for the compliment, Cristina!

It is difficult sometimes to remember that all that we see in someone’s writing is what they choose to write about…what they want to share. And it is easy to see in them what we want ourselves to be like…at least for me.

I feel pressure to do things that I don’t even hold as all that important because it is somehow what a homeschooler is supposed to do or be like. But they are just my own stereotypes.

By: Randi

Randi — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:20:18 +0000

Hi Dana,

I can relate with this post! On my blog I post little snippets of my life, but I refrain from complaining about my family or issues that are going on. One friend of mine told me flat-out that I present a rosy picture of my life but I told her that I don’t use my blog as a forum for complaining, only a forum to share the homemaking things that I enjoy.

Really, it is hard to glimpse what a person’s life is really like unless much time is spent with them. I think it is important to realize that everyone is human. This applies to both the blogosphere and in real life with people we see all the time!

By: Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:19:32 +0000

I would suspect that home educator that wrote about doesn’t exist. For us kids up by 8:00am, home schooling starts at 9:00am. Cold cereal for breakfast, and when does the sun come up? I’ve never seen it (just kidding, but I don’t see it often).

By: Crimson Wife

Crimson Wife — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:11:01 +0000

I feel pressure to at least put up the appearance of the “uberhomemaker” because I homeschool. I live in an area where most moms are employed full time and I feel peer pressure to “justify” my being home by doing everything myself. So while the employed moms can get away with bringing store-bought snacks to soccer games, I’m up late baking Martha Stewart-ish goodies from scratch. As if our 5 year olds care!

By: Cristina

Cristina — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:49:39 +0000

Excellent thoughts, Dana!

I’ve been doing this for 10 years now, and I have to admit that my children were the ones who cured me of my perfectionist ways. ;o)

I’m still laughing at the idea of starting at 7:30 AM. If mine get started at 10 we’re having a good day. My only hope is that they find careers with flexible hours.

Having done this for a while, I’ve kidded that I can tell how long someone has been homeschooling by how they schedule their days. We have very rigid book-learning friends who have homeschooled a couple of years, friends who set up co-op learning groups (4-7 years), and then there are the ones who (like us) fly by the seat of their pants. You had me fooled, I figured you for the 7+ range.

I guess I’ve always felt that if I wanted to have a “school” situation, it would be better to just send them to school. Why reinvent the wheel? I wanted to do something different, and while I know we have our shortcomings, I’m happy to have time with my children and learn from them. (Oops. Was I supposed to teach them?)
Peace and Laughter,
Cristina