Comments on: What can homeschooling learn from the political divide?

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:54:32 +0000

Thanks, Rational Jenn. It is easy to find agreement and cooperation among differing groups when you stick to a single topic important to all.

By: Rational Jenn

Rational Jenn — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:22:44 +0000

Coming into this late, but just wanted to say that I thought this was a very fine post. We are certainly polar opposites in many ways, but as I have been reading your blog, I find that I rarely (if ever) disagree with you on homeschooling issues. Rational discourse, and education (not the formal kind!) will persuade much more than insults and rallies ’round the flag.

Thanks for writing such thought-provoking posts–I really enjoy them!

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:35:20 +0000

I can imagine. The few IEP meetings I had were not fun and it was particularly hard because the parents didn’t really know what to do or how to advocate for their child.

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:59:10 +0000

I just tell people I got tired of going to IEP meetings, which is partially true. But, I have to say, the impact of home schooling on our family has been quite positive. Neither my husband or I are anxious to get back on the public school mandated schedule or scope-and-sequence. We plan to keep David and Beverly home too.

By: Sunniemom

Sunniemom — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:23:49 +0000

Ditto on not wanting to be an ‘ambassador’ of homeschooling. I want to be a ‘good example’, but areas of character such as honesty, compassion, patience, etc… are more important to me than how I am viewed as a homeschooler (although one could argue that those things are closely linked).

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:11:15 +0000

I’m going to think of you two now every time I read in some discussion “Well, I knew someone who homeschooled because she was too lazy to get the kids ready in the morning.”

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:35:07 +0000

Leslie - I use the laziness one too. “I was too lazy to get up in the morning, make lunches and walk them to the bus.”

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:24:08 +0000

You know what I say? “Oh, my husband really wanted to so I decided to try it. Now we love it.” Conversations generally proceed rather amiably from that point because even people who think homeschoolers are nuts have a hard time saying that to our faces, I think.

It sort of depends who is asking. And how they ask. And whether we are sitting in a waiting room or in the checkout aisle.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:56:01 +0000

I have been homeschooling for 8 years and the first few years, I told people the reasons (they were legion) we homeschooled. After awhile, I just said I was too lazy to run the public school gantlet(alarm, breakfast, lunches, buses, homework, etc)and left it at that. Now that I have a graduate, on his way to a university to play soccer, and a 16 year old ballerina taking CC classes, people ask me what we do. Funny. Words, really weren’t necessary. I don’t think I will say a word about the younger ones.

By: Dana

Dana — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:01:39 +0000

Well, I hope you are getting rested for next week. I found a song about a cat to play, but she was singing about leaving her husband. So I thought maybe not.