You Might Be Making a Mistake While

Considering Homeschooling If…

By Linda Dobson

Thank goodness for Jeff Foxworthy and his ability to capture our attention with his “You might be a redneck if…” approach to helping us figure out, well, if we’re a redneck or not.

Today we’re going to take the same logical (?) approach to a new statement:

You Might Be Making a Mistake While Considering Homeschooling If…

…you think you’ll wind up with permanent chalk stains on your hands.

You don’t ever have to come in contact with even a single stick of chalk (unless it’s the pretty colored chalk and you’re drawing on the driveway with the kids, too).

…you imagine your home turning into a replica of Little House on the Prairie’s one-room schoolhouse.

This is what some families do – and what some families don’t – you can do whatever floats your boat!

…you believe only parents named Moonbeam or families who go to church five days each week are doing it.

As my dear friend Mark Hegener likes to say, “Wherever you stick your finger into the American pie, a homeschooler is going to pop out.” (Or something like that; perhaps I shouldn’t have put the comment in quotation marks.)

…you think homeschooling will make you look like a control freak who doesn’t want your child to grow up.

Homeschooling is bad news if you really are a control freak who doesn’t want your child to grow up, because homeschooled kids tend to take control of their own education and grow up faster than their public-schooled counterparts.

…you envision that by homeschooling your child he will either wind up in Harvard with a full scholarship or work at WalMart his entire life.

The homeschooled kids who have gone before confirm that your child could wind up in Harvard, and could wind up working at WalMart. S/he could also wind up doing a billion other things, including what s/he really wants to do!

…you fear you’ll go broke buying textbooks.

Schools sure do make a good education expensive, don’t they? Heck, they even make a lousy education expensive. You can actually homeschool a child for free, or very low cost, or you can spend an arm and a leg! Not only is it your choice, you can provide an excellent education for next to nothing.

…you picture yourself at odds with your kids 24/7.

You may be thinking of kids who come home stressed. Or who don’t get enough sleep. Or who take clues to social behavior from same-aged kids. All of these situations and more fly out the window when you are homeschooling.

…you think you could do a worse job of educating your child than the local school does.

Who at your child’s school loves him and places his happiness and success at the top of their priority list? You do.

…you imagine your son at 16 years-old, sitting in the corner afraid to talk to girls.

The “lack of socialization” for homeschoolers argument has been put to bed. If anything, you’ll have to make sure your family isn’t spending too much time socializing.

And finally…

…you think you’ll be in your house all day.

Ha…ha…ha…ha!

See also “Myth #2: Homeschooling Takes Place In Isolation at Home.”

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