The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List
Sharissa13
The Bitter Homeschooler' s Wish List From Secular
Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1
1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is and
it is it's insulting to imply that we're criminals.
And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization"
mean, and use the one you really mean instead of
mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means
hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization
means having acquired the skills necessary to do so
successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me
and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside
now and then to visit the other human beings on the
planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a
decent grasp of both concepts.
3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout
meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class,
field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer
lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets
to socialize.
4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is
homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way
as that one homeschooler you know.
5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone
you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality"
show, the above goes double.
6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the
homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might
know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're
probably the same little bluebird of happiness
whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and
inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly
birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so
please go away.
7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids
when we hear they're in public school. Please stop
drilling our children like potential oil fields to see
if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of
homeschooling.
8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be
homeschooling for religious reasons.
10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning,
thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and
worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy
you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision,
tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking
the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an
affront or a judgment about your own educational
decisions.
11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding
to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a
course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my
family; I don't need a degree in
teaching to educate my children. If spending at least
twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-
spit-it-out educational facility we call public school
left me with so little information in my memory banks
that I can't teach the basics of an elementary
education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a
reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight
face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in
school, please understand that you're calling me an
idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in
kind.
13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right
there in "homeschool, " we never leave the house.
We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums,
and zoos in the middle of the week and in the
off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on
weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is
right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a
desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your
kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of
education and many of us prefer a more organic
approach we can burn through a lot of material a lot
more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our
lessons to the lowest common denominator.
15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the
idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a
night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to
break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school
don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one
of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be
shallow somewhere else.
16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to
school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he
wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and
then.
17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even
if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds
more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't
bother disagreeing with you any more.
18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or
calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach
these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you
for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a
worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a
better one.
19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my
child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see
much difference between bossing my kid around
academically and bossing him around the way I do about
everything else.
20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing,
aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative,
pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's
homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go
to
school can be as annoying as they want to without
being branded as representative of anything but
childhood.
21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of
prodigy because she's homeschooled.
22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy
because I homeschool my kids.
23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint
because I homeschool my kids.
24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories
my kids won't get because they don't go to school,
unless you want me to start asking about all the
not-so-great childhood memories you have because you
went to school.
25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice
about homeschooling, shut up!
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1
1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is and
it is it's insulting to imply that we're criminals.
And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization"
mean, and use the one you really mean instead of
mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means
hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization
means having acquired the skills necessary to do so
successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me
and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside
now and then to visit the other human beings on the
planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a
decent grasp of both concepts.
3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout
meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class,
field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer
lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets
to socialize.
4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is
homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way
as that one homeschooler you know.
5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone
you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality"
show, the above goes double.
6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the
homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might
know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're
probably the same little bluebird of happiness
whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and
inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly
birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so
please go away.
7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids
when we hear they're in public school. Please stop
drilling our children like potential oil fields to see
if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of
homeschooling.
8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be
homeschooling for religious reasons.
10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning,
thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and
worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy
you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision,
tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking
the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an
affront or a judgment about your own educational
decisions.
11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding
to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a
course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my
family; I don't need a degree in
teaching to educate my children. If spending at least
twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-
spit-it-out educational facility we call public school
left me with so little information in my memory banks
that I can't teach the basics of an elementary
education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a
reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight
face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in
school, please understand that you're calling me an
idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in
kind.
13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right
there in "homeschool, " we never leave the house.
We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums,
and zoos in the middle of the week and in the
off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on
weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is
right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a
desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your
kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of
education and many of us prefer a more organic
approach we can burn through a lot of material a lot
more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our
lessons to the lowest common denominator.
15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the
idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a
night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to
break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school
don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one
of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be
shallow somewhere else.
16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to
school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he
wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and
then.
17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even
if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds
more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't
bother disagreeing with you any more.
18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or
calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach
these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you
for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a
worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a
better one.
19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my
child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see
much difference between bossing my kid around
academically and bossing him around the way I do about
everything else.
20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing,
aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative,
pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's
homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go
to
school can be as annoying as they want to without
being branded as representative of anything but
childhood.
21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of
prodigy because she's homeschooled.
22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy
because I homeschool my kids.
23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint
because I homeschool my kids.
24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories
my kids won't get because they don't go to school,
unless you want me to start asking about all the
not-so-great childhood memories you have because you
went to school.
25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice
about homeschooling, shut up!
__________________________________________________
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http://mail.yahoo.com
Schafer Vanessa
I really like this, and will keep this in my folder.
Thanks for voicing what I would love to say.
--- Sharissa13 <sharissa13@...> wrote:
__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Thanks for voicing what I would love to say.
--- Sharissa13 <sharissa13@...> wrote:
> The Bitter Homeschooler' s Wish List From SecularVanessa
> Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1
>
> 1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is
> and
> it is it's insulting to imply that we're criminals.
> And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
>
> 2 Learn what the words "socialize" and
> "socialization"
> mean, and use the one you really mean instead of
> mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means
> hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization
> means having acquired the skills necessary to do so
> successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me
> and my kids, that means that we do in fact go
> outside
> now and then to visit the other human beings on the
> planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a
> decent grasp of both concepts.
>
> 3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson,
> scout
> meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class,
> field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or
> soccer
> lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets
> to socialize.
>
> 4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is
> homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same
> way
> as that one homeschooler you know.
>
> 5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone
> you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality"
> show, the above goes double.
>
> 6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the
> homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might
> know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're
> probably the same little bluebird of happiness
> whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and
> inducing premature labor by telling them every
> ghastly
> birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so
> please go away.
>
> 7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your
> kids
> when we hear they're in public school. Please stop
> drilling our children like potential oil fields to
> see
> if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of
> homeschooling.
>
> 8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
>
> 9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be
> homeschooling for religious reasons.
>
> 10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning,
> thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and
> worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy
> you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision,
> tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking
> the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either
> an
> affront or a judgment about your own educational
> decisions.
>
> 11 Please stop questioning my competency and
> demanding
> to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a
> course in catering to successfully cook dinner for
> my
> family; I don't need a degree in
> teaching to educate my children. If spending at
> least
> twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-
> spit-it-out educational facility we call public
> school
> left me with so little information in my memory
> banks
> that I can't teach the basics of an elementary
> education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a
> reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
>
> 12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a
> straight
> face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in
> school, please understand that you're calling me an
> idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in
> kind.
>
> 13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is
> right
> there in "homeschool, " we never leave the house.
> We're the ones who go to the amusement parks,
> museums,
> and zoos in the middle of the week and in the
> off-season and laugh at you because you have to go
> on
> weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
>
> 14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is
> right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a
> desk for six or eight hours every day, just like
> your
> kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of
> education and many of us prefer a more organic
> approach we can burn through a lot of material a
> lot
> more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our
> lessons to the lowest common denominator.
>
> 15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if
> the
> idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a
> night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough
> to
> break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school
> don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm
> one
> of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be
> shallow somewhere else.
>
> 16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to
> school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he
> wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and
> then.
>
> 17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even
> if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds
> more like you're horrified. One of these days, I
> won't
> bother disagreeing with you any more.
>
> 18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or
> calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll
> teach
> these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you
> for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a
> worse job than your teachers did, and might even do
> a
> better one.
>
> 19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my
> child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see
> much difference between bossing my kid around
> academically and bossing him around the way I do
> about
> everything else.
>
> 20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing,
> aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous,
> argumentative,
> pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's
> homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go
> to
> school can be as annoying as they want to without
> being branded as representative of anything but
> childhood.
>
> 21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of
> prodigy because she's homeschooled.
>
> 22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy
> because I homeschool my kids.
>
> 23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint
> because I homeschool my kids.
>
> 24 Stop talking about all the great childhood
> memories
> my kids won't get because they don't go to school,
> unless you want me to start asking about all the
> not-so-great childhood memories you have because you
> went to school.
>
> 25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice
> about homeschooling, shut up!
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Karen Buxcel
Wow, Sharissa!
You certainly have a way with words! This was really fun to read.
Maybe we all need to create little brochures and hand them out to the
annoying commentators?!? :)
Do you mind if I cut and paste this to my blog? I'll give you the
by-line, of course.
Thanks,
Karen
You certainly have a way with words! This was really fun to read.
Maybe we all need to create little brochures and hand them out to the
annoying commentators?!? :)
Do you mind if I cut and paste this to my blog? I'll give you the
by-line, of course.
Thanks,
Karen
On Nov 9, 2007 8:24 AM, Sharissa13 <sharissa13@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The Bitter Homeschooler' s Wish List From Secular
> Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1
>
> 1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and
> it is —it's insulting to imply that we're criminals.
> And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
>
> 2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization"
> mean, and use the one you really mean instead of
> mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means
> hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization
> means having acquired the skills necessary to do so
> successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me
> and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside
> now and then to visit the other human beings on the
> planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a
> decent grasp of both concepts.
>
> 3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout
> meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class,
> field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer
> lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets
> to socialize.
>
> 4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is
> homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way
> as that one homeschooler you know.
>
> 5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone
> you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality"
> show, the above goes double.
>
> 6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the
> homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might
> know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're
> probably the same little bluebird of happiness
> whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and
> inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly
> birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so
> please go away.
>
> 7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids
> when we hear they're in public school. Please stop
> drilling our children like potential oil fields to see
> if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of
> homeschooling.
>
> 8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
>
> 9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be
> homeschooling for religious reasons.
>
> 10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning,
> thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and
> worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy
> you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision,
> tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking
> the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an
> affront or a judgment about your own educational
> decisions.
>
> 11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding
> to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a
> course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my
> family; I don't need a degree in
> teaching to educate my children. If spending at least
> twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-
> spit-it-out educational facility we call public school
> left me with so little information in my memory banks
> that I can't teach the basics of an elementary
> education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a
> reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
>
> 12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight
> face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in
> school, please understand that you're calling me an
> idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in
> kind.
>
> 13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right
> there in "homeschool, " we never leave the house.
> We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums,
> and zoos in the middle of the week and in the
> off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on
> weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
>
> 14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is
> right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a
> desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your
> kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of
> education — and many of us prefer a more organic
> approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot
> more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our
> lessons to the lowest common denominator.
>
> 15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the
> idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a
> night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to
> break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school
> don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one
> of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be
> shallow somewhere else.
>
> 16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to
> school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he
> wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and
> then.
>
> 17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even
> if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds
> more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't
> bother disagreeing with you any more.
>
> 18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or
> calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach
> these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you
> for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a
> worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a
> better one.
>
> 19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my
> child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see
> much difference between bossing my kid around
> academically and bossing him around the way I do about
> everything else.
>
> 20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing,
> aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative,
> pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's
> homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go
> to
> school can be as annoying as they want to without
> being branded as representative of anything but
> childhood.
>
> 21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of
> prodigy because she's homeschooled.
>
> 22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy
> because I homeschool my kids.
>
> 23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint
> because I homeschool my kids.
>
> 24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories
> my kids won't get because they don't go to school,
> unless you want me to start asking about all the
> not-so-great childhood memories you have because you
> went to school.
>
> 25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice
> about homeschooling, shut up!
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
--
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will
know peace."
Jimi Hendrix
sharon currie
HI Sharissa13,
This list is Fantastic !!! Would you mind if I forward it to my local homeschooler's list?
With Best Regards,
Sharon
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
This list is Fantastic !!! Would you mind if I forward it to my local homeschooler's list?
With Best Regards,
Sharon
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Answers - Get better answers from someone who knows. Tryit now.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sharissa13
Please do pass it along...we all need a good laugh on
occasion. ;)
__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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occasion. ;)
__________________________________________________
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