Suzanna and Darrell

I believe that doctor was way out of line to quiz your kids like that. And I
would have told him so. And like Sandra, I would ask him if he quizzes all
of his patients that way. A lot of people feel the need to find out how much
homeschooled kids don't know. And if the kids don't know what those people
think they should, it is because homeschooling is bad. Whenever I encounter
people like that, I ask them why there are so many public schooled kids who
don't know those things as well; and I ask them why my kids know a lot of
things that ps kids don't know, and probably aren't even taught.

Back to the doctor, though. Every health care provider that my kids have had
since we started homeschooling have been impressed that we homeschool. Not
one ever quized them, or question the wisdom of it. In fact, quite the
oposite. Most of them have said that they don't blame us for pulling our
kids out of ps. My husband is military, so we have seen quite a few
different providers. Even our civilian providers: dentist, allergist, eye
doctor, as well as their nurses and office staff, think that homeschooling
is great. Perhaps it is because the school district in this town is so
awful, I don't know. The provider that my middle son had when we first took
our kids out of ps, told us that he considered doing the same thing.

We had been reported to child protective services for educational neglect
because we kept our son home when he had asthma attacks. Our son's health
care providers were furious about this. They wrote letters on our behalf,
but to no avail. We were still found guilty because we didn't have a
doctor's note to cover each and every day that he was absent. The school
nurse was only at the school 2 half days a week, and she wasn't trained in
how to care for asthmatics. First we just switched our two youngest to a
different elementary school, with the plan of preparing to homeschool the
following year. Well, one day at the new school I called the school to let
them know my youngest wouldn't be there because he had a fever of 103, and
the principal said that it was probably just allergies and that I should
send him anyways. Well that was it! I went downtown that same day and filed
the paperwork to establish a homeschool! The principal was so shocked on the
following Monday when I showed up and told her that that would be my son's
final day at school. The only people around here that we ever get any flack
from about homeschool are a few teachers and a busybody old lady at church
who is always bossing everybody around. Most of the teachers that I know
personally think it is great that we homeschool. One of them even told me
that if she wasn't at the school everyday to keep an eye on what goes on
with her daughters, and to be able to hand pick her teachers, that she would
be homeschooling her own daughter.

Well, as my oldest ds would say, I have blabbered on enough!

Suzanna in Clovis, NM