74Heaven
03-06-2009, 04:54 PM
to be a different story!! I have enjoyed almost full family support for hsing gr K-8; now with one 11th grader and one 9/10th grader (she's working a year, or 2 years ahead in academics if you count her Sept birthday being too late for enrollment) - I am finally experiencing flak from my family.
Just as an aside, my kids all are pretty outgoing. Not really socially "awkward" in any way (unless we count their big mouths lol). IOW, people would not point to them as the "poster children of poor socialization".
Here are 3 recent incidents (btw, I have 10 siblings, lots of large-family dynamics, gatherings, interactions):
My lovely, but impetuous (mouthy lol?) 11yod told my 45yo brother (at a family birthday party/BBQ) that "you should stop smoking because you can get lung cancer and die just like your dad (my father, in 1992) did". (My father died before my kids were born.) My sister overheard and called me to tell me "because she thought I should know"; apologies to my 45yo brother were extremely graciously received by my bro (he seemed to think like I do that "kids say the darndest things"!)
My sister however, told me that she felt my kids were lacking certain social skills that they would get in public/private schools as to what is/what is not appropriate to say. She (surprisingly) then brought up an incident from 5-8 years ago!) when my oldest dtr told this same sister (who was driving & drinking a Diet Pepsi) that she should not "drink and drive". At the time, years ago, we all got a good laugh - with "kids will be kids" was the general thought from both of us (or so I thought).
The most recent incident involved my (otherwise) perfect 78yo mother. She was sugg. Running Start (high school enrollment in college classes) for my 16.5yo and I said: 1) I wasn't sure my kids were mature enough to really be in a college environment yet and 2) I don't like the idea of teenage girls being in classes with young adult men. I added that it wasn't logistically very convenient as we live an hour away from the community college. And my dear sainted mother said, "Well, when are you going to let your kids be in the 'real world'"?
I muttered something about public schools providing lots of bad role modeling and peer pressure and that I feel my kids are in the real world now, with parents who are looking out for their best interests - and that I expected plenty of "real world living" but wanted my children to be confident and secure in who they are/what they believe when they face some of the situations that are prevalent all over public schools now. I wanted to give the kids a strong foundation for when the testing comes.
I wondered if others have better info to share to support their high school homeschooling choices. For the most part, I feel that "the proof will be in the pudding" and I can take the arrows now as it will all play out in the end. But,
I guess I feel the comments are based on thier predjudiced perspectives and that by not correcting them, they are somehow being "validated" and in fact are a "growing" problem in my extended family's perception of my family.
Just for background, the "accusing" sister has 4 kids in public school after private schools for the first 8 years or so) and one other sister homeschools as I do - and a third sister put her dtr in high school in 9th grade (after 8 yrs of hsing) and this dtr completely rebelled including moving out of the house at 16yo and there was a host of huge problems. (We have had none of these problems thus far)
I had some thoughts to share some socially inadequacies of my sister's kids. I did not say a word because I felt my "feelings" were not useful. But we could note social "inadequacies" of almost anyone if I was looking for them!
Now that my sister (whom I love and whom is not some horrible woman) has opened the subject, I am sure she will have other comments.
sorry so long!
Lisaj, help me out here :()
Just as an aside, my kids all are pretty outgoing. Not really socially "awkward" in any way (unless we count their big mouths lol). IOW, people would not point to them as the "poster children of poor socialization".
Here are 3 recent incidents (btw, I have 10 siblings, lots of large-family dynamics, gatherings, interactions):
My lovely, but impetuous (mouthy lol?) 11yod told my 45yo brother (at a family birthday party/BBQ) that "you should stop smoking because you can get lung cancer and die just like your dad (my father, in 1992) did". (My father died before my kids were born.) My sister overheard and called me to tell me "because she thought I should know"; apologies to my 45yo brother were extremely graciously received by my bro (he seemed to think like I do that "kids say the darndest things"!)
My sister however, told me that she felt my kids were lacking certain social skills that they would get in public/private schools as to what is/what is not appropriate to say. She (surprisingly) then brought up an incident from 5-8 years ago!) when my oldest dtr told this same sister (who was driving & drinking a Diet Pepsi) that she should not "drink and drive". At the time, years ago, we all got a good laugh - with "kids will be kids" was the general thought from both of us (or so I thought).
The most recent incident involved my (otherwise) perfect 78yo mother. She was sugg. Running Start (high school enrollment in college classes) for my 16.5yo and I said: 1) I wasn't sure my kids were mature enough to really be in a college environment yet and 2) I don't like the idea of teenage girls being in classes with young adult men. I added that it wasn't logistically very convenient as we live an hour away from the community college. And my dear sainted mother said, "Well, when are you going to let your kids be in the 'real world'"?
I muttered something about public schools providing lots of bad role modeling and peer pressure and that I feel my kids are in the real world now, with parents who are looking out for their best interests - and that I expected plenty of "real world living" but wanted my children to be confident and secure in who they are/what they believe when they face some of the situations that are prevalent all over public schools now. I wanted to give the kids a strong foundation for when the testing comes.
I wondered if others have better info to share to support their high school homeschooling choices. For the most part, I feel that "the proof will be in the pudding" and I can take the arrows now as it will all play out in the end. But,
I guess I feel the comments are based on thier predjudiced perspectives and that by not correcting them, they are somehow being "validated" and in fact are a "growing" problem in my extended family's perception of my family.
Just for background, the "accusing" sister has 4 kids in public school after private schools for the first 8 years or so) and one other sister homeschools as I do - and a third sister put her dtr in high school in 9th grade (after 8 yrs of hsing) and this dtr completely rebelled including moving out of the house at 16yo and there was a host of huge problems. (We have had none of these problems thus far)
I had some thoughts to share some socially inadequacies of my sister's kids. I did not say a word because I felt my "feelings" were not useful. But we could note social "inadequacies" of almost anyone if I was looking for them!
Now that my sister (whom I love and whom is not some horrible woman) has opened the subject, I am sure she will have other comments.
sorry so long!
Lisaj, help me out here :()