I hate the feeling of having to justify decisions we make for our daughter. The look on almost everyone's face when it's mentioned that we are highly considering homeschooling her, is astounding. This is something that has been a constant discussion, a highly researched decision we are trying to make for her, not a decision we are making on a whim.
"Kids need socialization." That's the first thing everyone who feels a need to chime in on what we do for our daughter throws out at us. I threw it out too, when my best friend home-schooled her how 2+ grade advanced son. Before I thought I'd be a parent considering homeschooling. Being cramped in a room with 32 similarly minded/developed children and one adult is not my idea or desire for socializing. Being surrounded by different maturity and intelligence levels is what we consider socializing, and how we naturally learn. Experience, not memorization. School is preparing you for the real world- where everyone is exactly the same? It breaks a child's natural desire to learn, and instead they compete for stars, candy, bribes, and above all else to be seen as the best in the class. Don't get me started on the bully epidemic, the rising media coverage concerning sexual assault on children, statutory meetings with older students (who are still minors) and my favorite scare: my 7th grade music teacher trafficking child pornography. Who better than to teach, nurture, love, and protect my child than me? No one, that's who.
If you'd like some statistics regarding current homeschooling vs. public schooling in America, I'll provide them. For now, I'll just stick with this gem I found on Pinterest. It takes a village, and I love my reliable, loving village that helps us raise Nora with love, acceptance, and humor. I thank you for accepting her sensitivity and her soul made of glitter with a never-ending supply of applause and laughs when she wants an audience. Its the village I don't know that scares me, us, and we don't need our parental decisions questioned or debated.
