Encouraging Homeschooling to Public Schoolers

**TFZ** · 11-12-2016, 09:29 AM

Do you encourage people to homeschool?

I know exactly one person who loves their public school experience. Everyone else I talk to has problems with admin/teachers/homework/expectations. Understandably so - especially because we are in the era of pushing early academics and most of my friends have kids 6 and under. It's rough.

I feel silly telling everyone over and over about how great homeschooling is. I've encouraged a few friends to look into it when they expressed interest, but I doubt they did. It's hard to listen to people continually complain and never do anything about it.

Have you encouraged friends/family to homeschool? Had any success converting them?

**inmom** · 11-12-2016, 09:54 AM

I've never actively suggested homeschooling to ps parents. However, if they ask about it, I have happily answered. I think ps parents need to be already thinking about homeschooling to be receptive to suggestions about it. I have heard of some that take offense, like their decision to have kids in ps is an incorrect one.

**alexsmom** · 11-12-2016, 10:49 AM

It does get frustrating hearing them complain about issues that are so easily resolved by homeschooling. "Thats why I homeschool" gets me the stink-eye. Seems they want to just keep on complaining about workload, sp-ed accomodations, other students, teachers, dress codes, their kid crying every morning cuz he hasnt toughened up yet and begging to stay home (thats my favorite parent - we are in group social skills therapy with our DS4s together... so yah, SN kid), scheduling, wasting of time, homework, etc.
Yet Im the one getting the stink eye for suggesting they dont need to put up with all the hassles and miseries.

**crazyme** · 11-12-2016, 12:26 PM

Only if they tell me if they are thinking, or have thought, about it. I do always follow up the oh-so-familiar comment "I could never HS my kids!" with, "It's not that difficult, I'm sure you could." You know, just in case they need that encouragement.

I've swam this water before: our whole family is vegetarians. For some reason, kids want to be vegetarian after visiting our house. I've learned to temper their enthusiasm, and my own. I follow suit with HSing.

**farrarwilliams** · 11-12-2016, 12:38 PM

What Carol said. I happily encourage anyone who is thinking about it. If someone says something like, "public school is driving me nuts" then I might say, "I'm sorry. I couldn't deal with that. Another reason we homeschool." But I don't think anyone who doesn't want to take the initiative should homeschool. It takes a certain sort of person to want to. Or a pretty desperate situation to drive someone into it.

**muddylilly** · 11-12-2016, 01:08 PM

Yup! On all of the above!

I know the feeling of being so excited about something that you really enjoy and want to encourage everyone to give it a try....but you're wasting your breath in most cases and even risk offending, in some cases. We aren't talking about a new shampoo here....we're talking about a MAJOR lifestyle change that most can't wrap their head around.

People really just want to vent. They don't want to make the effort to change. *shrug*

Answer questions if asked.....that's all, IMO.

**Mariam** · 11-12-2016, 03:33 PM

No, I don't encourage people to homeschool. I am an accidental homeschooler, if we had a Sudbury/Free school near us, I would enroll DS there. No question. There was a short time I have thought about starting one myself.

Sometimes people ask me about HS. We have been moving towards unschooling more and more, so we are on the outer edges of how we think about homeschooling anyway.

It's funny, one of my colleagues at work asked me about it. She said that she offered to HS her child and her child said, no way did they want their mom to be their teacher.

**ShariM** · 11-12-2016, 04:17 PM

I wouldn't necessarily encourage someone to homeschool, but I would ask them if they had ever considered it. We homeschool. Other than a brief couple of weeks at a public school, we always have. But it is difficult and not everyone reallly wants to do it. I only throw it out as an option that they may not have considered.

**Deli76** · 11-12-2016, 08:59 PM

If someone asks, I will give them info. Thats as far as it goes.

**TFZ** · 11-12-2016, 09:21 PM

Maybe the schools are just especially bad around here? Or maybe the moms I know are humoring me? The parents I know that have education or early childhood ed backgrounds are especially horrified by the public schools. One mom keeps posting her kid's homework - kindergartners identifying pronouns. Um. Okay... Like it's not hard enough to READ the word. Now they are supposed to identify the part of speech? I know it's some sort of spiraling down from whatever they are supposed to know grammatically in 2nd grade. Thanks Common Core. But pronouns in K? Get real.

Between that and most of them already being SAHMs... I mean, why NOT? Lol. I was never good at going along with the crowd. I can't imagine staying somewhere that I hate. But you guys are right. People like to complain.

Not that I don't want to send them all away some days. I'm looking forward to winter break camp. Dec 26th!!! It'll be like a vacation with only two kids.