"Homeschooling sucks!"
Hmm. What does a homeschooler say to this statement? A homeschooler who just happens to be a ten year-old girl, cornered in gym class by a bespectacled peer equipped with a very haughty attitude?
Hayley reluctantly relayed the conversation to me as we drove home from gymnastics class Monday night. The girl had been talking about her school and how it was the best school in the area. She asked Hayley where her school was.
"I'm homeschooled."
"Homeschooled?! Homeschooling sucks!"
"No, it doesn't."
"Yes, it does. Who wants to stay home all day? Who wants to do school at home?"
"I don't stay home all day. I go on field trips and I go to co-op once a week."
"What's co-op?"
"It's like a school for homeschoolers. We have really cool classes like Life in Medieval Times and Cooking and stuff."
"Co-op is stupid. I have friends at school. Lots and lots of friends."
"I have friends, too. Friends from co-op and Girl Scouts and 4-H and from my neighborhood."
"Not real friends. Not friends like mine."
"They're real friends to me."
"Whatever. Homeschooling is boring."
"It wasn't boring today. I got to go sledding this morning with my friends."
"Well, I have recess. I could go sledding then if I wanted to."
"And I get to sleep in. And stay up late. And study what I want to. And get on the computer to play even if it's the middle of the day."
Silence.
"And I don't have homework. Ever."
More silence. Then a glare, accompanied by, "Hmph. I still think homeschooling sucks!"
I listened to my daughter's entire re-enactment of the conversation. I'll admit, a tiny part of me wanted to march inside and tell that child in no uncertain terms just how mistaken she was. But the other part of me swelled with pride over how my daughter handled her surly classmate...and how passionately she defended her choice to homeschool. We continued the drive home and I thought to myself, "Well...at least this ten year-old girl doesn't think homeschooling sucks."
And hers is the only opinion I care about.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Homeschooling does NOT suck!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Way to go Hayley! I think the friends Hayley makes through her different activites are "truer" friendships, not the clique-related kind. This Grandma is very proud of her granddaughter!
Beth, I just discovered this blog. I love it and will be visiting often!
I'm impressed with your daughter, too! She handled herself better than I could at her age(or even now!). My son's friends from his old school have never expressed such negative thoughts. In fact, most of them envy him for all the things he gets to do! (too bad their parents don't always feel that way!)
Barbara
barbarasblueskies.blogspot.com
Post a Comment