Thursday, March 8, 2018

"But my kid loves school!"

This is one of the comments I hear most when I talk with someone about homeschooling.

They proceed to tell me that their precious child loves all the activities/socialization/ learning that happens at school.  And I nod and smile while they go on and on about how great their school is.


I truly do not know how to respond when this happens.  In my head I'm thinking, "this is not good, a child who loves to be controlled and told what to do on a hourly basis!?"
I end up with my go to response, " Well, homeschooling isn't for everyone."  And that usually ends the conversation and we move on to something else.


But really, your kid loves school?!  Who loves school?  I know I didn't.  There were times when I loved it.  Like talking with my friends, recess, and lunchtime.  Actually sitting down and doing work?  Horrible.  The only time I loved school, was in college.  When I got to the point where I was able to choose my classes and learn about exactly what I was interested in.



I really have to wonder, is there really a small percentage of people who genuinely love school and need that control and order in their lives to be truly happy?  I personally need freedom to be happy, and I think that the majority of the population would agree with me.

Maybe it's because they don't know any different, if they were able to live the free life of a unschooler for a bit, would they change their mind?
Or would it cause chaos in their life, because there was no one controlling them or scheduling out the day with hour by hour instruction to follow.  I'm not sure.  This is a topic that I continuously struggle with.  Everyone is so different, what works for one may not work with the other.

Would love to hear your thoughts!