Alot of passion in those comments!

Homeschoolers cannot help their passion. I know many people whose children are in the public school world. It is expected. No one ever asks you why your children are there. "Why on earth would you send your children to school?? I could never do that." That is something you never hear, not even from a homeschooler. Public school is the status quo and as such, never gets challenged. Even people who go the private school route are seldom questioned. It is accepted and I suspect many people are even just a little jealous of it.

Homeschooling, however, is totally fair game for opinions of all shapes and sizes. I bet I am questioned about it 3-5 times every day. Some days more, but never less than 3. The questions/comments are as various as the people asking/saying them.

"How do you do it? I couldn't teach my kids a thing!?"
"Aren't all of them school-aged? You are missing your me-time"
"What do you do for socialization?"
"Do you worry about sheltering them from the real world?"
"Does the school just give you the materials and you teach it?"
"Do you take them to the school every year so they can be tested?"
"You're not going to homeschool them all the way through, are you?"
"My goodness, I guess you have your hands full."
"Do you like it?"
"I don't like my kids enough to do that! I can barely stand them through the summer!"
"How many hours a day do you teach them?"

It isn't like it is my candidate for office, or my favorite cookie. My whole LIFE is BUILT around my decision to homeschool my children. It wasn't a decision made lightly. If it was, we would have returned to school by now-which reminds me of another question: Are you STILL homeschooling?

I truly don't mind questions about homeschooling. People are curious and I usually know the answer. It is the people that ask questions while looking at you open-mouthed like you have two heads that get to me. Or the ones that want to quiz my kids to see if I am really teaching them. Come here Junior and let me hear you read. Do your multiplication tables. People just assume that Public school is teaching kiddos and homeschoolers are not. Very unfair stereotype.

The best we can hope for in this world of differences is to be loving and supportive of whatever our friends have decided. If you love your public school, I am sooo happy for you. I don't think less of you. I am not doing a little superiority dance like The Church Lady. (My all-time favorite SNL skit) I will not go into exactly how I feel about homeschool vs. public school unless I am sure you feel that way to. That is kind of like a methodist trying to "save" a baptist. They are both already Christians. How they get there is irrelevant! If they are both believers, God can do the fine-tuning. If a mom is involved in her child's education, doesn't matter how. That is what kids need. If mom's teaching, great. Helping with homework, great. Involvement in your child's life is what is key and we each have our own inner voice telling us what that is supposed to be.

Also, don't assume all homeschoolers are Christians!! Many have pulled their kids out of school t deliver them from all the "religious crap" that filters in. Don't assume we can't be salt and light to a homeschool community. The number of atheists HSing is shocking. Also there is a whole group of homeschoolers whose kids have gotten kicked out of all the schools in their community and are forced to homeschool. It varies widely, the world of homeschoolers. Alot like other types of schools.