Would you send your child to school?

I overheard a conversation in a local teacher supply store a few weeks ago. Two homeschooling moms were in there shopping for workbooks etc. They actually said, out loud, that not only would they never subject their child to school, but that anyone who does obviously doesn't even love their children. The taller one said, "Why bother to have children if you're just going to send them to an institution? Only a crappy parent would do that."

There isn't any way to change the minds of people like that, so I didn't comment or make an effort to change their opinion. I didn't even bother to make eye contact, act like I was listening or, well, anything. I grabbed the tri fold cardboards I went in there to buy and was out the door in about three minutes.

But it made me ponder a bit.

I don't think most people homeschool because of hatred for schools, I think they've just tried to make the best decision for their kids based on their needs, resources and way of life.

If you didn't already know, we homeschooled for about 17 years, give or take. I took Matt out of school because his school experience was going along quite shittily (I just made that word up, but I like it, don't you?).

At the time, I hated HIS public school, but not all schools in general.
I still feel that way. The school he ended up in by accident of residence was a clusterfuck, and more than one teacher I am personally acquainted with has said that being assigned there is the school system's equivalent of being posted to Siberia.

Taking him out of school was a good move on our part, and not sending Alyssa involved some reasons I don't care to go into right now, but it was the best decision for her, based on her sensitivity and the way she learned. I certainly don't regret the time spent homeschooling, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to learn out in the world rather than my kids going away from me to learn elsewhere.

I don't think that school is the best place for all children to learn, and I think there are problems inherent in the way schools work. Learning and schooling are mutually exclusive, and if someone really wants an education tailored to the individual child, public school may not be the best place for that to happen, especially in the teach-to-the-test high pressure way they're being run. The political stuff, the stupidity of regulations, the people actually doing the work not being paid half what they're worth... yeah.

Now I don't think all schools completely suck.
Lots and lots and lots of kids do just fine there.
'My' kids often talk about how much they hate school, but I think they hate the same things I hated. Getting up early (I still hate that!!) and being forced to do stuff on someone else's schedule. Dragging a child out of bed at the asscrack of dawn to go sit through still another day of 'learning' is sort of a crummy trick, if you ask me.

Once you get 'em there,  lot of time is wasted standing in lines, moving from one location to another,  waiting for attention from the teacher, being told when to learn and how to learn and when it's good enough.

But they love the same things I loved as a kid.
Recess, of course. Time to run and play and scream and throw things and chase around.

Many of them love to read, although book reports and having their books selected for them doesn't sit well with some of the kids I know. I LOVED to read, but when someone expected a book report from me, it was frustrating. Ruined all the fun of a good book.

They love to do projects. To imagine. To pretend to be spies and superheroes and Luke Skywalker. And I don't think they have enough time to do those things.

And the HOMEWORK!! What the hell are they doing (or not doing) in class that so much homework has to go home with kids? They're giving homework in the 1st grade! So as a parent, you drop your kid off or put them on the school bus about 7:45 AM. They go to school all day, you pick them up at daycare between 5 and 6, there's dinner, homework and bed. And if you don't think homework is something to argue about/cause a less than peaceful evening, you aren't really thinking about it. :)

Why are we teaching a generation of children that they must take work home with them and feel obligated to do it? To neglect their family and other relationships so they can do a bunch of meaningless busy work?

So my supposed-to-be-new-but-turned-out-to-only-be-temporary-assistant is a homeschooling mom. And we haven't had a lot of opportunity to get to know one another or talk much about our reasons for keeping our kids out of public schools. We did agree, however, that educational choices should be based on the individual, and that people would probably be better off if they explored all the possible educational options for their children before just using school as the default setting.