It's that time of year folks. Those of us with children over the age of 3 can no longer blend in at the park or grocery store.
Let the annoying, invasive, and down right ignorant questions from complete stranger begin!!!
Honestly, the most we've really been asked is "no school today?" Maybe a few follow up comments like, "oh I could never homeschool my kids." (Good thing that lady doesn't homeschool then.) No horror stories to share here. I attribute this to the growing number of homeschoolers and public stories about homeschooling. And it's no longer just the Duggers of the world. Thank you Will and Jada Smith. I also credit my prep for the worst.
I have found that the best policy is something short, generic, and then move on.
A. It's really no ones business what your 9 year old is doing at the bank on a Tuesday morning. Keeping it generic keeps strangers out of your business, while still answering them. (Hey look, you are teaching your kids how to talk to strangers appropriately. We really do teach socialization.)
B. They don't really care. Most people are just making chit chat. If you go into a 10 minute lecture on how much time is wasted in brick and mortar schools and how you can get your school work done in a couple of hours giving you time to run errands you are only opening your self up to weird looks and more questions. You aren't going to change the mind of the bagger at Meijer. (And the people behind you in line are adding a new reason to NOT like homeschoolers.)
C. Despite growing acceptance and popularity of homeschooling we are all still advocates for homeschooling. Keeping it short and sweet demonstrates those manners we homeschoolers tout. Nor is it worth your time or energy to argue the advantages of homeschooling with the clerk at the DMV.
Keeping these things in mind can help navigate the inappropriate questions. Preparing our children I think is even more prudent. Give them a few answers they can give when asked the typical questions. And let them know that they are by no means required to submit to pop quizzes. (Really guy, are you going to give my kids a scholarship for college if they answer ccorrectly??)
So who has a funny story about strangers and homeschooling they want to share?
Here are some funny ones I found this morning.
