We’ve all been there—someone finds out you homeschool, and they question your decision. Sometimes they are genuinely curious, sometimes they are looking for reasons to debate. Regardless of their intent, we know we need to answer them calmly and reasonably—no reason to add fuel to a fire they may have because of past negative interactions with another homeschooler. We’ve memorized some statistics and we feel ready to answer any questions that might come our way. We’ve prepared answers from an educational standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, and we might even have scribbled key words on the cuffs of our sleeves just for this moment.
But you know what? There’s only one piece of evidence, only one fact that will really help them see what you mean. Well, in my case, there are four. Your children are the best examples of what you’re saying. Your children are the proof that homeschooling works.
We can pull out newspaper articles and magazine blurbs to show why homeschooling is awesome, and someone else can pull out the same to show that it’s not. We can get engaged in battles of wit and will and words. We can change the subject and leave them wondering if we’re trying to hide something. No matter what we do, how clever and convincing we think we are, our children will speak louder than we will.
It’s in the way they act and speak. It’s evident in how they carry themselves, the self-esteem they have. If your child is thriving, you can tell. If your child is struggling, you can tell. And a child is the best ambassador for homeschooling there can be.
I don’t let people test my kids. I hate it when someone says, “So, what’s the capital of Alabama,” or some other challenging thing. I’ve told my kids not to answer questions like that, but instead to say, “Ask my mom.” But people don’t have to test your kids to know they are doing well—they can hear them talk and pick up on the vocabulary words they are using and notice how they aren’t afraid to interact with adults and children alike.
Our kids are the proof in the pudding. If you have skeptics in your family, invite them over for dinner and let your kids loose all over them. By the end of the evening, your family members will walk out of your house, glassy eyed from all the excitement, and they’ll stop worrying if your kids are learning. They’ll know it for themselves.
Related Blogs:
Turning Your Child into a Self-Advocate
So, Where Will They Socialize?
Reading Makes for Great Vocabularies!