For some, when they start homeschooling or looking into homeschooling, they can meet with opposition from family and friends. Thankfully it's not something I've had problems with, which could be down to it still being seem as fairly normal in Australia, with school of the air for isolated children still being within living memory. It's not unheard of, however, because it is still an issue which crops up in our local homeschooling Facebook group, now and again.
Often it's not something we can lay to rest until we prove ourselves. My mother-in-law probably wasn’t entirely convinced when we first told her we were homeschooling, but we have a track record proving her concerns unfounded, so she didn't speak out much about it. Expect them to test your children, though, and enjoy it with a smile.
Sometimes the resistance comes from teachers and principals at school if you're pulling them out in order to homeschool. Naturally, these aren't people you need to convince long term, so the best approach can be approaching them in a confident, no nonsense manner.
My advice if you're going to pull them out of school to home educate is to get fully informed first. Make sure you know everything you're entitled to do and approach them with confidence to say that this is what we're doing. Principals and teachers don't always know the homeschooling laws for the state or country you're in, so if you can confidently tell them, then you're in a good position to start with and will be less likely to have them trying to intimidate you. I also find that when they start to try and put you on the back foot, looking them square in the eye and saying nothing will usually unsettle them enough to stop it in its tracks. Most people feel uncomfortable in a silence, especially if they're used to people getting flustered and trying to justify themselves.
The best approach with family and friends may vary, but getting some facts behind you and showing them a confident face will help. If all else fails you can concede that you'll try it for X months and if it doesn't work out they can always go back into school.
So what facts can you pull out to back yourself up?
There are anecdotes of university professors saying that homeschooled students manage university studies better than schooled students, because they've learnt how to manage their own learning and use initiative, whereas schooled children are used to needing permission to do anything and waiting to be told what to do. Then here's an article about how homeschooled students often get better test results and have more degrees than their schooled peers.
If you want to get them thinking, pull out the fact that schools have only existed as they are since the industrial age and we were still making advances for generations before that. There are plenty of famous people who have been homeschooled.
Then there's the fact that with the internet, we now have access to a huge array of knowledge at our fingertips. Way more than all the teachers in one school could know. So if they try to insult your intelligence or ability, tell them that as long as they can work a computer your children will be able to quickly surpass you. After all, the goal is for the student to surpass the master. We wouldn't advance if we only matched our teachers.
Have you had naysayers you've had to deal with when you decided to homeschool? How did you deal with them and did they come around in the end? Share your story with us at @HomeEdders.
