Bad Things About Homeschooling

One of the bad things about homeschooling is having to communicate realistic expectations to others. Although this disadvantage of homeschooling isn't an issue for people who "don't care what other people think" about them, it's especially hard if family members are against homeschooling. Even people who are very supportive of your decision to homeschool don't fully understand the time and commitment level needed to conduct a successful homeschool day, and at times that can cause awkward moments with friends, family, and aquaintances.

Let me give you some examples that you can add to your list of the pros and cons of homeschooling.

Homeschoolers generally perform above average academically, but that doesn't make every homeschooler a genius.

When my youngest was in first grade, a dinner guest started quizzing her on multiplication facts and when she didn't know them, raised his eyebrows and started trying to teach her to multiply. Not that I compare my children to government school students, but I don't know many 6 year olds who are confident with multiplication tables.

My children have a extensive knowledge of history, but are not good spellers. I get very irritated when people judge how "smart" my kids are by how well they spell a few words they throw out for an informal oral spelling test. I realize this is a need in our homeschool and we work diligently to improve, but it isn't a quick process.

Here's another one of the bad things about homeschooling...

Homeschoolers are home most of the day, but we are BUSY.

Sure, we are home most of the day, but most homeschoolers have a schedule or plan for their day. Non-homeschoolers tend to think that being home means you are hanging around looking for something to do. For example:

It is hard, but sometimes necessary, to say "NO" when the women's ministry leader from church calls to see if you can bake 3 dozen cookies for the meeting that night. She suggests it would be a good home economics lesson for the day. While that may be true, your children can make cookies from a recipe they've made so many times they've memorized it and they really need to spend time learning to find the area of a triangle. You are just as much of a teacher with a job to do as the local middle school teacher and last minute cookie making may be too much to ask.

I am not saying that homeschoolers should never volunteer or help with other activities they participate in, but quite the opposite. Homeschooling is a perfect opportunity for children to learn to pitch in to make everyone's job easier. They should bake cookies for the ladies meeting at church, and should volunteer way ahead of time so it can be worked into the schedule.

Reminding well meaning friends that you can't just sit and chat on the phone in the morning after they drop their children off at school can get redundant. Usually, I try to avoid this awkward moment by not answering the phone while we are working. Caller ID and voice mail are a homeschooler's friend.

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