Are homeschooled kids weird?
~ Written by contributor Sarah Small of SmallWorld at Home
Admit it. Somewhere deep in your heart, you’ve wondered, especially if you’ve ever heard someone say, “I know a homeschooling family at my church. Those kids are weird!”
Prefer to listen instead?
Haven’t we all asked ourselves: Are homeschooled kids weird? Will my kids be weird?
Weird. Normal. We all have our own definitions. You might say, “I don’t want my kids to be ‘normal’ by today’s standards!” And you might also say, “But I don’t want my kid to be labeled as a weirdo!” So here’s the thing:
All kids are weird.
That’s normal. I mean, when I was a kid—in the privacy of my own home—I stuck black olives on all my fingers and ate them off, one by one. That’s weird, right? Of course I didn’t eat black olives at public school, but if I had, I would not have eaten them off my fingers one by one. I would have known that was weird because some kid would have announced to the entire cafeteria: “THAT GIRL IS EATING OLIVES OFF HER FINGERS LIKE A WEIRDO!” Even those kids that had a secret desire to emulate me would have shriveled and mocked me. I would have been forever known as Olive Girl.
Here’s what’s different about homeschoolers. At my homeschooling co-op, if one kid were eating black olives off his fingers, I can guarantee that the rest of them would be doing it within seconds. Because weird is good. Weird is normal. (And who doesn’t have a secret desire to eat black olives off his fingers?)
I eat black olives like a “normal” person now, although my husband would argue that no “normal” person even eats olives. But you know what? Without any coaching from me, I swear, my youngest son does this.
Because 99.9% of kids (totally made-up statistic) are innately weird, creative, silly, funny, uninhibited, and terribly clever—if they are allowed to be.
I remember distinctly a day when my firstborn son was in kindergarten in public school. He wanted to wear his kilt and sheepskin vest to school. “Sweetie, you can’t wear a kilt to school,” I told him. I hated to tell him why, but I had to. “You can only wear your kilt at home. Kids don’t wear kilts to school.” I squashed his weirdness. I had to, for his sake.
Fast forward several years, when this same kid was 13 and had been homeschooled since we pulled him out of public school after first grade. One day we found, stuffed in the back of a closet, a llama-hair poncho that my husband once brought back from South America.
My son was ecstatic! For months he wore that poncho everywhere, including our homeschooling co-op. He also wore John Lennon-type sunglasses and t-shirts with ties. And yep, I’m sure the kids thought he was weird. But they didn’t care because they were weird, too.
My son is a junior in college now. I asked him recently what some of the best aspects about homeschooling were. One of the things he said was this:
“I had the chance to be a quirky, weird, and creative kid without intense ridicule. I was then able to develop that all into socially acceptable quirkiness as a college student.”
“Socially acceptable quirkiness” usually translates to “outside-the-box” thinking. What is one of the top qualities that employers in most fields look for in employees? Innovation and creativity—outside-the-box thinkers. Childhood weirdos.
Homeschooling allows kids to be weird when it’s OK to be weird.
As your kids get older, chances are they will learn to corral their quirks and develop into creative young adults who refuse to accept mediocrity and challenge the status quo.
I think we need more weirdos in our world.
So ‘fess up. Have you ever wondered it, too: Are homeschooled kids weird? Do you harbor a secret fear that people will think your kids are weird?
What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!
This post originally published on October 3, 2012.
Weekend links
Hey, I eat olives all types and other pickled things. My homeschool boys are wired but I find it endearing.
I love this. My oldest son, now 12, is a normal funny quirky kid at home but he is often awkward and socially unaware of some things when we are out and about. Homeschooling has allowed him to have friends, to be interested in reading, and to have a childhood. I am constantly amazed at how some of the kids at our co-ops relate to each other. More civilized and accepting than a lot of other social situations where kids and peer pressure are involved. Because really, how cool can you be with your mom sitting a few feet away?
Alia Joy’s latest post: What You See is What You Get
Oh what a fun post…. I am sure there is a blog out there writing a: “The extremely weird and funny things my homeschooled kids do that they would never do if they were in public school”… I love the creative freedom my kids have because they homeschool, they can be their own weird selves and we can applaud them. Honestly, my kids will never be able to say that “I embarrass them” when they are teens, because they have so put me through quite a bit already… Weeks hanging in a tree at the gate like a bat, years of strange clothes, but really it is the things they say: The weird little factoids that homeschool kids spout out to engage folk, where other kids are talking about what was in their lunch bag!!!
se7en’s latest post: Se7en’s October… And a Free Printable Calendar…
Absolutely excellent post!
I can’t resist; here’s a post from my blog of a similar ilk:
http://taytayhser.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/homeschoolers-are-weird.html
My daughter wrote the blog post and it is entitled “Homeschoolers are Weird”.
Thanks SO much for this post…I love it!
In the absence of a better vocabulary, homeschoolers will always be called “weird” when what is really meant is unique, quirky, and fun!
Emma,
Just curious, why are you on a homeschool website if you have such disdain?
Wow, Emma, did you give them all assessment test when you met them?! Did they want to talk to you while you interrogated them?
Most of the homeschooled kids I’ve met & know, are completely *independent*, it’s their public schooled peers that co-depend upon peers of the same age when out in public.
My son is *weird* and *quiry* and incredibly bright. His intelligence is one of the main reasons we choos homeschool over conventional schooling.
Doesn’t everyone eat black olives off their fingers? 🙂
All Things Beautiful’s latest post: The Civil War and President Lincoln {1861-1865}
I love this! We will be sharing it on our weird homeschool facebook page, lol
Allira’s latest post: (Day 303) Almost 10 months!
Wonderful post! Thanks.
Dawn Suzette’s latest post: Sewing :: Fionna’s Knife Pouch
I totally have that fear- but at the same time, I find myself thankful for their weirdness- that they aren’t consumed with trying to fit in. I hope they’ll be weird forever!
Mary Beth’s latest post: from white noise to white space
It’s not a secret fear in my house, I know my kids are weird. With a statistician for a father and a biologist for a mother, they were doomed to be weird from day one. That’s one of the reasons why we’re homeschooling – we don’t need to worry that the weird will lead to bullying. Instead, we can celebrate the weirdness, and continue to spout of random facts about the periodic table of the elements at an age when most kids have never even heard of it.
My kids are weird – heck, our whole family is weird – and we are perfectly ok with it. All the things that made me a social outcast as a public school student are what make my own kids cool to their friends. Go figure.
Eddie – The Usual Mayhem’s latest post: Review: Music Together: 9.75 out of 10!!!!!
Agreed! I have told my husband many times when the socialization issue arises that no matter what our kids are weird, and they will always be weird because we are weird! BTW…they eat olives off their fingers too. 🙂
It’s fabulous the way you connected childhood weirdness with adult creative thinking. Very encouraging!
No, I don’t worry that my kids are weird, but I know that our family is weird, culturally speaking. Our natural lifestyle is decidedly foreign in these parts.
Rachel at Stitched in Color’s latest post: talk to me about….
Excellent post! I agree with many of the comments; our kids are weird and we know it. I was considered weird when I was in school, but I was okay with it. It did not damage me it made me feel special. Going against the cultural flow has always come naturally to me, and I think it’s been easier to pass that on to my kids. Now, my poor hubby was a popular kid in school so this has taken a bit more adjustment for him. 🙂
Kara’s latest post: Day Late, Dollar Short
Well, I was homeschooled K-12 and I don’t think people think I am weird now, so… 🙂 I do admit that I have thought about this for my own children though.
Johanna @ My Home Tableau’s latest post: When You Are In Information Overload
I love this article! My friends – homeschooling and not talk about how weird kids, in general, are. I do think homeschooled kids get way more room to try out different quirks and experiment with who they are and what they like – I totally love it!
Um… sometimes I still put black olives on the ends of my fingers and do the whole “scary finger waving” before eating the olives right off the tips of my fingers. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.
Thank you for this! I am just starting home school with my 5 and 3 year olds. You have put my fears to rest about weirdness and you have also reinforced why I decided to home school in the first place! Couldn’t have said it better!
Danielle Drown’s latest post: Goodbyes
When we first started talking about homeschooling our friends said this to us out of true concern. As if having “weird” kids were the worst thing in the world. And that’s the thing — coming from traditional schooling being labeled weird was a pretty horrible experience. Happy to have my kids have the freedom to be authentic without the judgement of the herd. Interestingly enough, my eight year old is very involved in the homeschool community and attends a variety of activities and classes and while kids will be kids it’s amazing to see how open minded and tolerant the group is.
Hillary’s latest post: Why I Chose Midwives (Video)
I actually like that my son is different. Quirky, if you will 🙂 It’s one of the best parts about homeschooling – giving him the chance to be HIMSELF without fear of reprisal.
Angela’s latest post: Wordless Wednesday.
As I tell my 7 year old when she says that her brother is weird, “Everyone is weird in their own special way. That’s what makes us all different. If we were all the same, the world would be a very very boring place.”
So, all in all – normal is boring. I’d rather me and my kids be “weird” – it makes life for interesting! LOL
Thank you for saying it out loud, “All kids are weird!” We need more weirdos, kids and adults.
Tracey’s latest post: Nicholas Adam Sprovtsoff, Semper Fi
I tell my kids to not be normal! LOL I tell them we are soo different from others around and it is okay. The only one they need to worry about impressing is God and the only one who they need to worry about what is thought of them. They know there are boundaries and they know most of the social ‘norms’ but we choose to not follow them and it is cool. I have one child who I think would be most influenced and she is the one I stress to be her own person and think about who it is she is trying to impress and do they really matter in the end.
Hold the phone. You aren’t SUPPOSED to eat olives that way? lol
As I read this article, my quirky six year old was wrapping his two year old brother in our retractable table tennis net… yeah… we love homeschooling! 😉
I was enjoying the article and then got to the picture of the two girls in the yellow pants together and BURST out laughing. My sister and I (products of homeschooling our entire lives) TOTALLY did that when we were about 14 and 16 with my dad’s sweat pants…. and yep… took a picture too 🙂
And now we’re both encouraging weirdness in our children as we are both homeschooling our children. I could totally see my kids eating olives off their finger tips and I’m ecstatic that they will get to embrace their unique design by God 🙂
Katrina’s latest post: Whom do you serve?
Love it. The other day my six-year-old daughter was in the front yard collecting acorns. In an evening gown.
A great side benefit of homeschooling: dress-up whenever they want, all day if they want.
CharityHawkins@TheHomeschoolExperiment.com‘s latest post: Ridiculously Simple Autumn Leaf Art
We are weird and proud! http://wp.me/p22Jbf-2W
I LOVE this. I have thought this for a while but didn’t know how to put it into words. It’s something you can just see when you go into a group of homeschooled kids. I see kids at co-op being weird all the time. They’s be afraid to do that in a school, but in our homeschool group, we’re all that way. So different is good!
Well, good for you. Then don’t homeschool your kids.
There is a huge difference between being yourself (which any public school will eventually beat out of a kid), and not being able to function in society (which is not what is being promoted here). Wouldn’t you consider name-calling, cliquish behaviors, and threatening people you don’t like with physical harm anti-social behaviors? Somehow, those behaviors thrive at public school, where kids are supposedly taught to be more “appropriate.” There is also a difference between being undisciplined (“teaching your kids that they can do what they want”) and being who you are. The most undisciplined kids I have met go to public school.
Also, starting a comment with internet slang and them complaining about other people’s grammar is somewhat ironic.
Oh, honey.
I’m curious as to why you even read a site like this, since it’s clear the thoughts and opinions here make you angry. I’m sorry you’re so offended by homeschoolers and homeschooled children. Aren’t you glad we can each make the educational choices that are best for our families? I’m thankful that I don’t have to educate my children the way my neighbor, or sister, or state official thinks is best. Criticizing and attacking each other’s choices is uncharitable, at best, and in no way beneficial to the children.
Thank you Jo. You make a good point. I actually found this site by accident, and my intention wasn’t to be ugly, but it did come out that way. I am happy that we can all make our own choices. And, I know some people have very legitimate reasons to homeschool. My concern lies in some people homeschooling that are not equipped to do so. It’s been my experience that many homeschooled kids do not get the exposure that they should, but I know I have not met every one of them, nor have I any stastical data or anything else. And, surely they do get benefits that publicaly schooled kids do not get. I am sorry for being ugly about it.
Emma,
It’s fine for you to hold your opinions, but the way you’ve expressed them in many of your comments on this post has been rude and insulting. I’ve deleted your other comments, and ask that you go elsewhere if this blog doesn’t interest you.
If you want to express how you feel in a more charitable way, like you have done in your reply to Jo, then you’re more than welcome to stay and chat.
Back before my daughter was school-age, I told my cousin I was considering homeschooling. She tried to discourage me from doing so because she knew a family at church who did and their kids were “weird”. She said they didn’t act like kids. (And this is a bad thing?) Fast forward 10 years and I am now homeschooling both my kids – 4th and 2nd grade. I saw her at a recent family gathering and she said homeschooling wasn’t something she could have done, but good for me. Then she said they had friends at church who had homeschooled and it worked out well for them. I was polite and didn’t ask her if this was the same family that had “weird” kids ten years before. I am assuming it was, however, and that she saw the fruit of the educational choice. Or she really thinks those kids are now weird adults and was just being polite to me.
My kids and I have been talking about this very thing recently. You put it into words so much better than I did. I have been trying to tell them that we are all weird and that is what makes life fun. Because being weird is being unique, quirky and fun and just being yourself without worrying about what others think! I love that homeschooling allows them to grow into their true selves without being shaped by peer pressure of what should be normal.
I am a wedding photographer and just a few weeks ago as I hung out with the fellas prior to the ceremony this topic came up. One of the groomsmen was homeschooled and they were all calling him weird and making jokes. They even went on to say they can point out a homeschool kid a mile away because they are so weird. I kept my mouth zipped. As the day went on and the longer I hung out with these fellas the more they helped me realize that what I am doing is right, for us. The homeschooled groomsman was the most polite, kept things moving, and had such an amazing kindness and calm to him. The others guys were using horrible language, making very inappropriate comments, and were chugging beers and show casing their rudeness. The homeschooled groomsmen was constantly apologizing to me, a lady in the room, for their behavior. At the end of the night when I was packed up and heading out I made a bee line to the homeschooled groomsman and his adorable wife and said it was great meeting such a “weird” homeschooled adult, it gives me great hope that I am doing the right thing with my three boys by homeschooling them. Slipped him my card, shook their hands, and walked out feeling great! 🙂 The normal I saw that day and most days of my job is a constant reminder that weird is the new cool!
When a friend’s son put on plaid and stripes together, he asked her if it matched. She said no and told him to change. He was “devastated” (her words). She posted this on FB and insisted he needed to learn this now and could not be walking around in unmatched clothes. When I read this, I wondered – Why not? If he likes it, why shouldn’t he be allowed to “think outside the box”? I posted that perhaps he would be the next big fashion designer 🙂
I know that are a variety of children all over, no matter how they are educated! Last week, my sons were in a hunter’s education class and the last night, the teacher learned that they were home schooled. He was genuinely shocked looking and looked and me and said “Seriously? He is home schooled?”
My oldest son was the kid in the class everyone wanted to sit next to, goof off with and the teacher knew his name the first hour of the first night because he is outgoing in a way that makes him popular. He is not your typical picture of a home schooled kid, which is about the norm anymore. Yes, there are still the kids that everyone thinks is “weird”, but there are those in public school too.
I am thankful that my kids don’t choose their clothing, their hair styles and eating habits based on what the kids at school will make fun of or not. I am thankful that I learned to make decisions on my own, and not based on what others would do to me if I didn’t.
Martha Artyomenko’s latest post: You don’t know me by Susan May Warren
I cringed a bit this morning when my 10 year old daughter was going out the door to public school wearing a detective badge that she and her friend made yesterday afternoon out of cardboard and a safety pin. But, really, I’m proud of her for being her real self.
Sharon’s latest post: Then & Now
Weird is good! Great article, thanks!
I hope they are weird…. my fear is that the ridicule might make them want to change who they are, to conform. I tell them to celebrate their weirdness and try to be a good example of celebrating my own.
Debra’s latest post: International Dot Day 2012
We are beginning our 12th year of homeschooling, and I have to agree that I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to fully experience the “weirdness” of my three kids who are still at home. However, my two older children (now adults) graduated from public school, and I honestly cannot see any real difference in the weirdness level 😉
We are blessed to have many friends who have chosen public or private school for their children, yet they remain supportive of our choice to homeschool. Funny thing is, they all have “weird” kids too, so I have to wonder if perhaps the freedom to explore weirdness is more a product of family life and parental involvement than that of an educational choice.
Yes! I totally agree.
From my observation, kids are just weird. Many of our public schooling friends allow their kids to be weird and they do ok in school because they are also taught great social skills – how to make friends, be confident, and be interested in people.
I think there’s a lot more importance in social skills and awareness of how you interact with others then than in what you wear or what your hobbies are. Weird that is a problem is weird that doesn’t know how to talk to people.
I was defending my kids the other day…saying they were completely like typical 13 and 12 year olds. But then I caught them debating the best Shakespearean villian…so I guess they are a bit weird! 🙂
priest’s wife’s latest post: 31 Days of Faith & Works & Herb Butter- day 3
I’m a bit late to the conversation, but I just wanted to say that I loved this post (especially as an adult who was a super-“weird” kid). And, priest’s wife, your comment absolutely made my morning!
Lol…I was homeschooled and personally I still think I can be pretty weird. You know what…I don’t care. Yep, my kids are weird too and they are awesome and hilarious too. Nice article.
I consider both my children weird, and I love it. I also love the freedom my children have to be unique individuals through homeschooling.
Where else can my 6 year daughter decide that everyday is a holiday, like sharing day, Barbie day, or pajama day, and must be celebrated with a tea party complete with homemade books and decorations. Where else can she decide that today she is a fairy, and dress up as such, making a costume from clothes, toilet paper rolls and face paint.
Where can my 4 year old learn about his overpowering emotions in a safe atmosphere. Where can he play hero factory, and Lego all day and create crazy worlds to be conquered. Where can he enjoy what would be considered girly in a non judgmental space, and be pretty if he wants.
So yes, my children are weird, and they are given the chance to be so because we homeschool. If I ever bothered to buy olives I am positive they would become Olive Monsters with them on their fingertips. We already do it with raspberries (I mean, come on, it’s like they were made for it).
I love being weird, and I encourage it in my children. I remember that I used to lick off the flavor on chips then eat them. Because they just tasted better that way.
This article is AWESOME. Thank you! I agree with it all 100%. This is one of the main reasons we have chosen to homeschool our kiddos. We want them to be themselves and be able to explore their personalities (in addition to their learning and educational interests) without the pressure of peers to conform to a certain standard of “normalcy”. Thank you for putting into such perfect words the way I feel 🙂
Great post and you’re so right! I’m frankly fed up with what’s ‘normal’ these days. Kids need to be kids and we all need to be ‘weird’!
Anastasia @ eco-babyz’s latest post: Rock Candy Life Eco-friendly Shower Curtain Review and Giveaway
I love this : ) One of the reasons I want to educate my children at home is so they can explore their own perfect strangeness, in a safe environment where the harsh criticism and normalising influence of peers is absent. That way they won’t be in a therapist’s office at 40 trying to ‘find themselves’, they will already know and accept themselves, at least that is my hope. The quest for the mythical normal is destructive and limiting, I think we homeschoolers are shaping a new generation of much more confident, creative and secure individuals : )
Emmalina’s latest post: Moving Along
I love this, just love. Especially your son’s response. And yes, my daughter and I eat our black olives the very same way.
I suppose my children are weird. They are weird because they love learning. They are weird because they know more about Canadian politics and world issues them most adults I know. My daughter is weird because she doesn’t want to dress like a hoochie in grade 4! My son is weird because he thinks it’s important to be a gentlemen … yah my family’s weird we put our global community first before material wants. But hey – I am OK with that 🙂
Kay That Canadian Mom’s latest post: Summer Pool Fun
So very true! My sister once told me that she was going to teach her homeschooled kids to play guitar or drums because that way their “weirdness” would turn out to be uber hip and creative when he got older. 🙂
Carrie’s latest post: Kesed is 5! Look out world
My kids are weird, unique, hilarious, awesome, and choose their own styles. And they go to public school…but that doesn’t mean I don’t teach them at home as well.
All is well.
This is so true. Several of my kids were in school before they were homeschooled. I wouldn’t say they were any less weird, or creative, or eager to explore their interests (at home) while they were enrolled in school BUT the structure of school and the very powerful impact of peer culture was an effective suppressant. As homeschoolers they know full well when it’s necessary to conform, behave, live up to social norms. In fact, I’d venture to say that it’s easier because they have so much time to be themselves. They don’t have to “act up” in public, shocking adults in order to define themselves. Maybe some commenters don’t appreciate the word “weird.” It’s just a way of saying “unique.” Which is what we all know each of us are.
Sharing!
Laura Grace Weldon’s latest post: Educating Too Early
I really enjoyed this article. One the reasons we have made the decision to homeschool is so that my kids can be “weird” and not suffer ridicule from 20 other kids in a classroom setting. Weird translates to creativity – thank you for that. And I am a firm believer that the hole in black olives was MEANT for fingers! 🙂
About the olives… The day my fingers could no longer fit inside olives without them breaking in half was the day I realized I really dislike the taste of olives. I haven’t touched them since. Haha.
About weirdness… Boy, was I an odd child. And I’m still quite odd as an adult, though I’ve definitely started to master the knowledge of when it’s inappropriate to let my weirdness run unleashed. I’m excited by my kids’ weird tendencies, and even by their lack there-of in some cases. I try to encourage being themselves as much as possible, and I hope I’m a good example of that.
Olives on fingers are just standard at our house. I thought that was normal. 😉
Love this post and so true!
The lack of personal inhibition gives creativity room to grow and frees the individual. I know if I had been homeschooled in at least the lower grades I would have been a more liberated person!
My five grandchildren are homeschooled by their super intelligent, organized, funloving, christian mother. They constantly amaze me with their creativity and self discipline. All children should have the oppurtunity to be so “wierd” One proud grandma 🙂
“Do you harbor a secret fear that people think your kids are weird?”
No, I don’t. But my wife does.
I love that my kids are weird. Helps keep the eyes off me 😉
Eating olives from your fingers isn’t weird, it’s part of life!! It’s just got to be done!
My homeschool son IS weird. But no one among his friends notices because, as you said, they are weird too. And LOVING IT.
People are weird. At heart. They only “conform” because others conform. Natural tendencies, IMO, are weirdness. I am so glad that my son gets to be his own person without anyone telling him it’s not ok.
BTW… he just turned 10 and still has ZERO idea that Santa isn’t real. It simply has never crossed his mind and no one has told him otherwise.
I love that he gets to be himself, in so many ways.
My kids are most definitely weird. One of them would have been, even at public school. He is that set in his ways and has been since we pulled him out of public at age 10. My other two… they would have caved. I know it. The pressure to conform would have kicked in and they would be way too concerned in fitting in to allow their weirdness to shine in public.
tracey’s latest post: She’s ALIIIIVE!!!!
Thank you for posting this! I loved it. 🙂 I want my kids (4, 2 & 3 months) to grow up free to be who they are in Christ. I love the picture of the little girl picking her nose, that could be my 2 year old any day!
Jessica @ Zinck Family Missions’s latest post: Out With the Old
Its ok to be quirky and fun as long as your not hurting anyone. Im not sure how I feel about a 10 year old living with the fantasy of Santa but… not my kid so whatever. What bothers me is, if you dont have a problem or think there is a problem with your kid being weird then why is it a posting? Its not ok to be a weird-O. Its ok to be whatever you want to be as long as its not breaking the law. …” name-calling, cliquish behaviors, and threatening people you don’t like with physical harm anti-social behaviors? Somehow, those behaviors thrive at public school, …” they thrive all over doll, you gotta get used to how to deal with it not run away. Its called life.
the comments on this site prove homeschoolers can be bullies too! lol
<- not homeschooled and can recognize a bully at 50 ft…. calling themselves Christian or not
LMAO
I’m a grandma now and my three children were public schooled. I have two weird homeschooled grandchildren and they’re terrific! Mismatched socks and sometimes even shoes are not uncommon and it goes from there. I think this blog post is spot on. Sadly the majority of children have their creativity and individuality quashed early on. Having been a stay at home mom, I wish homeschooling had been as prevalent when my children were growing up. I think it would have been right up our alley. 🙂
Definitely have weirdos at my house. I love it. I think some of my relatives have more fears of the weirdness, but we just finished a long trip, and those relatives expressed delight in my little troop of weirdos. They’re really neat kids, and fun to be around, and easy to have conversations with. We had so many fantastic experiences, and continue to have them!
Liz C’s latest post: NotMolly at Real Intent…
Absolutely! This is exactly what I hope to teach, or unteach, with home education! I have known many special children and teens in life, my past self included, that possess amazing uniqueness and creativity. To see it dimmed simply for the acceptance of educators and classmates that were never taught acceptance or respect of differences is a disgrace that exists every day in many areas of \’big-box education\’. I simply wish for my young, brilliant, silly, awesome kids to grow into adults that understand that we are all worthy of our own choices and opinions without ridicule. If I can teach that lesson, I have successfully added to a humanity worth inheriting.
Oh my gosh, I love this. There are so many times my daughter, 5, is playing with public schooled kids and she does the weirdest things and they all look at her like she’s a “weirdo.” She’s crazy, silly, sweet, loving, caring and quite the drama queen all mixed together into a wonderful little person. Thank you for giving me some peace of mind to let her be her own person and not insist on stopping all of her weirdness.
If others want to call our kids weird because they’re home schooled, I think we may need to look back at a fairly recent history of our nation when education was not institutionalized. Prior to that, was our country run amok with strange beings and weirdos? Or were these the people who pioneered our country, developed our nation, and made us the great success that we are today? Granted this is my own impression of our country as a whole, but I don’t see that ingenuity come through today except for the rare few.
Now, if this is the case and our country was not filled with weird people in the past, what does this say about our educational system today? I would say that our home schooled children are not weird, but rather they are non conforming, individual beings.
I’ve been pondering this post for the past week, and I hope to use my response to this issue to all of the nay-sayers I meet in the future. Fortunately, because of all the parents who decided to home school before me, I have met mostly supportive people who think that home schooling is great!
It is ironic that how children are forced to act and behave as per the so called social norms which in turn curbs their creativity and when they grow up following a strict lifestyle, they are motivated to think out of the box.
Love this post. I am the mom who tells her children that they are weird. I want them to love and accept that quirky part of who they are. Being weird just means you are being exactly who God uniquely created you to be.
Lol. What a great post! One of my favorite things about homeschooling is that my kids and their HS friends are so “free to be me”.
Oh I love this! I home educated my children for 2½ years (they and I miss it dreadfully now that they’re back at school) and my 12 year old prides herself on being weird. Her best self-chosen ensemble when she was younger was a Snow White dressing up outfit, wellington boots, sunglasses and a furry penguin hat that velrco-ed under the chin. I wish I was as “weird” and bold as her!
I love this post! My husband and I pride ourselves on having “weird” kids LOL We feel the same way as the author – our kids are free thinkers who don’t feel they have to follow the crowd but rather can be proud of who they are and can celebrate what makes them unique.
I have three children, ages 15, 11, and 4. My eldest, a daughter, was homeschooled from grade 4-7. My middle child, a son, was homeschooled always until this year. My youngest, another daughter, will be homeschooled until we decide (if we decide at all) to send her to brick and mortar school. My eldest daughter has always been bright and hardworking, and very eclectic; but never really seemed to be particularly weird to others. I believe it is partially because of her personality and partially because she has always just been very perceptive and adaptable; she has always managed on her own to determine how she should behave in various situations. My son has embraced his ‘weirdness’ the most of all of my children, though. He is probably the most outgoing and hilarious of the bunch, and when someone calls him ‘weird’ (at Scouts or baseball or now at brick and mortar school), he smiles, thanks the other person, and proudly says, “Yeah. ‘Weird’ is a side effect of being awesome!!” Hopefully, my youngest daughter will grow her personality similarly to both of her big siblings’ personalities, and just be proud to be herself!!
I grew up homeschooled and loved it and am now homeschooling my children. So I am a fan of allowing kids space and letting them have their quirks!
But the weird that is talked about in this article is not the weird that I worry about. As I said, I am a fan of homeschoolers. However, I have known a few too many who have not had the awareness or whatever is needed to teach their children basic comfortable social interaction. This is a stereotype, thankfully not the norm for most home schoolers. Unfortunately, it does exist.
What I am concerned about is not the ‘weird’ of wearing a kilt (that is quirky), but whether my children know how to interact socially within their culture. We make efforts, as my parents did, to ensure that this is the case. But the weird that you describe here is not the social awkwardness that concerns me.
I worked with a large (300+) church youth group of mostly school kids for a while and noted that often oddly dressed, quirky kids can be the cool ones. It depends on their confidence and social skills, not so much on what they wear. I want to give my kids the chance to develop that confidence and social awareness, the kind that lets them present themselves and their quirks confidently to the world, knowing how to forge relationships with people no matter what their outfits.
Yes! I too, grew up homeschooled and am now homeschooling my children. You are right on in assessing the difference between quirky and social awkwardness. I don’t think that being socially awkward is a homeschool norm (nor is it non-existent in those who were traditionally schooled!) but that is the root of the “weird” label that homeschoolers get, and a lot of homeschool parents don’t seem to understand that. They are proud of their kids “weirdness” when it’s actually necessary to teach culturally appropriate social interaction.
I know my quirky 7-year old son would be labeled “weird” if he were in school. Personally, I find that a boy his age whose favorite colors are pink and purple, and whose interests are nuclear energy, writing a “movie script”, building spaceships out of recycled materials for said movie, playing with his doll house, watching Star Trek, playing the piano, and lots of other “strange” things, to be quite interesting and a fun person to be around. Thank God for the freedom to homeschool so that these “weirdos” can fully blossom into the fabulous free-thinking odd-balls who will change the world. 🙂
Thanks for yet another great post. Honestly, I am on a lot of mailing lists (via e-mail) and most of the messages I get, I delete. But not yours. Because I know that what you share will be relevant, practical, applicable, helpful and reassuring. 🙂
All kids ARE weird…and so are adults!! Who really wants to be a cookie cutter of everyone else. Besides, “normal” (whatever that is!!) sounds really boring.
However, maybe you could give some practical tips for helping your children not to feel abnormal. I grew up in Christian school. I always felt like other kids thought I was weird and that my education was second rate. My self-image suffered because of it. How can I help my sons to avoid those feeling or at least deal with them in a healthier way? So far, homeschool is way cool in my 1st graders eyes. Would love to keep it that way. 🙂
Thanks again for sharing such wisdom and encouragement here, time after time!
Rachel Beran’s latest post: Comfortable
Beautiful!
As someone who was constantly called weird growing up in with a public school education, I’m enjoying watching my homeschooled kids explore their weird sides without hesitation. Once I understood being weird was bad, I kept myself under wraps for many years; trying to fit in with all the cliques. Only once I embraced my uniqueness was I truly happy. I love that my kids aren’t tucking away what makes them special but sharing it, and on the off chance someone calls them weird, they just don’t care.
yes. We are ‘weird’- my kids are very normal, but they have never heard a Bieber or One Direction song. The teens watch Horrible Histories and Dick Van Dyke show- They can lead the singing at a funeral. They ask to hold babies. They walk slowly in a museum because they are interested in the art/history. They do not bully. They are not perfect, but they have benefited from staying as a FAMILY most of the day
AWESOME 😀
Can I just say, I am a homeschool mom of four and teach at an enrichment school for HS kids one day a week. I have 15 1st-3rd graders in my class and none of them are really all that weird.
I think a part of the school environment has the tendency to amalgamate the population- in other words, being together creates a certain amount of same-ness. In public school, some of that is peer pressure and cultural influences and such. But the other part of it is that as a whole, they’re all smiling faces and you can’t really examine them for the individual differences.
That may be what happens when homeschool kids are at the library at 10am on a Tuesday. They’re not seen as part of a whole, but on their own, away from the crowd. If you were to take a few public school kids and deliver them to the same place, out of context, the librarians might also be able to pick out their weirdness just as easily.
All that said, my own kids are totally weird. Heh.
Ha Ha … Love this! It makes me want to encourage “weirdness” more!
My husband and his siblings were homeschooled. His siblings dislike all out of the box thinking and now they hate the idea of homeschooling. He, however, has always moved to the beat of his own drum and would never dream of squishing his kids into the public or private school box. I was public schooled, even in day care starting at 6 weeks and i too have always been a weirdo. I spent SO MUCH of my childhood trying to fit in, i just didnt!
This article is making me wonder if homeschoolers, at least some of them, are attracted to this way of life simply because it allows them to be odd without being attacked for it?
Ps, my husband lived in a scratchy wool poncho from mexico at 13 🙂
Man i love homeschooling. 🙂
I LOVE weird! I encourage weird! Ok, within reason. My son HAS to wear pants when we go out… but often he wears his spiderman costume to dinner. My daughter dresses in princess dresses and crowns to go to the store. And we wear our pajamas to “school” (our kitchen table) on a daily basis. I can’t imagine it any other way! I dread the day that my kids are too cool to be weird (hopefully that day never comes!).
Absolutely agree. Suppressing our passions, our identity, and our inner promptings to fit in deprives the world of the fullness each person can bring to it.
Sharing!
Laura Grace Weldon’s latest post: No Parrots Here
Myself and everybody in my family eat olives that way…. Then again, we’re a pretty weird bunch even though we’re all grown up and we love it that way. I was the only homeschooled one out of four kids so you can’t blame it on homeschooling lol.
There are definitely some weirdo homeschooling families. I am not talking about the kind the eat black olives off of their fingers. I am talking about the kind that think they are better than everyone else because they shelter their children from the real world. Their kids often grow up to be socially awkward. That is sad and real.
I am glad homeschooling works out well for your family. I love all children and love when they can grow to be great human beings in whatever setting their parents deem best for their education.
Life with Kaishon’s latest post: baby toes & bad jokes = a perfect start for your Monday!
I agree with a previous commenter: I began to really like myself in college, which was when I finally embraced all my weirdness and was surrounded by other confident weirdos. 🙂 This is one of the things I love about homeschooling! (and we’re just confidently weird enough to try it!)
Mary’s latest post: The Slow Club
Totally proud to be a weird homeschooler. We know how be ourselves, and we also know how to allow others the same respect. I have some WEIRD friends, every shape, size, color, religion, school type whatever. They are all awesome people who God made special. And I love them ALL.
Usually when people make comments to me about the weirdness of homeschoolers, I respond with, “Are they weird because they are homeschooled or are they homeschooled because their parent felt they may be pre-dispositioned for being weird?”
Crystal’s latest post: Welcome Home! Our New House
When we go to the library, there is one librarian in particular who greets my children and then studies their reactions. My son doesn’t always reply “hello” if somebody he does not know well says hello to him. He is 6. He is still learning to say good morning back to me when we see each other around the house for the first time. 🙂 I asked her, “Did he greet you?” Because I was not paying attention to their exchange. This librarian sighs loudly and says, “No” with this look on her face like, “You are destroying his future by homeschooling him…” She has made other comments in the past about “school pictures” – that somehow we don’t get school pictures… because we homeschool… 🙂
Adriana Zoder’s latest post: Fall Traditions – Canning Applesauce
My fear is that someone will somehow actually think my kid (and his parents) *aren’t* weird.
Being weird implies that there is a standard of what isn’t weird. All groups of people – workplace, church, school – have their own set of what is acceptable and whatever falls off this unspoken but rigid standard is deemed weird. I remember kids in school that were considered weird. I now wish I had gotten to know them better because after growing up I realized they were the interesting kids!! 🙂 With that in mind I’ve never encouraged my kids to “normalize” while we homeschooled. I might have explained what others do, but never with the implication that they should veer towards that way of being or doing. With my kids now 19 and 15 I love the individuals they have come to be!! And I love their friends!! They all are who God and Nature intended them to be without the peer pressure all through the years. As an example, on Halloween night they all gathered at one of their homes and at some point in the evening the 21 year old host pulled out an Elmo puppet and, doing the voice, had everyone in belly laughs!! One girl, rather than being a sexy anything, made herself a narwhal costume….classic!! I just am so impressed with their creativity and spirit!! So, whatever weird is, I think it’s great!!
I read this yesterday and loved it so much. Thanks for the freedom to be weird!
Amy’s latest post: Motherhood Isn’t Your Highest Calling
My kids are definitely weird – and I LOVE it! Part of why I homeschool is so that I get to experience as much of their weirdness as possible. It’s a wonderful gift and I won’t let anyone squash it 🙂
Vanessa’s latest post: Garlic
Oh I KNOW my kids are weird…and I know that their father and I are also and I embrace it! I was bullied when I was in middle school badly and I think if I would have been able to embrace my “outside of the box” thinking earlier on I would have been better off. 😀 WHY BE NORMAL? 😉
Joy’s latest post: The Blessings of Special Needs Siblings
I’m pretty sure there is no way to make my kids normal! lol Although I am pretty sure the olive thing is normal; all my kids do it, all my nieces do it, and all of us did it as kids. Or maybe our family is extra weird! 🙂
Ashley’s latest post: DIY Light Table
I think this is such an interesting topic of conversation…especially since there are no children in public or private school who are “weird”. 🙂 Happy that my kids can be creatively themselves and grow and develop as individuals! Thanks for this article.
I think many home schoolers lack social skills. This has been our experience when socializing with other home schoolers. Weird I like..
See, I do want my kids to be weird! I want them to be who they are, without peer pressure and all that other junk. Thanks for the post, it was a great read. Blessings
Ann’s latest post: What we are learning this year
I loved this post!! It should be mandatory reading for everyone 😉
I was a ‘weird/odd/quirky’ kid at school and learnt very early on (around age 7) that I had to act like everyone else or be beaten up for being different! We are a family who are very much outside the box and I love that my five year old daughter loves to go out in her big brother’s snow boots. She may not be able to walk properly in them but she’s smiling so much that I simply don’t care what people think 🙂
This article made me smile. I’m a homeschool graduate and (normal) people tell me I’m weird all the time. They’re usually surprised when I cheerfully agree. Hopefully someday I’ll have kids of my own to homeschool, and they’ll get to enjoy being weird too.
Leah E. Good’s latest post: I Know… (Two Poems)
As both a former homeschooler, who married another homeschooler, and is now a homeschooling mama, love this. I am a bit “weird” with my out of the box thinking, but I’ve realized that everyone is weird in their own way. And it’s ok! In case people aren’t aware, the public school system churns out some real weirdos too. 😉 PS When I tell people I was homeschooled they always seem shocked… “but you seem so normal!” bahahahaha
My kids, they are absolutely immune the the understanding of WHY kids think they are weird. They recognize they are weird (and man, are they weird. really. They get it naturally from both sides, these weird kids 😉 ) but unlike their mom, who eventually figured out WHY people thought she was weird, they are completely befuddled by why people think they are weird, and therefore resigned to their weirdness (which I’m cool with. I like their unique little selves,) and completely resigned to the bullying attached to it in p.s. (which i’m not cool with, and finally pulled oldest out of middle school this year. She’s thriving… except at church, where most of her friends are also homeschooled -well, public charter school homeschooled, whereas we’re not using charter online stuff– and yet think she is a freak. It’s hard to be left out and ostracized at school. At CHURCH… it’s…. awful.
So sorry to hear that you daughter is treated badly by other kids at church. hugs.
So sorry to hear about your church experience. We have had some hard conversations with the pastor and the Sunday school staff about how/whether our church practices “Jesus’ radical message of inclusion for all.” And we weren’t alone. A few other adults in the congregation agreed that the REAL curriculum of Sunday school should be how to value everyone who is there and to find something they all can do together–even if it’s not what the teacher planned for. This year is SO much better, as a result, though there remains a lot of work to do. Good luck. It’s important to find a church home that works for your whole family!
My 9 yo LOVES that she’s weird! I loved being weird as a kid and young adult, too.
I absolutely adore this post! I’m planning to homeschool my daughter and have already been doing preschool learning with her. She’s three. I’m so proud of her and so thankful I have the time to spend teaching her. She is already doing simple math addition and subtraction and wants to begin learning to read soon. We are waiting til the fall so we don’t detract from summer fun outdoors. I have worried about her being weird compared to children attending public school but you really put that into perspective for me and I’m even more excited to allow her the freedom to explore being weird. Thank you!
Hi!
Just wanted to say I LOVE this post. I’m somewhat an outside the box thinker and encourage my kids in that direction as well. We’ve raised 2 boys to adulthood in a Christian school and the public system. It’s one of my greatest regrets in life. We have added 2 beautiful and precious daughters to our family through adoption from Haiti. Home educating our 7 and 5 year old daughters was not even a question. The journey isn’t always easy but the rewards are so great. With the lack of values and morals in the public system, I’d rather my kids be labeled weird than be exposed to all the negatives. I believe that living a life with godly morals and good values according to the Word of God is the “normal” way to live, how God originally designed it, but with the decline in morality and values, society wants you to believe this is the “normal” and those that choose to live differently are the weird ones. I hope this made sense!!Lol
I love that my kids are different and not the ‘normal’ public school type of kids. They actually talk to adults! Most kids shy away from talking to adults. Sad really.
My husband always used to say “Why be normal?” 🙂
I’ve always said normal is boring!! Yay for being weird!!
Nope, no one showed me the olives on the finger trick either, it just seemed like the right way to eat them as a kid! Love it, nice article.
I love this post so much. My kid is weird. We are a very nerdy family. Think Doctor Who printables. She is able to as quirky as she wants. She can have a lightsaber battle, defeat weeping angels, play princess, cover herself in dirt digging a giant hole or cuddle up with a book and all of this is normal in her homeschool group of friends. I love that she can explore her world without childish ridicule. 🙂
Meagan’s latest post: Geeky Educational Link Up
I find myself wanting to apologize for what I perceive as “weird” behavior. My kids are totally comfortable with it and don’t seem to care what others feel about it so I try to back off and go with the flow.
I was homeschooled and you definitely miss out on a lot of socialization. Plenty of parents home school because, well, they’re kind of crazy. Having a child in a large social environment creates a lot of social learning that gets missed by home schooling. There’s nothing wrong with being nerdy or quirky, but after school is over, those kids have to function in the real world and that’s where there are problems. I missed a lot of socialization.
In looking at the Moncton shooting, the guy who did it definitely would not have done that if he had been better socialized. He came from an odd, extremely religious family and needed the time to be with other kids.
Hope you don’t mind that I used you as an example. Hope you have a good day.
Hi, I would like to politely disagree. I am a currently homeschooled child, have my own blog and love talking. I don’t miss out at all on socialization. I understand your homeschooling experience might have been different, but that’s your experience, not everyone else’s. What I am trying to say is that we all have a different viewpoint from our perspective and we don’t all live in the same place. Socialization is a matter completely aside homeschool or public school. It’s the place and the way you were raised that makes a difference in your social life. Thanks for listening, and please visit my blog sometimes @ insidethemindofabird.wordpress.com
Morgan’s latest post: Spain’s Crusade in the New World
Thankfully there are not loads of people like this Moncton fellow in the world. Parents do their best and what they believe will work, based on so many factors.
I graduated from homeschooling, yes, all twelve grades were spent in a “unsocialized” atmosphere. Oh my gosh! My “crazy” parents, however, knew the importance of getting me with other kids. I spent practically everyday in a classroom with thirty other kids. Then I would go home and complete as many lessons as I desired with my mom and sometimes even my father’s help. Surprising to many people, I had field trips almost every weekend, I went to proms and I even had a graduating class where I got to walk down the aisle and receive my diploma. Holy cow! It is amazing the resources available to homeschoolers when they actually open their eyes! I WAS weird in the fact that I loved to talk! Can you tell? 😉 So my mom sent me into a program called NCFCA, an organization FULL of other homeschool weirdos who also like to talk. When I say full, I mean thousands of kids from all over the states! Talk about unsocialized! I went to regionals for speech and debate because my quirkiness in love of speech won over so many judges! I had the privilege of even competing in some instances against those so called “normal” kids from public school. I can assure you, my out-of-the-box thinking won over many judges time after time! I was allowed to mature in the best way possible for me. Although, I do believe that homeschooling is dependent on the guardians and their attempts on “being involved”. So for guardians who don’t have much interest in staying at home, taking their kids to many outings with other “weirdos” and even to expand their own knowledge through teaching their own kids; I highly suggest them to put their kids in public school. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart! Raising these out-of-world thinkers is a ton of work that requires a ton of commitment. So when guardians aren’t that committed, that is how I believe people like Beth come about. The “unsocialized” weirdos of our world who feel neglected in their education. It is unfortunate but sadly it is becoming more and more common. Because for some strange reason guardians think they can take their kids out of school to “protect” them or for whatever reason and then not commit time to their education. So to those committed parents who are brave enough to homeschool their kids the right way, I salute you. And to those poor deprived children who try to give homeschooling such a bad image, I am sorry that you personally had a bad experience. I assure everyone else though, it doesn’t happen to us all. LOVE this article though. Cheers to all my fellow weirdos, let’s continue to dominate the world with our out-of-the-box thinking!
My friend and I have discussed this often. Each of our oldest kids are weird. More weird than the others in some way, though as you say, they all truly are. We know for these two, however, they’d still be weird in public school but would be ridiculed. The others would, sadly, conform and fit in. These two would maintain weirdness and be social outcasts. Some kids are incapable of conformity. But these kids are amazing.
As an ex- homeschooling mother of two grown, married kids, who are both teachers, I have to agree with you 100%. Weird is one of those things they are and aren’t. I do, however, believe it’s important to protect them–as you mentioned with the kilt illustration–from being too weird, creative, or whatever we want to label it, in public. I think it’s great to be off-the-wall and creative, but you also want kids to have friends. Our home is a safe environment, but they also need to look somewhat non-strange out in the world. Some homeschooling families shelter the kids too much and aren’t really in touch. So, the kids all look like they grew up in Little House on the Prairie with their ill-fitting clothing and extreme timidness. It’s not just weird when an 18-year-old still clings to his mother’s skirts; it’s abnormal. BUT, the vast majority of homeschooled kids we’ve met are terrific. They mix well with any age group. They are socialized, fun, and yes, weird (in the good definition of weird). LOVE them!
I have 4 boys ages 2-14. The older 2 decided they wanted to try public just a couple years ago. BUT, I am so glad they got to be the quirky “weird” kids they wanted to be. They are still crazy and creative. Their teachers, all of them, always admire their confident creativity. They say they don’t see kids like mine everyday. They don’t of course because we embrace the uniqueness of them and ourselves. We encourage it-something that’s fully discouraged and suppresed starting in kindergarten.
My kids all love olives!! They certainly have their own style too.
I’m thinking of doing home school partially because of this. I grew up the weird, bullied, social outcast. To be honest, I think I would be MORE confident socially now if I hadn’t gone to public school. My treatment there made me want to avoid social situations and people in general. I finally decided after freshman year of high school that I’d had enough. I left and attended an online high school, graduating a year early, and I was much, much happier for it. I look at my two-year-old daughter, and she is so much like me. I’m thinking of home schooling her so the same thing doesn’t happen to her. In my own opinion, it’s more important for a child to be comfortable with being who they are, quirks and all, then being socialized. Socialization can come through many different avenues after all.
I don’t harbor a secret worry that my kids are weird. All kids are! I am happy in our homeschooling which allows them to be who they are. I have always let them wear what they wanted, matching or not, furry haired vests and all (even when they went to PS) because I felt squashed as a kid. The only real and present fear or struggle I have is with my family. They are the ones worried about quirks. I love living close to them so we have opportunities to serve them and teach my kids the value of family but also wish we lived far away again so my girls would not be subjected to the family ideas of “normal” which are fairly ludicrous and often very narrow ways of thinking/living. Loved this article. Thanks for your heart and soul in it and for sharing it with us. I find encouragement here. Knowing that I am not the only weirdo schooling the next generation of “weirdos”. Kudos to all who are stepping out of the box. You all are amazing and wonderful and lovely!!!
I don’t wonder whether my 5 year old is weird. With his parents and grandparents, he’s really got no choice but to be weird. 🙂 We have the only grandchild on both sides of the family (i know, how spoiled is HE?) and so far, luckily, the whole family has just kinda shrugged off anything he does as weird. My sister and sisters in law are just, “well what can we expect with you two weirdos as his parents?” and my parents LOVE his uniqueness. He is in a public pre-k right now, and we are all counting down the days til he is out and we can return to our version of normal. 3 night owls on a day schedule for school is a nightmare of epic proportions.
I hope he maintains his “weirdness”. I don’t want my son to ever fall into the pit that is normal. I want him to be comfortable with his weirdness!
I adore this post. I was just talking to a friend about this very thing. In public school, to be different is to be weird…. And yet… once you survive high school, that difference is embraced. So at that point it’s cool to be weird. Am I right?
I kinda want to eat olives off my fingers now 🙂
Cait Fitz @ My Little Poppies’s latest post: On Motherhood
No, it’s no secret. We proudly let the freak flag fly in our home. 🙂 We’ve home-schooled our twins (now 13) since they were 5 1/2 and they are exceptionally proud of their quirks. Their “normal” friends just shake their heads and love them the way they are. It is possible they got their weird eating habits from me (eating the bread and salad first, and then the burger meat, or eating the pastry layer by layer, from the bottom up and then making a little bowl with the top of the pie and the filling)… My son also has some Aspie tendencies, which brings a LOT of humor into our home. Celebrate the socially acceptable quirkiness, I say!
Lizette’s latest post: A Happy Remote Worker Is a Productive Remote Worker
I was homeschooled all throughout high school. I would never ever recommend it . my own children have been in private Christian schools from k-4 and now high school. High school is were kids identify who they want to be and become. I felt left out of many functions in high school. I want my kids to have an option of choosing to go to social events as long as grades are maintained at 3.0 or higher and are challenging themselves in any athletic way or for my daughters sake educational ap way. I’m a weird person that only was it in college did I finally experience social awkwardness that could of been dealt with at a younger age. I felt like I missed out on all the things that I would of loved to have been part of if in regular or even private school I.e. newspapers club, drama club, prom, Sadie Hawkins, tutor club. So much I could of explored and been able to say. I remember those friends and all the great things we did. Memories. I believe if you are a good parent with good guidance you can let your child experience so much for fruitfulness in their lives if let them experience public or private school.
Well, I went to public school and was pretty weird. I was bullied so badly I almost committed suicide and struggled for many years to fit in. Sadly, going to public school is no guarantee of being “normal” or quite frankly of fitting in and having friends. The strange thing is, I got along great with the kids in my neighborhood– it was just school were I didn’t fit in. I finally learned to shut up and not give any answers. I learned to hide as much as possible. I learned to copy what everyone else did. I learned to completely ignore that popular magazine advice to ‘just be yourself” as that was apparently a great way to get beaten up. I don’t think I could have been any weirder if I had been homeschooled quite frankly. Some of us are just a little odd, and aren’t really going to fit in no matter what. What a relief it was to get to university and finally find that no one cared what clothes I wore, or what books I read, or what movies I watched or songs I listened to. What a relief to finally get to be yourself without someone hurting you for it. All you homeschoolers out there– go for it! Save your children all that hassle and pain. Public school is great for creating conformity because if you don’t , you get punished. I am not sure that conformity is really that great a goal.