There aren't many times in my life that I feel like I am going to explode. Tonight is one of them.
Do family, friends, and COMPLETE STRANGERS feel the need to tell me we do not need to control our children and how to raise them?
"You have to let them go sometime!"
"They need to get out on their own!"
"What, are you going to follow your son everywhere he goes? He is almost 20!"
"You can't protect them from everything!"
"They really need to socialize more."
"Are you really going to home school all the way through high school?"
or how about this one, I heard it a few days ago..."Are you really smart enough to teach your kids?"
"What about friends and socializing?"
"They need to date other teens!"
I'm sure I could give you a hundred examples of comments made by some well meaning people and comments made by some completely nosey and ignorant people.
Breathe Sheri....Take a deep breath....forgive....calm....they just don't know.....they just don't understand....
Ok...I'm calming down.
Are you like me and some days you just don't know if you can take another comment? Today was one of those days.
It is surprising to me how much advice people like to give out on a subject they know so little of. I wonder what they would do if I told them how to do their job? How about I start telling people how to treat their husband or point out anything that I disagree with in their life...all in the name of love...humph.
Sure, we think we can get away with giving our ignorant opinions out all in the name of so called "love". If you ever find yourself telling someone something they have done is wrong be sure that you are doing it after much prayer, research, more prayer, think of everything you do wrong, ask yourself if it is your place, ask yourself if it is really any of your business, ask yourself if you really do have enough info to give your opinion, and then sleep on it. IF you still feel strongly in the morning then ...maybe...maybe...talk with the person, respectfully.
Otherwise, for my sanity and your sake - please keep your opinion and advice to yourself! Ok, maybe not you exactly, but YOU - the person who feels the need to tell me what to do and how to do it.
Dear family, friends, and complete strangers who feel the need to tell us how to raise our children without spending time with us or our kids,
I love you but please think before you speak. If you have concerns please come to me after you really think about it. I have enough to do in a day and enough stress to try to manage without you unnecessarily adding to it. Do I tell you what to do? Do I tell you all the things I don't agree with? So please, consider well before you tell me the things we need to change.I have worked hard to educate my children. Home school is quite normal now a days. There are 100's of thousands of children that home educate. Some of our country's most famous leaders were home educated.
Do family, friends, and COMPLETE STRANGERS feel the need to tell me we do not need to control our children and how to raise them?
"You have to let them go sometime!"
"They need to get out on their own!"
"What, are you going to follow your son everywhere he goes? He is almost 20!"
"You can't protect them from everything!"
"They really need to socialize more."
"Are you really going to home school all the way through high school?"
or how about this one, I heard it a few days ago..."Are you really smart enough to teach your kids?"
"What about friends and socializing?"
"They need to date other teens!"
I'm sure I could give you a hundred examples of comments made by some well meaning people and comments made by some completely nosey and ignorant people.
Breathe Sheri....Take a deep breath....forgive....calm....they just don't know.....they just don't understand....
Ok...I'm calming down.
Are you like me and some days you just don't know if you can take another comment? Today was one of those days.
It is surprising to me how much advice people like to give out on a subject they know so little of. I wonder what they would do if I told them how to do their job? How about I start telling people how to treat their husband or point out anything that I disagree with in their life...all in the name of love...humph.
Sure, we think we can get away with giving our ignorant opinions out all in the name of so called "love". If you ever find yourself telling someone something they have done is wrong be sure that you are doing it after much prayer, research, more prayer, think of everything you do wrong, ask yourself if it is your place, ask yourself if it is really any of your business, ask yourself if you really do have enough info to give your opinion, and then sleep on it. IF you still feel strongly in the morning then ...maybe...maybe...talk with the person, respectfully.
Otherwise, for my sanity and your sake - please keep your opinion and advice to yourself! Ok, maybe not you exactly, but YOU - the person who feels the need to tell me what to do and how to do it.
Dear family, friends, and complete strangers who feel the need to tell us how to raise our children without spending time with us or our kids,
I love you but please think before you speak. If you have concerns please come to me after you really think about it. I have enough to do in a day and enough stress to try to manage without you unnecessarily adding to it. Do I tell you what to do? Do I tell you all the things I don't agree with? So please, consider well before you tell me the things we need to change.I have worked hard to educate my children. Home school is quite normal now a days. There are 100's of thousands of children that home educate. Some of our country's most famous leaders were home educated.
- Benjamin Franklin
- George Washington
- James Madison
- John Quincy Adams
- James Madison
- John Tyler
- FDR
- Woodrow Wilson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Agatha Christie
- Mark Twain
- Charles Dickens
- Robert Frost
- CS Lewis
- Beatrix Potter
- Walt Whitman
- Laura Ingalls
- Booker T. Washington
- Whoopie Goldberg
- Charlie Chaplin
- Louis Armstrong
- Erik Demaine - Popular Science Magazine
This is just a small part of a huge list of people who have been homeschooled either their entire education or at least part of it.
Click here to go to a more complete list. http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers.htm
The curriculum I buy is excellent. My children learn just as much as public school if not more sometimes.
Well...you get the idea. I could continue this letter for hours. I could continue this post for hours.
It is hard when someone tells us their unwanted, negative opinion of a choice we make for our family. Usually I smile and politely explain our decision to them. But, every now and then, someone is quite rude to me about it. Tonight was one of those nights. I did give a firm response and by the time I was done talking they said they were sorry and now realized we were right. Normally I don't get so upset but tonight was an extreme situation. I do believe I handled it right. I was able to respond to their nasty attitude and comments with a firm response and the truth.
The truth shall set them free...
I'm thankful to have a community of home educators that encourage me, help me, and understand our family.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
I am home schooling my 5 year old grandson. His family is not able to care for children so it was left up to my wife and I to step in. I feel like we can give him a good education...or as good as public education has shown nation wide. More power to you and keep up the good work. We have not settled on a program to get into for his future education but we are studing what is out there.
ReplyDeleteJoe and Sherri
I so totally agree, and quite a while ago (this is our 15th year of homeschooling) began "giving it right back to them" when asked such silly, invasive questions! Great post, Sheri!
ReplyDeleteKerri in AL :-)
You go Sheri! Jesus is the only one you need to please.
ReplyDeleteVeronica