So we went to a birthday party for a little boy we know yesterday. The parents are vaguely related to my dh by marriage, and we've known these people for a few years. They live in the same small town that we do. Apparently a relative of mine, who has been introduced to these people TWICE, ran into them somewhere and was running his yap about how displeased he is with our choice to pull our kids out of school. First- he doesn't know these people, my dh and I DO. Second- ARG, I'm so offended by the whole 'pull our kids out of school' thing... arg!!!! The way he said it made it sound like my kids are home watching movies and eating cookies all day long. I realize now I'm gossiping.. but I will NOT tell you exactly who this person is, nor do any of you know him. I'm not setting out on a one woman campaign to destroy this person's reputation. He on the other hand seems to think it's a-ok to tell complete strangers exactly what he thinks about us. Oh yeah, and one of the women who works at the little store asked my dh 2 days ago if I was still not talking to this relative (she didn't get that info from me or dh). Yeehaw for dh- he told her it was nobody's business! It's times like this I'm tempted to move and change our identities. Gotta love living in a small town with gossipy relatives!!! (in other news, the ps I pulled my kids out of neglected to tell the mother of the little boy that he had been hit in the face hard enough to give him a bloody nose. She had to find out from her children. THAT is the school my relative thinks my kids are missing out on.) Mods- apologies. I realized I shouldn't have put this in this forum after I'd already posted it
People are so opinionated. Why do they think it such a tragedy when we "pull" our kids out of schools that are full of violence and drugs. Many parents object to rated "M" games, but the stuff that goes on at schools can be much worse and REAL. The same could be said for casinos and bars, we get upset when we here of parents who think it is Ok to take their kids there (if they can/could), but we still send kids to drug infested schools. The other side of this is just that it is no one's business where your children get educated and starting rumors is not going to make anyone's life better.
I'm sorry, but its just always so humorous to me how ridiculous people can be sometimes!!! I wouldn't take it to heart if I were you, clearly your family is just the only thing "hot" right now. Just wait a few months, someone is bound to have an illegitimate child in a few months, or someone's going to get fired and then THAT will be the "latest" and "greatest" for the flies to buzz about.
LOL! Gizzy, that's funny...and true. When my FIL is criticized, he just says, "That's ok, at least they aren't picking on someone else!" So, I guess you can pat yourself on the back for taking the pressure off of other rumor victims for a while. You can also pat your husband on the back; gossipping is bad enough, but drawing children into adult problems is WAY out of line. Good for him for nipping that in the bud!
Gizzy, do you live in a small town, cuz you sure have it right! If all they have to talk about here are the rebellious homeschooling families, must mean everyone else is walking a pretty straight line! :lol:
*laffin* Meghan.........don't sweat it!!! I know, easier said then done. When people say such ignorant things to me I say yep....and we eat cake for breakfast too!!! It stops them in their tracks and generally they realize what they have said or heard is nonsense. I'm not a strict teacher. My daughter does have a lot of lazy time but when we learn.....we really learn. Did you know on average, kids get MAYYYYYBE 40 minutes of learning at school?? By the time the teacher stops talking and in between recess...lunch...gym....library....morning exercises.....assemblies and the such how is that more structured then home?? When people genuinely ask about our choice I can then tell them about the toxic environment the school really was. How at grade 5 they hadn't learned cursive writing or double digit multiplication yet....how zero tolerance meant NOTHING and my daughter was beat up physically and emotionally (emotionally even by teachers). That my daughter was diagnosed AGORAPHOBIC because of the problems at school. She wasn't an agoraphobe.......she was just so stressed out and scared of EVERYTHING that she had a meltdown. To this day she has nerve problems in crowd situations and new surroundings. Which is getting better but its still there all thanks to the public school system. Our children are suppose to be safe when we send them to school and she wasn't.......now she is. How can that decision be wrong?? Just look at the children who have killed themselves because of the bullying epidemic.....thanks but I didn't need my daughter to be another statistic. I just smile when family puts their two cents worth in because my daughter is bright, robust, brilliant and one of the kindest most gentle souls you'd ever wanna meet.
Slyfox I so love your quotation about crayons. I also agree that public school can be detrimental to our children and their socialization. That's why when the school singled in on my kid as the trouble maker and I knew he is a sweet boy who needed guidance that that was the wrong enviroment for him. Public schools have their hands full of politics and rules to pay attention to the needs of one. I don't have those problems so I can focus on the needs of one. And he is becoming the gentleman I want him to be by being raised and educated in a loving enviroment. To the original OP people are always going to talk behind others backs and sadly whoever is out of the norm is the one they generally pick on. So for you because you homeschool that's what they will talk about because they have no concept of what it is you do. People so often see homeschool as something strange because it isn't a mainstream choice. They haven't been educated to know what it is about and therefore see it as a reason to gossip. I say ignore their comments and lead by a healthy example. Next time someone says to you or your husband 'why aren't you talking to so and so?' simply say 'oh that's the first I have heard of it.' Or 'Really I was just talking to them?' The other person will likely realize their faux pas and move on. I know because my sister who does homeschool her daughter always has something nasty it seems to say behind my back. I have choosen to ignore it and to rise above it by being as congenial towards her as I can when the situation arises. Don't let it eat away at you it's not worth your precious time.
