Home SchoolingFollow

Well, that's an interesting and...creative...bit of editorializing, but not even remotely close to what I actually said.

The reason I am considering home school has nothing to do with elitism. It's about protecting my child.

I wish him from an environment that fosters bullies with overcrowding and insufficient attention, and then turns a blind eye to the children who suffer as a result. I was thrust into kindergarten at the age of 4 with little socialization beforehand and absolutely no clue how to protect myself. As a sensitive, imaginative, highly intelligent, slightly ADD child, I was the natural target for bullies. I had no idea why these other children, with whom I DESPERATELY wanted to make friends, were being mean to me. The adults in my life were useless. The only thing they ever told me was not to let the bullies make me cry, because if they saw I was crying, it would only egg them on. To this day, any emotion which causes me to tear up, no matter how valid, becomes a source of deep, horrifying shame, to be quickly denied, dismissed and covered up. If I hadn't been a "teacher's pet" and made friends with adults easily, I probably would have attempted suicide before grade six.l

Thirty years later, if you asked me which event in my life I found more traumatic, being sexually molested or being socially ostracized in school, I would honestly have to choose the latter. To this day I struggle with anxiety in social situations, I can't take a compliment because I'm sure the person giving it to me is mocking me somehow, and I always, always feel distrust of anyone who seems to like me, because I can't believe it's actually genuine. Put me in a crowd of unfamiliar people and I'm become a turtle, pulling my head protectively inside my shell. People tend to interpret this as my being aloof, which only makes the situation worse.

That WILL NOT happen to my child. If he shows my tendency toward hyper-imagination and sensitivity, there's no way I'm putting him in that environment. It has nothing to do with thinking he's better. It has everything to do with knowing that such an environment is DAMAGING, in the sense of causing life-long trauma, to children like I was, and like he might turn out to be.

Every other reason I gave also dealt with protection. Protection from being forced into unnecessary vaccines. Protection from the neglect and boredom that can come with being more advanced than your peers and thus learned to coast on minimal effort rather than learning to exert yourself. Or conversely, protection from being left behind if he should turn out to be slower than his peers, struggling quietly alone in shame and finally giving up.

Try addressing what I actually said, if you're going to cite me.

As much as it pains me to actually force my fingers to type these words, Gbaji is right on this one. Smash, you're pretty much all hat and no cattle here. Frankly, this sort of premenstrual-esque hysterical and groundless ranting is more appropriate for another poster around these parts. Are we sure the part of Smash isn't being played by Shadowrelm at the moment?

Listen, notjob. I'm not the one blinded into semi-psychosis because I'm on of the billions of people special enough to squeeze out a kid. Being mother gives you absolutely zero credibility here. It just gives you the chance to **** up a kid.

Let me explain to you what will happen: Your crippling desire to protect your kid that stems from whatever it was that happened to you when you were younger is just going to lead to a self perpetuating spiral of screwed up people for generations to come. You aren't "protecting" your child from a thing. You're ACTIVELY DAMAGING THEM. Read it again. YOU are actively damaging your child if you rob them of the chance to grow up and develop normal social skills and a sense of automity. YOU are BY FAR the largest risk to your child.

We me as well start building the prisons for your kid now, it has zero chance if you're really going to project all of the ******** that happened to you as kid onto them and try to "protect" them from imaginary dangers at the cost of their development.

STOP HURTING YOUR CHILDREN PLEASE.

PLEASE.

Get help. For them.

I think this is my favorite Smashism ever.

You're right Nexa, but given that he is Un Able/Willing to provide anything that backs up his stance it makes his arguement little more than hot air.

Good critical thinking, mate. "Since he can't disprove an unproven claim, he's wrong"

You're the reason Televangelists do so well.

And this is where your wild and irrational assumptions once again lead you into making an *** of yourself, Smash.

Who said anything about isolating my child? If anything, I am adamant about making sure my child gets plenty of socialization, because I am conscientiously trying to curtail my own misanthropic tendencies so that they don't deprive him of social exposure. He's exposed to other kids more often than probably any baby his age who doesn't have older siblings and isn't in daycare generally can expect to be. We go to the park or the children's museum and see the other kids, we have play dates, we attend gatherings. Several times a week he's in the company of other children, which for a 9 month old baby is quite a bit. The only difference is in the quality of socialization--instead of thrusting him unprepared into an under-supervised, over-populated sty full of children whose parents may or may not be teaching them respect for others, leaving him to his own devices there, he's exposed to children who ARE being taught respect for others under supervision that will gradually lessen as time passes and he matures and becomes more capable of looking out for himself.

Once schooling begins (assuming we do decide to homeschool, which as I've said multiple times, we are CONSIDERING, we have not definitely decided) he can still participate in choirs, athletics, academic clubs, theatre, boy scouts, you name it. Hell, since our tax dollars already pay for it, he's even legally entitled to participate in school-sponsored extra-curricular activities if he so chooses.

Now go take that Midol and step away from the computer until you're feeling better, Smash.

And you don't see this as elitism?

No, because it's not. Elitism is about status. This is about safety and well-being.

If I have a choice between two places to live--one in a quiet suburb and one in a drug and crime-infested neighborhood--is it "elitism" because I choose to protect my family by living in the safer place?

Since when did wanting to provide our children with a safe, secure, nurturing environment become elitism?

Umm, gated communities are about safety and well being too, yet everyone doesn't get one do they?

So...what? I should deprive my child of something that might be beneficial because not everyone else can give their children what I can give mine? What sort of asinine claim is that? Should I not buy my child clothes, or food, because not everyone else can feed and clothe their children?

And this is where your wild and irrational assumptions once again lead you into making an *** of yourself, Smash.


No. This isn't about me. It's not about you. It's about your kid. The kid you're going to hurt. Please get help before you do. I'm not joking.



Who said anything about isolating my child? If anything, I am adamant about making sure my child gets plenty of socialization, because I am conscientiously trying to curtail my own misanthropic tendencies so that they don't deprive him of social exposure. He's exposed to other kids more often than probably any baby his age who doesn't have older siblings and isn't in daycare generally can expect to be. We go to the park or the children's museum and see the other kids, we have play dates, we attend gatherings. Several times a week he's in the company of other children, which for a 9 month old baby is quite a bit. The only difference is in the quality of socialization--instead of thrusting him unprepared into an under-supervised, over-populated sty full of children whose parents may or may not be teaching them respect for others, leaving him to his own devices there, he's exposed to children who ARE being taught respect for others under supervision that will gradually lessen as time passes and he matures and becomes more capable of looking out for himself.


You are crippling him for life. For life. It's not a debate. By being this sort of paranoid overly controlling person, you're crippling your son for life. He's going to violently rebel against it at a certain age and probably end up dead or in jail. You need to stop and think this through before you reach that point. It's not too late to let him have a normal childhood.


Once schooling begins (assuming we do decide to homeschool, which as I've said multiple times, we are CONSIDERING, we have not definitely decided) he can still participate in choirs, athletics, academic clubs, theatre, boy scouts, you name it. Hell, since our tax dollars already pay for it, he's even legally entitled to participate in school-sponsored extra-curricular activities if he so chooses.

Now go take that Midol and step away from the computer until you're feeling better, Smash.


The only thing I'm feeling is pity for you and fear for your son's future. Please let him have the normal childhood you didn't. Please stop thinking of him as something you're making or building. Let him have enough freedom in society to grow up to be who he wants to be instead of trying to hammer him into the mold of what you wish you were.

Please. I'm not upset. I'm not belittling you. This isn't for effect. Please don't ruin your son's life. Please.

So, wait. You see volunteering in your kid's school for a few hours a day as MORE work than homeschooling him for his entire K-12 school life? And where do you get that it wouldn't make a lick of difference?

You've obviously already dug your foxhole, so I'm not sure why I'm even asking.

Can you just make this your signature?

Nexa

At some point, it should become apparent to most people that the true agenda of the statists isn't to educate your child, but to indoctrinate your child. Some of us oppose that idea...


No, the true agenda is to provide equal ACCESS to education to everyone.

Some of you are against that idea, instead wanting rich children to have more access to education than poor children.

That is what's wrong.