Thoughts on homeschooling, Part 1

I was reading a little snippet on the first family's trip to Latin American and the first lady was quoted thus:

"It is a very rare opportunity that we get to travel together. Usually when the president and I travel, these two are in school where they need to be," the first lady said, gesturing to Sasha and Malia. "But they're on break now, so they get to come and they've been very excited." (italics mine)

I got a bee in my bonnet when I read that. Know why? I can't imagine that the First Lady really thinks that Malia and Sasha are learning more sitting in a classroom (even if it is a classroom at the tres elite Sidwell Friends, where the first daughters attend) than they will traveling the world with the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD, who also happens to be their Daddy. I mean I understand that Mrs. Obama wants to set an example for good school attendance. I understand that she wants her kids to have as normal an upbringing as they can possibly have given the very abnormal situation in which they find themselves. But would anyone really begrudge parents who've been handed this extraordinary opportunity wanting to bring their kids along? Are Sasha and Malia really going to miss something earth-shattering if they miss a couple of weeks with the Sidwell Friends in lieu of a trip to India??

So, today at the park, as almost always happens when we go to the park by ourselves, I ended up having to answer the "Why have you chosen homeschooling?" query. I feel like I don't have a very concise answer, so I want to work on that. There are lots of reasons and I need to constantly remind myself of them when I am feeling faint-hearted (which is often), as well as being able to give a reasonable answer to those who really want to know. So, one of my reasons today--FLEXIBILITY. We love the thought that when we are more able to travel, we can. We are not bound by any schedule. We do not have to worry about the scolding we might receive from an attendance clerk (as my friend Sandra received when she had the audacity to want to stay in her home country of South Africa a few extra days after school had begun, instead of rushing back to adhere to the Houston school district calendar. Her daughter is in kindergarten. Kindergarten, mind you, where everyone knows that if you miss 5 days you will definitely surrender all hope of ever winning the Nobel Prize). I love that if the weather is beautiful, we can be outside in it, and, conversely, when the weather is dreadful (July, August) we can focus more on the sort of academics that require being inside.

So, the critics might say, how are your kids ever going to learn that The Real World requires them to adhere to a schedule? That being on time is important? That they can't always make their own hours? Well, I would say that if my kids do end up doing something that requires a fairly rigid schedule, I will hope they'll adjust fine. Maybe it won't be laborious to them, since they haven't had to do it since they were four or five. Maybe it will be laborious to them and they will be entrepreneurial enough to come up with an option that allows them more independence. Maybe they'll adhere to a rigid schedule of their own choosing (Dear Hudson, please be a farmer so I can come over and pet the baby calves. Love, your mother.) Maybe I'll still be taking them to the park on a Monday morning when they are 25 (fingers crossed!!)

That will be all for now. More episodes to come as I am inspired. Tomorrow (hopefully) I will bring you a post on Shangri La, which you did not know is actually located in Orange, Texas. Yes, indeed.