my kids will be weird!
When I first brought up the subject of homeschooling with my husband, he said flat out, "no way, our kids will be weird!". When I mentioned to my mom that we were thinking about homeschooling, she said, "you're kids will be weird!".
Even friends of friends weighed in on the topic and said, "well the kids may have good test results, but they still will be weird!".
I'm not sure who really gets to define exactly what "weird" means, but I guess people have visions of social misfits who can't carry on a conversation.
Every group has their stereotypes, and one of the stereotypes of homeschooling is that kids will be strange or weird.
Here's the truth, my kids are weird. Your kid is too. The fact is that all kids at some point in time are weird. Also, maybe it's just me, but I went to public school and believe me there were plenty of kids there who were labeled "weird". Homeschool, public school, private school all has their weirdos.
I'm actually perfectly content having weird kids. My kids are developing their own interests whether it's trains, baseball, animals or coin collecting. They aren't feeling pressured to like what everyone else likes or do what every other kid is doing.
I don't want to break any homeschool stereotypes but, my kids don't particularly like to read. They would rather be outside playing basketball, riding bikes or swinging with the neighborhood kids than sitting inside reading a book. They would rather play Mind Craft on the computer than write an essay. Uh, oh, does that sound too normal?
Swimming against the current is just different, not weird, different. Homeschooling, however, has become pretty mainstream in the past several years. Homeschoolers aren't such a fringe group anymore. At this point most everyone has a friend or relative who homeschools.
Attend a homeschool convention these days and you will see all types of families. Long gone are the days when all the moms are wearing their hair in buns and jean skirts. There are actually some pretty fashionable ladies homeschooling their kids these days!
By the way, my husband is extremely supportive of our homeschool journey, as well as my mom. If you are thinking about homeschooling and worried about weird kids, put that worry to rest.
Psst here's another secret, my kids actually can carry on a conversation with a friend their age or with an adult. Imagine that. I guess homeschooling isn't making them too weird after all!
Be sure to check out all the other "I Can't Homeschool Because... posts today too.
16 comments:
Weird is fascinating! Who wants normal, mundane kids? :-)
Haha...I like what Aadel left as a comment ;) Great post, Jen. Totally agree, of course.
This was my greatest fear when I started home schooling 8 years ago. Now I realize that I weird (or counter cultural as we call it) is exactly what I want for my kids. I want them to be themselves and be comfortable with that. And since no one else is "them", the unique person God created them to be, no one else will be just the same as them. I guess that is weird, but weird is kind of awesome in our books. :)
I've never been afraid of weird, but I can imagine that this is a genuine concern for many people. We homeschoolers have to crush the stereotypes and show the world we are weird in a very cool way.
I have always been weird... I think we all are at one time or another. Sometimes my kids are weird and sometimes they are normal... it really depends on the view point of the one looking in. :) I am giving away a book on my blog that really helped keep us centered in Who really matters. :)
I've finally come to grips with the fact that I'm a bit weird... I always tell my hubby what weird is just a side-effect of being awesome! :)
Oh man...the "socialization" question. I don't think people even realize what they are saying! Thanks for your thoughts! I love what you said about not really caring if your kids are weird! Here's a little something I wrote about the issue awhile back. http://fromthemrs.blogspot.com/2012/05/socialization-hurdle.html
Love this post! Who doesn't worry about weird, until you realize weird is great! Like you said, it's not really weird, just different and daring to be different is a great skill. I wish I'd learned it before I was 30 and hope I'm giving my kids a head start!
Well, that picture you have is weird, so your kids must be weird, too. ;-) Loved your take on this -- I have really weird kids, and we like it that way!
Hi Jen, I've never heard that homeschooling kids are weird but I have heard they would have poor social skills with their peers. I don't believe this but that's what I've heard from others. I chose not to homeschool because my son needed to be around other children. He's an only child who is shy and needs the daily interaction with other kids. I think if parents prayerfully approach this subject, that God will lead them where He wants them to go.
May God bless you and your family!
Great post, Jen! Sometimes I think I'm the weird one...After 9 years of homeschooling (with parents who still don't agree), I kind of like swimming up stream:)
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My kids prob. already a little weird, but aren't we all?
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