Life just might be easier if you homeschool

The news stories out of schools has my head swimming.

Here's the story of a 5 year old being sent home for wearing a sun dress.  To make things worse, here is how the school went overboard: "It's not even the shirt they made her put on over her top, it's the pants they made her wear underneath. It's a full-length dress that she has to hold up to keep from getting wet in uncut grass. She even had a small set of shorts underneath because it was gym day. But because the top part of her dress apparently exposed the immoral sinfulness of her bare shoulders she also had to pull on jeans even though her legs remained completely covered as part of her punishment." (from mom's blog)

Oh, and this happens ALL.THE.TIME.  See here and here. 

And then there is the policing of the lunch box.. (which by the way did not start with Michelle Obama, because it happened to me 12 years ago, when my child's snacks were taken).  

Then there is the problem that you can't take a few days away from school for important bonding with your family. 

Personally, for me, if it were me there would have been some upset teachers and school administrators, who had dared question my parenting.  I promise you they would have avoided me going forward, because I would have some some things to those people that could not have been repeated in mixed company.  For real.  

So what does that have to do with homeschooling?  The fact remains that there are rules... and if you submit your child under the authority of the school, they then feel empowered to police the children, and even your life as a result.  

As someone who homeschooled their kids, my knee-jerk reaction is "forget them... homeschool".  But I know it is not always possible.  However, I don't feel like these battles are anything you can win, especially in the short amount of years that a child is actually in a school (compared with the length of ones life. ) I also feel that these are precious years and the child's time and psyche should not be affected by arbitrary rules written to protect the school as a whole, that in the meanwhile, does NOTHING to help the individual child.  

So, in my opinion, if you want your child to dress according to their own whims, and eat based on what you see fit, and to take off and have family times based on what you feel is important, it would be easier, and probably wiser to remove the child from under that "authority", thumb your nose at the school (just because it feels good) and to homeschool that child. 

just sayin.