Change of guard brings in new view on homeschooling

It looks like The View has changed it's stance on homeschooling.  There was a time when Joy Behar would dismiss homeschoolers, and announce they were weird and unsocialized.

Now that Jenny McCarthy is on the panel, now there is real spokesperson for homeschooling on the show.

Don't know that many homeschoolers will respect Ms. McCarthy and her past projects, but I'm glad that homeschooling actually has a younger, hipper, less judgmental face.

This clip has a guest, Diane Farr,  discussing homeschooling, along with Jenny discussing her own homeschooling journey.
 

I don't think you need permission to keep your kids home from school... for weather

I realize it has been over a decade since my kids were in public school, since I started homeschooling them for 2nd and 4th grade.  So, maybe I'm a little naive. But I am having trouble understanding why people are arguing with various Governors and Mayors about schools not being closed.  Last week, it was Atlanta. His week, New York. In one specific tweet fight, Al Roker complained,

"So my daughter's NYC public school is being let out early,... Is it worth putting kids' Safety at risk?"

 For goodness sakes, he is Al Frikken Roker.  If anyone should have the authority in his own home to make a weather call, it should be Al Roker.

So what about you?

The National Weather Service is interrupting all your favorite daytime talk shows, soaps, and syndicated comedy programs to tell you that you are about to experience hell on earth in a major weather event.  Do you

A. Watch the new scroll and check the internet waiting to hear weather or not your school is closed, and if it is not, send them to school against your better judgement. or

B. Send the kids back to bed, because you are the momma or daddy, and don't want to leave your child's fate to the bus driver?

...Although, I have to admit some of them did a bang up job in taking care of kids on stranded busses, getting them home, or returning them to the schools to sleep overnight.

It is up to you, but as a homeschooler who is looking in from the outside, it looks like you gave up your right to parent your own kids?

The lone homeschooler at the party

I really want to delete the last series of blogs I wrote.  Those of the types of things I don't want to deal with. I don't want to think it, and I certainly don't want to write it.  Let's see how long it stays live.  I read a comment yesterday where it was stated that when dealing with touchy subject like this, one person chooses to always opt out, saying "I'm not having THIS conversation".  It seems so wise.

But since I am discussing all of the hard stuff right now, I might as well discuss my the difficult phenomenon of being the lone homeschooler at the party.

I feel like a party game.

I don't know a better way to explain it.  I show up at a party.  There are niceties and introductions, and then the question is asked.... "where do (did) your kids go to school"?  I answer "they are (were)

On Being Black and Homeschooling, Part 5

This is my final word on being black and homeschooling.  For the foreseeable future.

You can catch up here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

I just don't feel like I ever got to the meat of what I wanted to say.

In all my personal struggles through the loneliness and relative isolation I felt, I have to say that I am ecstatic with the results.

Sure bad things happened:

• Tensions around the 2008 and 2012 elections as I live in a mostly white Southern Conservative Community, and am none of these things. 
• A few individuals making my race an issue in what they felt were personal conversations... "you know, just chatting over differences, iron sharpening iron". 
• Not always feeling included socially, and sometimes feeling like my kids were barely included.
• People saying dumb stuff to me that barely hid certain biases.

Meanwhile, good things happened: