What "Real" Teachers Think of Homeschoolers

OK, so here's another question from a mama getting ready to embark on homeschooling...

Question: How do you tell family you are actually homeschooling? My family seems to think its a faze and I will get over it. They keep asking me about pre school for my daughter and my aunt and mother-in-law work in schools and just think they are the best thing since sliced bread.

Oh Man.  I'm really on a roll here.  For some strange reason this topic keeps appearing lately.  Maybe I should just rant for a few minutes and get it over with.  I just got done reading a very heated discussion between certified public school teachers and their arch nemesis, homeschool moms here.  A mom wrote in with a simple enough question..."What advice can you credentialed teachers give me in order to help me homeschool better?"    One certified teacher wrote in stating that she didn't really learn anything in college that would be relevant to a home school scenario.  Well, that was just the pop to the top of the can of worms that everybody needed.   Look out!  The "teachers" came out in force.  Spouting lots of lingo like "classroom management" and "learning hooks" and "scaffolding."  Yeah, right, whatever!

 Here's a little sample of how some teachers think.  Obviously there's lots of differing opinions out there, but I was a little shocked by this one, and she's not the only one.
She's questioning an "uneducated" homeschooling mom...

"Have you spent time in a classroom as a teacher (for more than a day)? Have you written the lesson plans from start to finish using the core curriculum of your state and broken it down into daily objectives which build on each other to reach a unit objective, all while differentiating the instruction for the 25 different learners in your classroom (and multiplying that out by several classes if you teach high school)? Have you worked in concert with the other content teachers to make sure you are reinforcing concepts learned in other classes, while dealing with students who have no support at home, just broke up with a boy/girlfriend and didn’t have enough money for lunch? And, at the end of the year, have you looked back on all that you and they worked together to achieve DESPITE the overwhelming odds that it could work, and realized that you are able to bring your students to success BECAUSE you have the skills, education and background to be a teacher?"

See??  That's crazy, right?  Actually, Miss Teacher, Yes, I have done those things.  As well as cook the lunch, clean the cafeteria, clothe the students and DRIVE THE BUS!  Top that!

OK, I'll chill.  Just gotta smooth my feathers back down... Alright, maybe I haven't done ALL those things.  I didn't need to.  That's why I chose an excellent, well-planned out curriculum to use in my homeschool.  And I only teach seven students.  And none of them have boy/girlfriend issues because they don't date.  And I'm the only teacher, period.  So, what I'm trying to say is that homeschooling is DIFFERENT than public school teaching.  If you go to college to learn classroom management techniques, they're only going to frustrate the crap out of you when you try to homeschool.  Home is not an institution.  The desks are not in a row. And the teacher does not get a planning period, or the summer off for that matter.  Teachers that teach in a public school SHOULD be proud of what they do.  It is an honorable profession.  A much needed profession.  Good public school teachers are so important.  But, dare I say that they are not BETTER than home school teachers?  

It's like this.   Is managing a restaurant the same thing as cooking for your family?  Exactly.  Is one better than the other?  No.  They each require different skills,  even though they both involve cooking, and inventory and customers.  I am well aware that I do not posses the skills necessary to run a restaurant.  But I am proficient at feeding my family.  I'm glad that restaurants exist, but I don't want to run one.  A public school teacher suggesting that a mom is not qualified to teach her own children because she hasn't been trained for the classroom is like a restaurant manager telling me that I don't know enough about restaurant management to cook for my family!

OK, I think I'm done ranting....so back to the question.  How do you tell your family that you're actually homeschooling?  Just tell them.  They already raised their own kids the way they wanted to.  Now it's your turn.  You do not owe them an explanation.  But if you'd like to give them one, I'd suggest the facts.  Show them the statistics.  Explain to them that you're pretty sure that you can handle teaching the ABC's and finger painting.  Heck, you might want to look up the qualifications that a pre-school teacher actually needs.  You might be surprised.  My guess is that you're gonna do fantastic.  But remember that you don't need to prove anything to them.  Homeschooling is a marathon.  The end result is what matters, and that's a long way off.  Just take it one day at a time.  That way you can make an evaluation each year and adjust as needed.  I'd say, Just go for it!

Besides....  whoever said that sliced bread is the best?    : )