They just don't get it!

Today Lionel and I had an interesting experience while at the eye doctor's office with my Dad. Since he's in a nursing home, whenever he has an outside doctor visit, the home appoints a nurses aide to ride with him and be his guardian (Dad has Alzheimer's Disease). Generally I meet him at the appointment and then go in with him since it's easier that way. Anyhow...

When I walked in the door with Lionel, we said 'hi' to Dad and then sat down with him to wait for the doctor. I also said 'hi' to the nurses aide, and instead of a simple 'hi' in return, the first words out of her mouth were "why isn't he in school?" Huh? I was taken by surprise by her candor, but I simply answered that we homeschooled. She immediately went into a very offensive tone and proceeded to tell me that it's not legal and that she 'knows' many homeschoolers who really don't like it. She also told me that I needed to put him in school before he is in high school (next year) so he won't miss out on the ring dance, the prom and other 'wonderful' activities. She said how the "poor kid" is missing out on so much and that he needs to "learn" to be social.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much my blood was boiling at this point!!! I bet I was beet red in the face with anger! Believe me, I do not anger easily, but this woman (although being extremely ignorant) had me so upset with her rude comments - which were directed at my son who was sitting right there!!! I had to quietly tell myself to be kind, respectful and not slug her (since my Dad was sitting between us - hee hee).

I knew that she was looking for me to get upset with her, so I chose my words carefully. After telling her that it was in fact legal to homeschool, I went on to say that we choose to homeschool because we want to raise our children to respect others, get along with people of all ages, and most importantly, to have morals and values that are pleasing to the Lord. Most of the things she mentioned were reasons why we do NOT want our children to go to public school. I stated that my children know and play with kids of all ages and they know how to be respectful to both their peers and adults...plus they're smart! = )

Know what she said? "They get that in school"...speaking of morals and values. I couldn't believe my ears, so I had to ask her to repeat what she said! After that comment, I politely disagreed, bowed out of the conversation, and began talking with my Dad. This just goes to prove that some people truly don't know anything about homeschooling, yet they'll be the first ones to tell us how to do it!! That old saying "ignorance is bliss" just doesn't cut it in my book! There are times when ignorance has you speaking lies and looking extremely foolish.

Ahh...just another day in the life of a homeschooling family....