I call it "Theresa's world".
She wants to have a close family. She invites everyone over. Her feelings get hurt if they don't have a reason why they decline the invitation. She doesn't understand why they don't reciprocate.
She would like my family to be different. It took her years to accept that some people in my family have a different set of values and will go to any extreme to get what they want, they will lie and take advantage of family members and are best left alone. I told her that for years, it took her years to accept this simple truth.
Recently, she asked me if homeschooling was like this.
We were unhappy with school.
Theresa had her usual flights of fancy about what school should be like for our girls. And it did not live up to her expectations.
I have never been a fan of "school".
Education and school are two completely different things in my book.
Education is good. School is a modern construct that, like many modern ideas, is flawed.
Our girls were in school for 5 years. It took us over 2 years to decide that school was not the place where we wanted them to be educated.
Someone suggested that was "escaping".
It is not as though someone hurt our daughter's feelings on Friday and we withdrew them on Monday.
It took us TWO YEARS to make that decision.
Two years of research and discussion to make the decision to homeschool. This is something that will form our children. It will be an integral part of their lives.
Just as you would not make a shelf with a rotted piece of wood, you want your children's education and formative years to be a solid foundation.
My wife works her ass off educating our girls and making sure that they are well rounded academically and socially.
Escaping is when you run away from a problem.
Innovation is when you look at a situation, assess it carefully and figure out a better way to do it.
We are teaching our girls to be innovative.
We are teaching our girls that if something is not working, there is a better way, a way to make it work.
We are teaching our girls to think outside the box, to think creatively, to be flexible and open and open-minded.
In my book, those are the best possible lessons any parent can teach their child.
