Why I Lied to My Neighbor about Homeschooling

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

Yes, I lied to my neighbor about homeschooling. I got tired of every single conversation with her being about my kids' socialization and education. I did it hoping that she would leave it alone, but I do not think she will. She did not seem like she believed me.

The conversation started when I went outside to talk to my husband in the driveway as he cleaned the lawn. She was in the midst of telling him how to do our yard and was giving my husband gardening ideas for the spring. (Do you notice a trend here?). Anyway, she asked me (for the thousandth time) why my daughter was never outside playing and I told her that my daughter had a heavy workload this year, and she was working on a play that is coming up, so she does not have a lot of idle time. "Well you assign her work load don't you", she asked. I told her no. (So far, I was telling her the truth).

I went on to explain that the kids go to a part-time "school" once a week where teachers assign and check assignments as well as test give them tests. I even gave her a brief report of their grades. I thought this would shut her up, but then she said, is this "school" in a church. I answered that it was. Then I got another look of disapproval. Her last question to me was whether I would be putting my son into the local high school next year because it is very good. I answered that he was thriving in his current environment and it would be a disservice to remove him.

I cannot say that I really told a bold-faced lie. I just stretched the truth a bit. The "school" my kids belongs to works very much like a co-op, only it is not managed by the group of parents whose children attends it. It is technically a "school" for homeschoolers, but at the end of the day, parents are in charge of their children's program. We are free to supplement their learning or to lighten the children's workload should we see fit. We can ignore certain assignments and accept or disregard the grades given. The teachers work with and for us, we do not answer to them. At the end of the day, we are still the parents and we are in charge of our kid's education. This program is designed to help homeschoolers, not to rule over them.

Do you ever lie to people about your homeschooling program to get them off your back? If so, tell me about it.

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Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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