Since numerous “real” or “independent” homeschoolers have told you why they object to you mislabeling yourself why do you continue to do so? You are causing confusion and sowing discord. J.Q Public objects to his tax money being spent on homeschooling. When you mislabel yourself as a homeschooler using public funds J.Q. Public gets angry at real homeschoolers and attempts to enact laws to curtail homeschooling.

That said I know what you mean about Dad’s and homeschool groups. We have very few Father’s in our group and I think that is a shame. BTW public school at home parents would be welcome in our group as long as they didn’t call themselves homeschoolers. We don’t want our homeschool freedoms curtailed because the general public doesn’t realize their is a DIFFERENCE between doing public school at home (funded by tax money) and independent or real homeschoolers (which is funded by the parents). Please stop referring to yourself as a homeschooler unless you stop doing public school at home and REALLY homeschool

That said, however, we do homeschool.

By that, I mean that every conversation is a teaching opportunity. And our children are either very bright, or they absorb everything we say.

Imagine AJ’s kindergarten teacher’s shock when he began “assisting” the other students with their alphabet. He’s reading at the 2nd or 3rd grade level and they’re still learning their Ps and Qs. He asked the teacher about the filaments in the light-bulb .

Unfortunately, he’s coming home now, every day, reporting that he didn’t hear anything in school that day that he didn’t already know. We’ll be talking to the teacher about challenging him some more. Meanwhile, our “teaching moments” at home continue without regard to what’s happening at school.

It may be a little early, but I gave AJ a thumbnail sketch of evolution last week. I figure, he’s learned the planets of the solar system, and he’s asking if people live on other planets. He needs to know what he needs to know, even if the school isn’t ready to help him out there.

I understand the traffic thing. I try not to compare myself with others, but my ego constantly drives me to watch my traffic stats. And I see other’s traffic stats, and I wonder if I’ll get there.

To what end, though? I blog as a public spiritual discipline, so in many ways, it should not matter at all whether people read me or not. Yet, still, it is gratifying … and frightening all the same.

Although I cannot keep up the writing pace that you and others do, and I don’t pretend to have the depth of insight you or others have, I try to invest as much into each post as though I were being paid to do so. The dividends, even without traffic, pay off in personal ways.

And, happily, there is always the “social capital” that comes from blogging, and that can happen with or without traffic.

Rich.
BlogRodent