First Things First: David Mills' Weighs In On Home Education

David Mills, writing at First Things, offers an interesting look at home education starting with his ideas about Linda’s favorite question du jour for homeschoolers, the dreaded “S” word.   He wrote:

Some suddenly furrow their brows and purse their lips and declare their concerns about homeschooling, less often about the quality of the education as about the children’s (meaning, in context, our children’s, which is, you know, really rude) “socialization.” I sometimes feel I must surrounded by fascists, such is their apparent concern for making sure our children fit in to the society as it is.

Fewer people respond this way than they used to, or maybe I just don’t meet this kind of person so much anymore. Which is probably a good thing. My wife, who is much more charitable than I am in dealing with annoying people, answers them politely, and tells them about the homeschooling groups to which our children go several days a week and all the other activities they are involved in.

I have so far resisted the temptation to put my hand on their shoulder, look them in the eye, and ask, “Why are you under the delusion that I care what you think?” or to say something shorter and ruder and more, um, declarative. They are, after, being impertinent, and there is something in the self-asserted piety of their alleged concern for my children that really annoys me.

You can read the rest of David’s column here.  It’s worth reading, as well as the comments.  If you leave a comment of your own, please post it here, too.  We’d love to read what you wrote!