7 Things I do NOT like about Homeschooling

Just to be fair, I want to cover the other side of the coin.  :)

1. For many homeschoolers, mom seldom or never gets a day off.  I confess there are times I envy the freedom of my public school parent peers (those without a full time job), having long stretches of free time day after day to pursue their own interests, get a part time job, or just hang around with adults! 

2. When things go wrong (and they will), there is no convenient scapegoat to blame (teacher, school system, etc.).  It's all on you.  As pointed out in my prior list, we do have the ability to make immediate changes to try to correct what went wrong, but this doesn't help when you are feeling guilty because Johnny still doesn't know his times tables!!

3. There are some things that are difficult or impossible to do at home, and they are not always available in the community.  My eldest was dual-enrolled with the public school for this reason, and he was able to do Band, woodshop, and lab sciences at the school (among other things).  Now that we don't live so close to a school, this isn't as feasible for my younger two.... and not all schools are friendly to part-time students (who homeschool for the core classes).  Many homeschoolers have to fight to be included in group classes like Band and Sports, and some don't win that fight so the kids just have to miss out on those activities.

4. Curriculum and supplies can be expensive, and there are no tax dollars or fundraisers to help with home education!  Sometimes we have to compromise on what we would like to buy but can't afford.

5. There is often little or no backup, and very little thanks.  This relates to never getting a break, but it's more than that... institutional school teachers have a principal, a school nurse, special needs teachers and/or aides, and a school counselor to help them out if they have a difficult or injured student.  If they need time off (for any reason), they can get a substitute to teach the kids that day.  School teachers also receive a salary, of course, and generally have paid vacation days also!  When you teach at home, it's all you all the time, bad days and good days, sick days and healthy days, no pay and often little or no appreciation.  This can be discouraging at times!!

6. In spite of the continuing growth of homeschooling, there are still a lot of people who don't understand or appreciate it, so you are constantly being asked to defend your choice.  Many people just ask out of curiosity, but some are very negative, often complete strangers.

7. Although we do get lots of socialization, there is more work involved in maintaining friendships than there would be if (in theory) if the kids were in school with the same people all day every day.  This is actually much more like adulthood, since few people are best buddies with their co-workers but actually have to work at finding and maintaining relationships, but it can be a bit of a bother, especially for military homeschoolers who move frequently (so the pool of potential friends is constantly changing!).