Thoughts of feeling thankful

It could be the recent Thanksgiving holiday; it could be feeling gratitude that I was spared a parent's worst nightmare recently. Whatever the inspiration hitting me today, I want to write about being thankful that I got to homeschool my kids and I'm also thankful I am not part of the current "homeschool" mess. Today has given me plenty of reasons to reflect on some history of mine. 

When I began my homeschool journey with my children, very few people even knew what homeschooling was. All I knew, I wanted better for my three precious children. They deserved a better education, they deserved a safe place free of bullies and indoctrination I saw coming for their hearts and minds. I was motivated by pure love for my kids. I make no claims to doing it right, and I also make no claims that homeschooling is right for every family. For me and my kids, it was perfect timing. My heart belonged to them and it just felt right to take the leap into a world that was foreign to me.

I am so thankful for people that came into my homeschool world! One of the best was my Aunt Carla - who was married to my favorite uncle, Ray Hartley. She was a pioneer for me in those early days. I often wonder if my cousins are fully aware of how amazingly blessed they are to have had them as parents, but I digress. She recommended various curriculum and encouraged me that I could do this! Then there's Betty N. She made it possible for us to come under the umbrella of a private school, even though we lived in different states. Back then, in Washington state, if you weren't under the protection and safety of a private school, you had to jump multiple hoops with the nearest school district - like turning in lessons plans each quarter and getting "permission" from the school administrator. 

On my 40th birthday, I invited some local homeschool moms out for coffee, just so I could thank them for the impact they made in my life giving me support, encouragement, advice, prayers, and camaraderie. I'm still grateful for those ladies - Therese, Zana, Wendy, Linda, and Gay Ellen. These ladies are amazing women who give to so many around them, including me. Because I was recently thinking about them (especially Therese, my beautiful prayer angel) I realized things have changed so much in the homeschool world. 

I saw the shift happening when a young mom complained about the antiquated way our homeschool group did the annual conference. It showed up when two dads asked to join our group, just to lure over half of the members into the charter school they were starting. I noticed people who hadn't spent one day homeschooling a high schooler get accolades for writing a popular homeschool blog. I became concerned when the warnings of Michael Farris came true - how the pioneers would lead the way, and after those people would come the settlers who would forget all about the work the pioneers did and in the ignorance of the history of the movement, fracture it into something unrecognizable. Yesterday, I became a little sad as I was listening to a parent explaining how she uses charter school funds for the extracurricular activities her children do - and calling it homeschooling. I guess current parents don't know words matter, including the word "homeschool" which is literally defined in the state statutes.  Homeschooling is NOT charter school. Parents that use charter school are getting a fraction of the money the public schools (yes, charter schools are public schools) get for their child, and are doing most of the work and not getting any of the credit. And worst of all, their ignorance is creating chaos for the actual homeschoolers who get no funding, no tax credits, or write offs for the expense they fund themselves to educate their children. 

I am so grateful to have been in the right place at the right time to have the gift of homeschooling my kids. I'm glad for the people who were willing to take me under their wing, to walk beside me, and laugh, pray, and cry with me over so many things pertaining to homeschooling, children, testing, legislation, and even my marriage. Is it terrible to be thankful that I'm not part of the modern group of settlers? Is it rude to be thankful I'm not ignorant about the differences of private independent educators versus charter schoolers? Since it's my blog, nope it's not terrible or rude. It's honest. It's my perspective. For today, I am thankful my grandchild is actually a homeschooler and not in a charter school. I'm thankful for the trust given to me by my child to homeschool my grandchild.