Home schooling from the eyes of a 7 yr old

The other day someone said something to my oldest son and indirectly to me that I found insulting not only to him but to my abilities as a home schooler. I felt it insulted my son's intelligence and my own hard work at teaching him. The person was trying to be sweet but came across like complimenting a 7 yr old for knowing how to walk.

Today I was sharing my frustration with a dear friend who also home schools her children and I was getting support for my own insecurities from her when I saw my son listening. I did not want him to think I was seeking to talk badly about the person who had made the comments.

After I got off the phone I called my son to me and said, "I just want to talk about what you heard me say. I want you to know that I am not mad at this person and was not trying to talk badly about this person but I was upset because I felt like this person was saying you were not smart or that I was doing a bad job of teaching you. Sometimes home schooled kids are seen as not as smart as kids that go to school because we do things differently and that is not true."

My son said he knew the person was not saying he isn't smart and asked why I didn't share my frustration with the person. I explained it wasn't an appropriate place and that I didn't want to hurt the person's feelings. He agreed. Then after a thoughtful moment he said, "Mom, I think maybe home schooled kids often aren't as smart as school kids. Those kids spend all day in a desk and probably learn more and maybe learn it faster. BUT they also learn a lot of really bad things that aren't in the Bible, AND they learn a lot of bad things from each other.  I see it in the neighbor boys behind us who are always singing naughty songs and using naughty words even when I ask them to stop. I think it's OK if I'm not as smart as they are right now because I'm learning what is really important."

So there you have it. My job is done. ;)