Have any of you homeschoolers out there ever been asked by some kid "So, like what are you guys always locked in a closet or something?" Well, I don't know about you, but personally I think that all the government schooled kids are really the ones "like, stuck in their closet". For example, the past few days Joseph, Joshua, and I were up in Wisconsin recording a conference on Grazing! How weird is that! But honestly, this is one of my favorite conferences that we record each year, mainly because it is all about food, we talk to lots of farmers, and there is really not much to do! :-)
As we were coming home from the conference and we drove up our road, I saw one of our government school neighbors walking down the road, and it was then that I realized that they were the ones locked in their "closet". I realized that this past week as we had been having fun talking with hundreds of people, and tanking up on some of the best raw milk, cheese, sausage, yogurt, beef... these kids were confined to their schoolroom and class schedule, or their street with local friends! In that second the whole myth of not being "socialized" (as most people define the word) was blown to bits! I suddenly wanted to go up to them and say, “Don't you get bored only getting to see your small 10mi radius all year?” Ok, sure, you get to go on vacation a couple times a year (maybe) but what fun is there at the places where most people vacation? An amusement park, water park, beach or some other "Place of Interest" can only be fun for so long, and yet traveling with your family and sometimes a few friends, to conferences all over the country seems to be an endless amount of fun, (and socialization). :-)
Just think of all the different kinds of people you get to know from all different places. Do most kids have this opportunity for variety and high quality relationships? NO.
So, next time you get asked if you just sit in your closet all day, just turn the question around and say, "Not at all! But don't you get bored of your classroom, classmates, class schedule and small 10mi radius?" You don't need to tell them this, but they are really the ones missing out on real life!
Jonathan Erber
Correspondent
1 comment:
Exactly, I couldn't agree more.
Who goes to a conference about Grazing? Do farmers really need advice on getting their cows to walk out in a field? You're not kidding weird.
Post a Comment