I sipped my coffee quietly, thinking about how to respond. "I know this sounds like a crazy idea," she said. "Just hear me out."
"Okay." I nodded.
"I'm terrified of school shootings, this is what? the 10th one this year? Moreover, I live in a bad school zone." she continued.
"Yes, I know there are a ton of cons to public school, but homeschooling is taking it a bit too far! How would we even do this? Between the four of us here, we have a big range of ages, from 0 to 10." I pointed out.
"We'd hire teachers for each age group," she suggested. "I already have one in mind."
Maya took a bite of her croissant and I uncrossed my legs to lean forward and grab my own croissant off the table. She looked at Rayna and said, "I don't know, sounds like wishful thinking."
Rayna continued to hold her ground for a few more minutes, arguing in favor of homeschooling our kids.
I flashed back to the first time I'd heard of homeschooling. I was 16 years old and we were at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar. I went with a group of friends to watch the Qatar Open and then someone introduced us to Caleb and his siblings. Naturally, as we got to know them we asked what school they went to, as there were only four possible choices at the time anyway. Caleb, the oldest, told us they were all homeschooled, specifically because his mom did not want her children influenced by "bad kids." I remember thinking to myself, "His mom must be crazy. We are totally fine! Yes, there are bad kids but most of us are good!" Caleb and his siblings were sweet and polite kids, maybe a little soft. I only saw them a few more times during the Qatar Open and exchanged emails to chat on messenger. I don't remember much else except that we all wondered when/where those homeschooled kids met with friends and what did they do all day. It sounded like a punishment. They were just weird. Unordinary. Until recently, I had thought Caleb and his siblings were a 1 in a million case. I really didn't believe homeschooling was a real thing.
"Well, I'm planning on subbing at our elementary school, to see if it's as good as they promote it to be. I want to get in on the inside and see what really happens in our public school." I declared.
"Sounds like a good idea. I'm considering sending my kids to private school though." Nina chipped in. "I've thought about that as well." I said. "Specifically an all girls Catholic school for my daughter."
Personally, I was weighing the pros and cons or public vs. private, as oppose to public vs. homeschool. I am more worried about values/ morals/ ethics than I am about anything else. Like Caleb's mom, I also don't want my kid influenced by "bad kids."
Nina pulled out the website with Texas' school rankings and sent it to our phones. "Your school is pretty highly ranked," she told me. "After you sub there, can you also sub at our school and let me know what you think of it and how it compares?"
"Sure, I'll jump in there when I see an opening. But, it's also highly ranked so I wouldn't be too worried if I were you."
I'd applied to be a substitute teacher a month or so prior to our coffee-date, following a series of incidents with my kids at school. One of which was my 7-year-old son watching Disney's highly controversial movie "Strange Worlds" during unplanned for free-time at school. I was furious that he was exposed to a story plot that discusses a teenager's gender preferences since a) I had yet to discuss this topic with my kids and b) 7-year-olds shouldn't be introduced to any teenage issues, including sex and/or drugs.
I'd been working on getting back on my career track in media and advertising, but decided to delve into education for a short time in order to better understand the system and culture, and be able to make an informed decision when it came to schooling my children.
"Okay, so no support on the homeschooling then?" Rayna asked, defeatedly.
"I don't know. It sounds like a LOT of work and I know we wouldn't be the ones doing all of it, but it's daunting." I said. I was the only one in the group who had "home-schooled" during covid, because I have the oldest kids. Despite the district's quick roll-out of the distance learning apps and programs, the teachers extraordinary efforts, and having a smart, learning-centered and focused child, I can't say the "home-schooling" experience was smooth sailing. Now Rayna was asking we do it without all of that support, for not one, but ten children. Nope. No can do.
"Fine."
"Sorry." I said as I took another sip of my now cold coffee. I was already feeling apprehensive about subbing. Homeschooling? Out of my league.
Comments