A lot of homeschoolers complain about being accosted in public with people questioning them about homeschooling as if they have a personal stake in their children. (Mama Julep, who I just discovered writes about these intrusions, among other cool stuff.) Interestingly enough, no one does that to me... anymore.
Maybe it's because my kids are 5'5" and 6'2" (they're both 4 inches taller than when this picture was taken) and people rarely notice that they're school age. Maybe it's because I've perfected a look that tells them "don't even go there". But regardless, people who don't know me don't question me about homeschooling, and people who do know me rarely question my motives... I guess no one wants me to give them the old eyeball... but that's not THE LOOK I'm talking about.
The look I am talking about is when someone finds out I homeshool and they look completely SHELL SHOCKED. Their eyes widen, they look anywhere but in my eyes, and realizing they've had a bad reaction, they close their eyes momentarily to recoup. When that happens, all I can do is smile. Only the bravest ask me about curriculum, and my answer, ("Well, we use AP materials from the National Repository of Online Courses" (i.e. Hippocampus.org) "and the kids attend a fine arts school on Tuesdays"), usually shuts them up as they don't know what the heck I am talking about)
Besides THE LOOK, the other reaction I get is from people who say to me "you are not like those other homeschoolers". (i.e. you're not a freak) I think it's supposed to be a compliment. Much like the way people use to tell me "you're not like those other black people" (i.e. you're not ghetto) when I used to live in New Orleans.
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