Gabby Douglas, the athlete who just won multiple gold medals in the Olympics is a buzzing topic right now... because of the state of her hair. Wow. This makes me angry because too many of use are out of shape and unhealthy because we are worried about our hair. This young athlete has her priorities in order. Yes, her hair doesn't look like she just came from the salon, but have you seen how far that child can fly!
Oh, and that's not the only complaint. Fox News is complaining that she had no business wearing pink and should have chosen a more patriotic leotard. Give me a break! So what does that have to do with homeschooling?
CONFORMISM.
It continues to blow my mind that many homeschoolers are focusing on what their homeschooling looks like and not what their children are getting out of it.
Too many of us bow to demands of socialization (that our momma's keep bugging us about) and sacrifice time our children should spend reading and doing math.
Too many of us run to accreditation and sacrifice time our children could spend deeply exploring a subject they love. (not against accreditation as long as it doesn't usurp what our kids need).
Too many of us focus on measuring our children's progress against others instead of teaching our kids according to their own strengths and weaknesses.
Maybe my comparison is a bit of a reach, but that is the comparison my mind jumped to when pondering the atrocity of people focusing on this child's hair. Fortunately just as many of us homeschoolers don't bend to the peer pressure of looks that is common in public school mentality and put the heart and talent before something as superficial as hairstyles.
I think what we most need to remember is that we are homeschooling for our children, not for the world, just as Gabby must remember she is out there to win, not for a mention in a hair and beauty magazine.
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