I read a post today at Letter' Rip  called Pious and Reclusive for Christ.  The author Susanna had alot of great things to say about the way Christian parents should raise their children, to be powerful witnesses for Christ - but then she added:

"Let us show them what it means to passionately share their faith, love and reach out to others that we would not raise kids who are pious and reclusive for the savior of the world." (emphasis mine)

I must say, reading the title of her post, and that one comment, bothered me all afternoon.

I tried to reply at her blog but the first one disappeared into the cyber-round-file after I hit enter, and the second one only partially posted - so it doesn't even make sense.

So I will elaborate/vent here.

I have a confession to make.  I'm weary.  Exhausted.  Fed up, burnt out, and put off.  My long-suffering category is reading on "E" with this topic.  Not with the author of this post, but with this type of comment, in general.

The fact is, it's a MYTH, that homeschooled kids are these mousy, withdrawn, reclusive, impish little beings that can't carry on a conversation with a tree stump, let alone another person.  Homeschooled kids, of all ages, are in general (not all of them, but most), well-adjusted, well-mannered, genuinely pleasant people who have an incredible ability to enjoy participating and articulate well, in conversations with people of all ages - all backgrounds - either gender. 

There is something about kids who learn in an open envirorment that homeschooling affords, that removes the age/ gender/background barrier from their "comfort zone".  With homeschooled kids, this is just not an issue.

Over and over I hear these stories...

"Well I met this family once, and all the kids stared at their shoes..."

"I heard about this one kid, who was homeschooled, and he was like 16 and couldn't read..."

"My sister lives next door to this homeschooling family and all the kids are criminals and the mother does crack in the dining room..."

True?  I have no idea.  But true or not, they are NOT the norm, they are the exception, by far.  More often than not, the people who share these stories have never met homeschooled kids themselves.  Never had a conversation with one.  Never taken into consideration that what they did hear, might very well be an extreme case - instead of a representative of the homeschooling community.

It is quite tiresome for a mother who homeschools, raising her children, together with her husband, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, to defend truth, to people who have no idea what they're talking about.  (This is not to say the author of the above referenced article has no idea what she's talking about - it's her use of the "pious and reclusive" comment that just irks me).

Often (quite often), the people who make these kinds of comments, don't even have children of their own.  I liken this to me, offering my opinion of brain surgery, having no training or expertise in the procedure, whatsoever.

Granted, there are some homeschoolers who don't fit the description of bubbly, outgoing, articulate people.  But they wouldn't fit that description if they were in a private school, or public school, either.  That comes down to personalities.  Of my seven kids I have 4 that are very much extroverts, outgoing, bubbly-fun people.  I have 2 that are very shy, prefer to be alone, or at the very least be in a very small group setting, and one that the jury is still out on - since she's only 2.  Majority opinion around here is that she will blend well into the bubbly-fun category.

With all of that said however - it IS true that most homeschooled kids I've ever met, and most homeschooled kids other homeschoolers have ever met (according to their own words) are well-mannered, well rounded, outgoing people who enjoy conversation.

So... if this is the consensus among homeschoolers, where did this opposite extreme myth come from?

Honestly, I have to say I believe it comes from people who have no idea what they're talking about - and simply base their opinion on what they've heard (and then repeat it), or by meeting 1 example that fell into the extreme category.  And for whatever reason, people believe it.

I guess it's the same reason people would be more inclined to buy a newspaper filled with crime stories, and scandalous celebrity news, than they would be inclined to pick up a newsletter that had nothing but encouraging, inspiring, uplifting articles of success, and happiness.  Same reason maybe more people read the celebrity rags, than read their Bible?  I don't know, I'm venting, and haven't the time to examine the human psyche, and why we do the things we do, other than to chalk it all up to our propensity toward sin, wherever the opportunity arises.

I've probably just offended a whole bunch of people with all this - but I sure hope not.  I'm just really tired of defending what's true, and trying to debunk what's false. 

Homeschool parents - what do you say? 

How do you address this? 

Please share your wisdom with me, I'm fresh out.