Yesterday morning, while I was at my favorite German bakery The Bread Basket, I overheard a snippet of conversation from a table of older gentlemen (the bakery is a favorite breakfast spot by many retirees and military in the community). They obviously had been discussing the federally assisted meal program known as the School Breakfast Program, although in what context, I can only guess. Just as I was getting ready to leave with my purchases, one man proclaimed quite loudly,
“I don’t know why we need to feed those kids breakfast. We didn’t do that in my day.
If my parents couldn’t afford to feed me breakfast, I just went to school hungry.”
His comments have echoed in my brain for the past two days. I imagine he was upset about his tax money being “wasted” in such a program, feeding children whose parents ought to be responsible enough to be able to feed their own children. Or maybe he was just upset about taxes in general or wasteful government programs. I would like to think that, as a country, we would want all children to face a school day with some food in their stomach, but I know many people are opposed to the government providing such services. Anyway, this isn’t meant to be a political post nor was that the part of his comment that caused me to put pen to paper (so to speak).
What struck me was his statement: “We didn’t do that in my day.” How often have you heard that phrase used? Have you heard it used in reference to your choice to homeschool? My experience is that it is used whenever someone is talking about something of which they disapprove or at least of which they are highly suspicious. After all, you might be doing something illegal, or at the very least, subversive! What they don’t realize is how revolutionary your choice to homeschool will be for you and for your family, a choice that may have ripple effects down through the generations.
Last month I traveled to Alabama to spend time with family and to meet my newest granddaughter (who is quite beautiful, of course!). One of the best things of the trip was the time I could spend with my six-year-old granddaughter, Miss Munchkin. Since she is being homeschooled, we were able to spend more time together than we would have if she was in public school. I enjoyed having her show me how she is learning place value using the Base Ten Rods came with her Math U See kit. And then we played Monopoly, putting her place value knowledge into use. I don’t know if Miss Munchkin will always be homeschooled, but a Grandma can hope!
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