Why So Mad?

O.K. So weeks after my announcement that I will be homeschooling my daughter(s), I have finally found a relatively succinct and accurate description of why I am so MAD about it (both angry and passionately excited).
Take a gander at this website's definition of an "accidental homeschooler". Pay particular attention to the fact that homeschoolers of this type do not come about it for religious or political reasons. They simply see it as the best option given 1) no funds for private school and 2) a dramatic lack of acceptable educational standards in public schools.

So yeah; I'm MAD/angry about the fact that the way in which I choose to parent coupled with my own experience in excellent schools has led me to information about the reality of public education in my community that I cannot ignore. And given the state of the housing market etc, I am hard pressed to leave this community in search for one with at least better schools.

The good news is that I am also becoming more and more MAD/passionate about homeschooling as a wonderful way to educate my girls in its own right, without the need for comparing and contrasting it to traditional schooling. Sure, the trade-offs are hard to leave behind, especially when surrounded by a culture that cannot understand why on earth children and adults-- especially ones from the same family!-- would want to spend so much time together. But the rewards are so rich and rewarding I am confident this will be one of those Gosh, who da guessed it? decisions that we will all look back on with pride and gratitude.

So to all my close friends and relatives employed or otherwise entrenched in the public school system... I call for a TRUCE! ;)