Read about the dinosaur doing some navel gazing

I don't often feel old. I'm sure having six children still at home with my youngests being sixteen has something to do with it. Many of my friends who are my age have been empty nesters for a decade or so now. When I stop to think about it, it makes me realize how far outside the norm we are. 

But sixteen is pretty darn close to being at an age when children start going their own way. With homeschooling, I am pretty much done with the heavy lifting years. G. and L. will be juniors this coming school year, but they will be moving more towards dual enrollment at the college where J. works. My role has become a maker of suggestions and a finder of resources. At this point, everyone has taken charge of their educations. But technically we still homeschool, so I stay in the various groups. It pays off because next month we got discounted tickets to see a special art exhibit in the area, but that is really one of the few reasons I stay.

The other reason is that I do have 28 years of homeschooling experience teaching an extremely wide variety of children. I began homeschooling before the Internet was a thing. (Okay, saying that does make me feel a bit old.) The positive side of that experience is that I know without a doubt that online anything is completely unnecessary to teach a child. And forget about the whole, "if you don't use technology, your children will be unprepared for life" argument. Our children breathe in technology along with the air they breathe. Whether or not they use it for schoolwork makes absolutely no difference to their ability to use it. 

But here is where where I am going with all of this. I fear my days of being a useful source of homeschooling experience are pretty much done. I have now seemed to have moved into the category of homeschooling dinosaur. Except in the realm of highschool, my experience is seen as dated, unrealistic, and out of touch. I also know I don't endear myself to those who hope to make money off of homeschoolers because I still firmly hold the line that anyone can homeschool. And they can homeschool without fancy technology, curricula, or "paid professionals" helping. I am not shy about calling them out. 

So maybe it's time to step out of that world. It's not as though I am lacking in things to fill my time. But I do grieve for the children who will be missing out on the best that homeschooling can offer, and instead spend their days glued to a screen.