Folks tend to get their panties in a wad over the comparison of homeschooled to not-homeschooled children. We see this in the blogsphere and we feel it in conversation with friends. Folks within the institutional system are welcome to criticize school all day long--criticism even seeps into mainstream media. Folks who've withdrawn from the system find a need to be more circumspect.

We should stop this nonsense of social comparison for one good reason. All children are homeschooled, and this is what matters most. Some children are also sent to not-homeschool. But who they are, their depth of character, the range of life they experience, their confidence in and understanding of the world, are all forged mostly at home. Who they are, who they will be, and what they are driven to learn and retain will be most influenced by their parents.

My point is underscored by the phenomenon of tracking in the school system. You know, where administrators separate the smart kids from the stupid kids in first grade (without ever telling the parents or the children) and no child transmutes their rank--ever. The kids most likely to succeed arrive at school most likely to succeed. Kids with strong smart sane loving parents tend to do well. Institutional elementary school tries hard but influences nothing too much for the better.

The belief that important things happen in not-homeschool is a fallacy. There is not much very important happening there. Except, perhaps, damage. Its very hard to get institutionalized, if you don't show up for daily institutionalization. Outside of that, the most important things (for better or worse) happen at home. If someone recognizes your sent-to-school child as excellent enough to be mistaken for a homeschooler, that's probably because your life at home is rich and lovely. Your kids are probably well fed and content. And it probably shows. Congratulations, you're a good parent, your kids are likely to succeed. Don't give any credit for that to the school system.

The timeline of institutional education is arbitrary, as is the curriculum. What matters most is what happens at home. In this way, all children are homeschooled.