The Unschooling Has Already Begun

(I mean "unschooling" in the original sense, where learning doesn't have to mimic school.)

My kid loves explanations, so I explain everything.  My kid loves words, so I use big words all the time.  This morning she learned the words "parallel" and "pentagon" just in the natural course of play.  By the time she's six, this kid is going to have a bigger vocabulary than the first-grade teacher.  And while it's unlikely that she'll know "more" (i.e. more total) than the teacher, she is certain to know a lot of stuff that the teacher doesn't -- or worse, that the teacher is mistaken about. 

So tell me again why I should send my kid to school?

Why Homeschool? (My Version)

There's all the usual reasons:

- No Child Left Behind is a disaster.

- Kids in school spend only an hour or two a day "on task."

- Elementary school teachers often don't understand the topics (particularly math) that they're trying to teach.

 - Homeschooled kids are just nicer.

I've known many homeschooling families over the years, so it's never seemed like a weird and shocking idea to me.  So for me, the question is not "why homeschool?" but rather "why not homeschool?"  Or to put it another way, "why do school?" or "can I beat the (rather low) bar set by school?"  If my kid can learn more in a year sitting up in a treehouse reading books, (and I use that example as the absolute mimimal, most neglectful homeschooling I could do), then why do school?

The answer is clear: free babysitting.  That's really the only thing public school has to offer a smart, educated, resource-rich family. 

So am I willing to torture my kid with boredom and Lord-of-the-Flies style socialization for several hours a day, for the sake of the free babysitting?

Do you see how I'm painting myself into a corner here?  I don't care if I'm a single working mom.  I've got to find a way to do it.