Hoist with your own petard ~ Edutards!

I guess we better start with a few definitions for the edutards.

hoist with your own petard
to be harmed by something that was intended by you to harm someone else. The most enjoyable moment in any action film occurs when the villain is hoist with his own petard.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of hoist by your own petard (= blown into the air by your own explosive device), an expression made popular in Shakespeare's play, “Hamlet”
See also: hoist

Edutard - Someone whose thoughts are constricted, tradition bound, unable to think outside the box, incapable of original thought.

OK, now that we have those pesky definitions out of the way, we can get down to business. I did a parody of The Homeschooler Mind Set called The Edutards Mindset (this is a parody) . Apparently Natalie Wagner , the real cmf , Carlie & Greg have no idea what the definition of edutard is as they chose to take great offense to the title. Their ignorance and willingness to jump to conclusions is amusing if a bit old hat. The edutards are all to willing to mischaracterize, bash, harass and belittle homeschoolers. They seem to think it's their GOD given right to pontificate on any topic no matter how ignorant of the topic they are. They also seem to think that homeschoolers are just suppose to put up with their mean spirited attacks. How dare we fight back, how dare we point out their flaws...........that's now fair, that's not cool, that's unacceptable............... I mean don't we all know that it's politically correct to bash homeschoolers and religious fundamentalist but everyone else is off limits. Get with the program.

I have had it with their attacks, harassment and mischaracterization as far as I am concerned they can hoist with their own petard. They have no legitimate reason to concern themselves with homeschoolers. On the other hand they should be concerning themselves with the underachieving public schools their tax money goes to support. So why don't they.

• They are so entrenched in the public school mentality they can not think of a 'better way' to do things.
• They firmly believe that while the public schools may not be doing a great job we should all have to be crippled by their inadequacies. How dare someone escape the system.
• They are terrified of choices. If parents are free to choose the best educational option for their children then they only have themselves to blame if they make a bad choice. On the other hand if everyone is forced to send their kids to public school then obviously no one can blame them if their child receives and inadequate education. These are the same people that want mandatory public school uniforms. Choosing what to wear in the morning is just to hard for them.
• They feel guilty. Homeschooling parents invest time and money into their children's education while public school parents are getting a 'free ride'. Deep down they suspect they may be failing their children. Instead of examining the educational choices they made for their own children it's much easier to attack homeschoolers. Labeling them WEIRD, ELITIST, STIFLING, FUNDIES, BACKWARD, and other unflattering terms means they never have to seriously consider homeschooling.
• They view anyone who makes a different educational choice then public schools as attacking them. Apparently they really aren't learning tolerance and respect for diversity in the public schools. What they seem to be preaching is everyone must conform to their vision of what the world should be like.

For the record I am not attacking public schools or public school teachers. There are some really terrific public school teachers out there and the majority of them will go out of their way to give homeschoolers a helping hand. BUT public schools are not 'right' for everyone. Parents are the ones best able to determine if their child would be best served by attending the local public school, a private school or being homeschooled. And whatever their choice may be, it's no one else's business. And if the edutards are honest public schools have plenty of problems for them to write about to their hearts content. Not all public schools are created equal and not all public school teachers are great.

Instead of bashing, harassing and belittling homeschoolers the edutards would be better served by turning their attention to the public schools their tax money goes to support. Since they are funding them they have a legitimate reason to be concerned with them. On the other hand homeschooling is none of their business and they should butt out.