Awkward Silence

I saw this fan page on facebook yesterday... it said " Hey, what school do you go to?" .... "I'm Home schooled." ..... "Oh..." ( Awkward Silence) ...

As funny as this is... and I found it very funny, it's humor lies in the truth of the statement. Often when you mention that you are a homeschooled child or that you homeschool, you are met with an awkward silence. I have often wondered what it is people are thinking at that very moment.... do they think that we are mutants now? I mean we looked so normal, until we said the word homeschool.

I think I might just start asking people what they are thinking in the midst of that awkward silence... I am curious to know their thoughts. How can we educate or advocate about homeschooling, if we just leave the person to have their silent thoughts.

Many times when this subject comes up, we hear responses like " oh my daughter-in-law homeschool's" or, "I had a friend that did that years ago." Most of the responses we receive are neutral, or positive in nature.

Have you ever received a negative response from someone at the store wondering why your children were not in "school"? If so, how have you handled it? Share with me a funny story of an awkward moment, or a positive or negative response you have had from a random person out in public.