I'd also love to have the freedom to discuss giftedness if someone does actually ask why we chose to homeschool. That's another awkward topic. People seem to take it like you are bragging about your child. At least that's how I feel. It's hard to explain that giftedness means a lot more than being "smart." I usually just say we have some unique challenges that we are addressing, and I usually add that we are continuing to search for a school setting that works for our son. And, I add that we are not likely to change our current homeschool situation until we find something that works equally as well or better.
I have a similar response when talking about why we homeschool, and I don't like it. I feel like it doesn't serve DS well by being so modest and implying that we are homeschooling because of his issues. I feel like I need to come up with a pat response that is more respectful to DS and his strengths. I will find myself talking in hushed tones about how DS needs intensive one-on-one work with phonics and reading instruction because he may have some degree of dyslexia, but leaving out how far advanced he is in every other area and how he asked me to homeschool so he could study Chemistry. He's 6, so I'm afraid this answer would elicit quite the raised eyebrows. I haven't found a comfortable way to state the positive reasons we decided to homeschool this year without being self deprecating, or worse, diminishing the strengths of my son. I would like to come up with a canned response I can use comfortably whether DS is part of the conversation or not, but then that brings in the whole awkward "gifted" theme...
