I gave my hardship to the judge: “I am homeschooling two boys, ages 12 and 13,” fully expecting to be released from duty. But it didn’t seem to matter to him at all.
Homeschooling during jury duty
I was exasperated! I learned it was a criminal trial pending one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. The time frame was a full month, right before Christmas. How could I serve and homeschool my boys? I called all my homeschooling friends and whined. I planned to go back and do all I could to get out of it.
My heart changes
However, my heart was softened when I realized the defendant, on trial for her freedom, heard so many people talk about the important commitments in life. No one wanted to sit through a jury trial. I decided that that I really could do it. After all, my boys were old enough and responsible.
Planning keeps us on track
I didn’t have high expectations as they had little experience on their own, outside of me running a few errands. But, I was pleasantly surprised.
Because of the schedule in court, we were able to get history completed in the morning before I left. I also had time to explain what they were to do and made sure their homeschool planner was ready to keep them on track. I have said it many times, and I honestly don’t know how anyone homeschools without a planner!
We were also able to communicate on breaks. They even sent me some pictures of completed work.
The hardest time came after dinner when I went over the workload piled up on my desk! It was late and they didn’t feel like going over missed math problems, but they did it. We didn’t have much choice, but they rose to the occasion. Language Arts suffered the most, but we will make it up. After all, homeschooling gives us the option to be flexible.
Serving was a good choice
In the end, I am happy I served. I felt like I was a part of something big and am able to share the experience with my kids. It was a month out of our routines, our lives, but I feel now it was an investment in the life of another. It is our system and in order for our system to work, it takes everyday citizens allowing a wrench to be thrown into their plans.
So, next time you receive that notice in the mail, consider trying to serve, instead of trying to get out of it, if you can.
Also, if you haven’t tried a homeschool planner, start working on those great habits now, creating independent learners. You won’t regret it. We have a version for every age student from preschool to high school and even a homeschool teacher edition for you too. You can see them all at our homepage at the “Our Planners” tab. Make your homeschooling journey more organized and put your plan in place today.
