Vault: She was solicited to homeschool her child

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: The Bert Show
Episode: Vault: She was solicited to homeschool her child
Date: August 4, 2026
Theme:
The episode centers around a surprising and somewhat intrusive encounter experienced by Tracy Kinney, a producer on The Bert Show and mother of 10.5-month-old Ella. Tracy recounts a moment when a stranger in a grocery store unexpectedly pivoted from complimenting her child's appearance to recruiting her for homeschooling—prompting broader discussion about unsolicited advice, so-called "homeschool recruiting," and awkward mom-to-mom conversations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Tracy's Bizarre Grocery Store Encounter

• 00:51 – 03:05
  • Tracy, holding her baby Ella in a Bjorn at the grocery store, is approached by an unfamiliar older woman.
  • The woman first compliments Ella's beauty, then abruptly asks, “Will she be homeschooled?”—a question Tracy finds jarring.
  • Tracy narrates:

    “Her next sentence is, will she be homeschooled? I'm like, what?” (01:50, Tracy)

  • The stranger goes on to insist that homeschooled kids have a better rate of graduating college and are better behaved and more intelligent.
  • Tracy tries to be polite but feels increasingly awkward, especially when the woman says, “Well, you know, it is worth the sacrifice.” (02:42)
  • Tracy makes a humorous attempt to escape by prompting her baby to say "bye bye."

Listeners Share Similar Experiences

• 03:24 – 04:10

  • Michelle, a listener, calls in with a parallel story:

    “She approached me the same way ... to say how beautiful my baby was and did I have plans to homeschool him. And I found out later ... they go out on these missions to recruit homeschoolers.” (03:36–03:47, Michelle)

  • The notion of “homeschool recruiters” is introduced—listeners and hosts compare this tactic to methods used by MLMs (like Mary Kay) and even religious recruiting.

• 04:22 – 05:13

  • The hosts and Tracy discuss how women, spotted running errands during the day, are often presumed to be unemployed or available for home-based work pitches, such as Mary Kay.
  • Tracy shares:

    “I get approached a lot for all kinds of like home jobs ... because they assume that you aren't working, you know, if you're out and about during the day.” (04:51–05:13, Tracy)

Unsolicited and Uncomfortable "Mom" Conversations

• 05:13 – 06:15
  • Crystal, another listener, shares her own odd encounter: a stranger overshares about her son's private habits while shopping for baby food.

    “This woman ... just started talking to me randomly about how he likes to play with himself ... I couldn't walk away from her.” (05:40–05:59, Crystal)

  • The group laughs at the awkwardness and recognizes a pattern of over-sharing among some parents in public.

The “Cult” Theory and Social Commentary

• 06:16 – 07:02
  • Tanya, a caller, theorizes:

    “I believe that this is a cult trying to breed attractive, beautiful, intelligent people.” (06:19, Tanya)

    • She likens the method to religious-style recruiting and references fears of a "Stepford Children" style social program.
  • The hosts, while laughing at the absurdity, admit the idea of “homeschool recruiting” is both fascinating and strange.

Show’s Take on Homeschooling

• 07:13 – 07:20
  • Tracy clarifies her position:

    “I am not planning on homeschooling Ella.” (07:16, Tracy)

  • The conversation ends with friendly advice for strangers to back off if they see Tracy in public with Ella, playfully underscoring the weirdness of the recurring situation.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On calculating ages:

  “I'm gonna start giving my age in weeks ... How old are you? I'm 2000 weeks.” (00:41–00:48, Host)

• First signs of weirdness:

  “Your daughter is so beautiful. ... Will she be homeschooled?” (01:37–01:51, Stranger to Tracy)

• Trying to escape:

  “I tried to, like, prompt Ella to say, okay, say, bye bye. Bye bye. Say, bye bye.” (03:15, Tracy)

• Listener on homeschool recruiting:

  “I found out later ... they go out on these missions to recruit homeschoolers.” (03:46, Michelle)

• On random, awkward mom conversations:

  “She just started talking to me randomly about how he likes to play with himself and ... she just wouldn't shut up. I couldn't walk away from her.” (05:41–05:59, Crystal)

• “Cult” theory:

  “I believe this is a cult trying to breed attractive, beautiful, intelligent people.” (06:19, Tanya)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:51 – 03:05: Tracy recounts her grocery store encounter with a homeschool recruiter.
• 03:24 – 04:10: Michelle relates a similar experience and the idea of homeschool “missions.”
• 04:22 – 05:13: Discussion on being approached for home-based work.
• 05:13 – 06:15: Crystal’s tale of an awkward in-store overshare from another mom.
• 06:16 – 07:02: Tanya’s “cult” theory about homeschool recruiters.
• 07:13 – 07:20: Tracy and cast reaffirm their stance on homeschooling Ella.

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is lighthearted, playful, and often irreverent, with the hosts and callers laughing about the bizarre, shared experiences of unsolicited parenting advice and “recruitment” in public. The conversation moves quickly, with plenty of quick-witted banter, relatable exasperation, and opportunities to poke fun at awkward social encounters.

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Summary:
This episode of The Bert Show provides a humorous yet insightful exploration of the odd world of unsolicited parenting advice—with a focus on the emerging trend (or urban legend) of “homeschool recruiters.” Through firsthand stories and lively banter, the show shines a light on the shared realities (and absurdities) of modern parenting in public.

Transcript

[A]

Get it? The Bird show producer Tracy Kinney joins us, proud mother of Ella Grace Kinney.

[B]

Hola.

[C]

Hi.

[A]

How's Ella?

[D]

She's good. She's standing up on her own, which is scary because she falls back, but.

[B]

How old is Ella now?

[D]

She is 10 and a half months. She's as cute as can be.

[C]

Thank you for saying that. Months, not weeks. I appreciate that.

[D]

I couldn't even say this at this point.

[A]

You know what I mean? I love you for that, because Tracy has never been a week's girl.

[D]

I lost count at three months for you.

[C]

Thank God.

[A]

Like, that is. So how old is your kids?

[C]

I'm sorry. It's annoying. I'm sorry, moms. It's annoying.

[A]

52 weeks. You mean a year?

[E]

Mm.

[A]

Mm.

[C]

No, I mean 52 weeks. Yeah. Come on.

[E]

Three days.

[C]

I don't care that much.

[A]

I'm gonna start giving my age in weeks to do the math. Melissa, how old are you? I'm 2000 weeks.

[E]

That's funny.

[C]

And looking all of 1500.

[A]

Right? So Tracy is down here because she had with little baby Ella, who is. It's so beautiful. You can't help but comment on it. Had a strange encounter with somebody who wanted to comment on Ella's looks and then just went one sentence too far.

[C]

Oh, no.

[D]

And it was a quick one sentence

[A]

too far, too, and it's totally random. So the hope is somebody would be able to explain the mentality of this random complimenter to us. 404-741-Q100.

[D]

Yeah, it was a complete. I mean, I didn't know this lady whatsoever. Ella and I were at the grocery store. I had her in one of those little baby Bjorn things, and she's facing forward so she can wave at everybody.

[A]

Look, she's in a parade. Ella, do you want to go to the parade? Yay.

[B]

Yay.

[D]

The grand marshal, this lady walks up to me and she comments on how beautiful Ella is, which I was like, oh, thank you so much. That was the first sentence. Your daughter is so beautiful. I say, thank you so much. Her next sentence is, will she be homeschooled? I'm like, what?

[B]

What? Really?

[C]

She really said that? And you don't know this person?

[D]

Two sentences into this conversation? I've never met this lady. And she said, will she be homeschooled? And I didn't know to say. I was like, well, she's only 11 months. We haven't exactly gotten that far. And then she goes to tell me. She's like, well, you do know that research shows.

[C]

Are you Kidding me?

[A]

The baby's not even a year and

[C]

you don't know this woman?

[D]

I have never seen this woman in my life. Research shows that those children that are homeschooled have a higher rate of graduating from college than those that are not. And I said, well, I. We haven't even discussed it. I'm not opposed to it, but I mean, I didn't even know what to say to this lady because I didn't want to offend her. But then I said, so I guess it would. I said, I guess it would depend on whether or not I could afford not to work. And she goes, well, you know, it is worth the sacrifice. Oh, my God.

[A]

What?

[B]

How random. Did this woman have children with her?

[D]

No, she was a little bit older. I would say that she was probably in her 60s. So, I mean, if she had children, she probably. Yeah, they're probably grown by now. And then she went on to tell me that of all the women that she knows who have children that are homeschooled, their children are better behaved and more intelligent than the women whose kids are not homeschooled.

[C]

How long was this conversation with random stranger?

[D]

Like, four minutes long.

[A]

You should have been like, I'm sorry, my milk's getting warm. I gotta go to the.

[C]

I'll be like, I gotta check out.

[A]

I gotta go home.

[D]

I started. I tried to, like, prompt Ella to say, okay, say, bye bye. Bye bye. Say, bye bye.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

Hey, Michelle. Welcome to the show.

[E]

Thanks.

[A]

How are you?

[C]

Hey.

[E]

Good. How are you?

[C]

Good.

[E]

I had a really weird conversation with a woman like this in a clothing store with my oldest son.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

She approached me the same way. She approached me to say how beautiful my baby was and did. I had plans to homeschool him. And I found out later through a friend of mine that they go out on these missions to recruit homeschoolers.

[B]

No way. There's Jehovah's Witnesses.

[D]

So my baby really isn't beautiful.

[E]

I'm sure she's just lovely.

[C]

But in. That seems weird to me that you're homeschooling so you're in an enclosed environment with your family. But they're going to recruit this like they're a collective. I don't know. It's just. It sounds weird to me.

[D]

It does make sense, though. Cause it was the most bizarre situation that she had to have been on a mission. Like those Mary Kay people. When you go, do you know what I'm talking about?

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

When you're out in the middle of the day and they Approach you to sell Mary Kay.

[A]

What is this?

[D]

They like anytime you're at like a female targeted store, like a Target or a TJ Maxx or something, random women will come up to you and they'll say, you know, you look like a very career minded woman. You're like what? Oh yeah, thank you. And they're like, have you ever considered a career in Mary Kay? It happens all the time.

[A]

So that's their pitch. Like they didn't see you trying to find a set of towels in the be it back at TJ Maxx and go, God, look at the way she is sorting out the gray ones and the blue ones. That is.

[B]

No, they just approach women that are out and about during the day cause they assume that you don't have a job. I get approached a lot because I'll run like once I leave work, I mean our eight hour days, like by 12 or 1 and so I'll go run errands and do stuff, whatever. I get approached a lot for all kinds of like home jobs like that because they assume that you aren't working, you know, if you're out and about during the day.

[C]

Weird.

[A]

Hey Crystal, welcome to the show.

[E]

Hey, how are you doing? Fine. Yeah, I just wanted to make a comment. I was actually, I have an 11 and a half month old baby girl myself and I was shopping for baby food one day and this woman was in there in the aisle next to me with her little boy and she just started talking to me randomly about how he likes to play with himself and pull on his private areas and she just doesn't know how to get him to stop.

[B]

Oh my God, lady, go away.

[C]

So it's just like random mom advice, like oh, we're both moms.

[E]

I mean, I don't even know if it was advice because I have a girl and she had a boy obviously, but it was just so crazy. She just started talking about it and then she wouldn't shut up. I couldn't walk away from her.

[A]

Maybe was it. Was the boy about the same age as your girl?

[E]

I mean he was maybe a few months younger. I mean he looked around the same age. But yeah, she just started talking about it and how like when she's giving him a bath he'll just and play and dingle.

[A]

Hey Tanya, welcome to the show.

[E]

Hey guys. The same thing happened to me. I was approached by a woman for about homeschool and I believe that this is a cult trying to breed attractive, beautiful, intelligent people.

[A]

Wait, what?

[B]

Why do you think it's a cult?

[E]

Because to me, it's sort of like what you said before about the whole Jehovah Witness. And I'm not saying Jehovah Witnesses are cult, but I'm saying it's the same pattern. They're attractive children because of course, my child is attractive. Attractive children that they pursue. And you know all about the home school. So that's my fear. My fear is just this weird Stepford Children program that they're trying to put

[A]

together some futuristic breed, the ultimate human society.

[B]

I have fascinated by.

[C]

I'm fascinated by homeschoolers going to recruit.

[B]

That is fascinating to me. And further.

[C]

Well, it shows that they have social skills to go in, try to recruit for home school.

[B]

God, it just further fuels my fire against it.

[D]

I am not planning on homeschooling Ella.

[B]

Thank you. Thank you, Tracy.

[A]

Thank you. But keep in mind, Tracy also has three and a half years to decide on Ella's education. So if you do see her walking around Perimeter Mall, back off.

[B]

So strange that they're recruiting.

[A]

You're on the vert show.