Other than smile and ignore, of course...
I am involved in setting up a fairly niche extracurricular activity - a primary-level Classics club - in a small town where education isn't particularly valued by quite a lot of the population. Coming from a background that would see this as being an obviously good thing, I have been perplexed by repeatedly being told that the club is a stupid idea and can only possibly be for parents who want to "hothouse" their poor children.
I've said in response that actually it's a lot easier for children to learn both English and foreign languages if they have a reasonable grasp of grammar and vocab roots, and that Latin is a great way to learn it, as well as being interesting in its own right. That it's far easier to learn a foreign language before age 10 than after. And that teaching kids basic skills in something that adults do isn't hothousing, it's teaching them basic skills in something that they're interested in.
None of this seems to get through, though.
I am going to be interviewed by the local paper, which is a bit of a redneck rag, and I bet this will come up.
Anyone got any suggestions as to what to say to people who seem to disapprove of extracurricular activities that actually involve any form of brain activity?