Why Homeschool?

I believe that most of the parents I know truly desire the best for their children. Sometimes the culture in which we live has so conditioned us not to think outside the box that we must ask ourselves some hard questions when deciding what the best is. What is best for my child? Who bears the responsibility for him? How will my choices affect her life? Is his daily environment one that nurtures him and makes him strong? Or is it a hostile environment that tears down the core of who he is as a person? What kind of child do I want to raise, and am I doing whatever it takes to do that?

When we become parents, we must acknowledge that we have become stewards of eternal human beings who belong to God Himself. We must not make our choices based on a simple personal preference or what the prevailing culture around us is doing. We must make each decision with the question in mind," What does God want me to do with this little person He gave to me, this person who is totally dependent on my good will and love?" We must be willing to sacrifice convenience, alone time, and so many other things, because these people we have been given the privilege of parenting desperately need a mommy and daddy who put them before their own selfish ambitions and ego.

Do our children belong to the state? Are they the government's children? Many people would have you think so. In universities across this country future public school teachers are cleverly fed this lie each day- day in and day out. Unless they have some very strong convictions to the contrary, they truly believe that by virtue of their superior education and training they know more about your child than you could ever hope to understand, and that because your child will grow up to be a part of the larger community (a little cog in the big machine), the ultimate responsibility is the state's. Social service workers believe that the state owns the children. If they do not like what you are doing in your home and are determined and clever enough, you will lose your children because of their belief. There are many other examples in our society today, but the growing movement of homeschooling is possibly turning the tide of this incorrect assumption.

I believe that the children belong not to the teacher or social worker or even you or me. The children belong to God. We do not get to simply choose how we want to educate them based on what we feel like doing. We must be thoughtful and yes, sometimes even brave and do the harder thing, which will ultimately yield the greater bounty. But we need to always keep in the forefront of our mind...we are just stewards. Does God care which educational system we place our children into? Yes, I believe that He does. Although He must direct each family individually, and I do not pretend to judge anyone else's choices about education, here are a few points to consider.

Schools operate like mass production factories. Individuality and quirky differences have no place in the classroom- how could they when Mrs. X has her hands full with 25 or so other individuals? The very first classroom management lesson taught in colleges is that you must train your class to function as one unit. When the students walk in the door the process begins: empty them of their own thoughts, fill them with the scientifically designed curriculum, tell them what they think but let them believe that they came up with it. John Taylor Gatto, New York Teacher of the year says this, "After you fall into the habit of accepting what other people tell you to think, you lose the power to think for yourself." Which suit had you rather wear given the choice, the mass produced one you can get at any chain store, or the one that is tailor made to fit you? Home education is designed to fit each child's needs, not form them all into the same mold.

Children are like little sponges. God has designed them to soak up not only knowledge, but attitudes, thought patterns and behaviors. The people that they are around day after day for many hours each day will be the ones who they look to for an example of how to act and what thoughts and behaviors are appropriate. This is not something that can be counteracted in the long run by a few hours each evening and weekend spent with the child. God has designed them this way on purpose so that they can learn and be properly socialized. He even tells us in his word: He who walks with the wise becomes wise, but a companion of fools comes to ruin. (Proverbs 13:20), and Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character (I Corinthians 15:33). Are we really acting responsibly if we turn over our impressionable children to a system that cannot supervise most of the interaction between children? And teachers who we may or may not know? Is holding our breath and hoping for the best enough?

Now contrast this state-run institutional setting with the warmth of your home. Home. What a word that is! Doesn't it bring thoughts of smiling faces, hot meals, captivating stories and loving hugs to your mind? If it wasn't that way it was for you, it can be for your children. A little piece of Heaven on earth. Who knows your child better than you who got up with them that night they had that awful cough and couldn't breathe? Was that teacher there when that little show off figured out that by dancing around he would get so much applause and attention? What about when your teen was feeling so left out and unloved--no one else's heart hurt for her like yours. You have the God given power to affect these eternal souls with your love. Who better to educate them? Picture mild fall days when you drop everything and go for a hike, watching the squirrels get ready for winter, the leaves fall and listening to the crunch of acorns under your feet. When your seven year old asks you why there are seasons, you tell him. Isn't this education that nourishes the soul? Education that is relational is always preferable to that which is institutional. Now picture a not so rosy day, because those come too. Cold January with all its rain. The math is too hard and you realize your fourth grader never actually learned the multiplication tables by heart. Now he can't divide fractions. He is frustrated beyond belief and you have a headache and a teething one year old. You have the freedom to figure out where your son went wrong, take a few days off from regular math, and play fun math games to remediate. The rest of the class isn't moving on without him! Give the baby some Orajel and listen to that multiplication CD while you all dance around the living room!

Why have I chosen to embark upon this journey? Why homeschool when it would be "so much easier" just to send them to school? Why does our family make so many sacrifices to live this lifestyle? I homeschool because I love to be with my children. I love to be with them because I homeschool them. I homeschool them because I don't think it is beneficial to place little growing souls in an uncontrolled and often hostile environment while they are forming their lifelong views of who they are, who God is, and what this world around them is all about. I have seen inside the schools and teacher colleges and know the misconceptions that are fundamentally inherent to the system. I homeschool because God himself has given me responsibility for my children, and I know that no one else can do a better job of educating them. I have to answer to Him for how I raise His children. I homeschool them because people were never meant to be stuck inside a classroom with people their exact age for the better part of each day. That is the opposite of positive socialization. I want them to be free to roam, discover, create, debate and worship openly. I homeschool because I defy the fallacy of sending unformed and often unconverted and definitely unprepared children into a system which is diametrically opposed to Christ in order to "be salt and light to the world." They are best trained as young living epistles when they are by my side when we encounter a homeless young mother and are moved with compassion to help her. Even if we are simply encouraging that clerk at Wal-Mart who is near tears from a rude customer, we can always be training our children to spread the love of Jesus around. Who will be that example in the classroom? I homeschool because I love having the time for long conversations with my children. I love it when we read aloud from some classic that would be considered too hard in most schools and they beg "just one more chapter, please mom." Yes, there will come a day when the cold, hard reality of life hits them, and they are all alone in a hostile environment. And I do not shudder at that for them, because I know that by being nurtured during their formative years, and trained for this very situation, they will be sturdier and more prepared than if I had tossed them as seedlings into the elements.