Why I homeschool

[mont974x4]

I know many people are thinking of yanking their kids from public schools in light of the school shootings. I understand that motivation. It is not why I homeschool.

The core of our decision was a conviction that as parents my bride and I are responsible for the raising of our kids. A huge part of that is their education.

That does not mean that God did not use some situations in the schools to prod us along.

Our boys were in public school until last year. In one year we had a teacher murdered by her husband and then he killed himself. The murder occurred in their home. She had been my sons 4th grade teacher. The murder occurred when he was in the 6th grade. That same year one of my sons classmates murdered another classmate while playing in his apartment.

I was very pleased with how the school responded to both of these tragedies.

There have been random threats by students at various area schools. There have been random sexual assaults.

There is the quality of education issue as well. My son was on the honor roll, but he was not a good speller. He had no idea who George Washington was.

All that said, the bottom line is we were convicted about our responsibility to our boys. We came to understand that we will be held accountable for how we raise our boys. We were actively involved in their education before we started homeschooling. We just took that involvement to what we believe God has called us to as parents.



That does not mean we are isolating them. Our boys are involved in AWANA and other church activities. They spend time with their friends who go to local schools. They have volunteered with Special Olympics. They are taking music lessons (1 for the bass and 1 for drums).

 

[P311031]

I homeschool

I homeschool because I love my children.
I homeschool because my children can get an actual education at home with me.
I homeschool because I don't want my children mixed with non believers.
I homeschool because I don't want my children in the evil system.

 

[TadQueasy]

All that said, the bottom line is we were convicted about our responsibility to our boys. We came to understand that we will be held accountable for how we raise our boys. We were actively involved in their education before we started homeschooling. We just took that involvement to what we believe God has called us to as parents.
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Well said.
Definitely something parents want to pray about and do what the Lord leads in each situation.

 

[TadQueasy]

I homeschool because I love my children.
I homeschool because my children can get an actual education at home with me.
I homeschool because I don't want my children mixed with non believers.
I homeschool because I don't want my children in the evil system.

Don't care for responses like this. This makes it seem like parents who do not homeschool do not love their children.

 

[annsni]

I DO want my children to be around unbelievers - as is appropriate and with guidance as they grow. I've seen the children who grow up in families that are complete separatists are the ones who leave the faith as they grow because their life situation is fake and not at all what the Bible speaks about.

Instead, I have my kids at home when they are young. We meet with unsaved kids at the beach, the park, at different events that we go to and in our neighborhood. Usually at this stage, they are with me.

As they grow, they begin to be around the unsaved a bit more as they participate in organized sports and clubs. Again, I'm around but less involved.

Then eventually, they go to public school in high school (at least that's what I did with my older kids). By this time they are well grounded, know what is truth and what is not and are no longer "shielded" since they are now young adults. They have learned how to be in the world but not of the world. They make friends and influence people - the saved in a dark world. They are able to bring others to the Lord or to introduce them to a real Christianity - a life that is lived for Christ that is not hateful but dedicated.

Now my older children are 20 and 22. One is graduating from college, the other is a junior. Both will be working "in the world" and will be lights in the darkness. They are well liked by their peers - and have never compromised their lifestyle.

So why do I homeschool? To raise children as God has called me to. To protect them from influences before they are ready for them - but then gently release them as they grow stronger. Think of hardening off plants. That's what I'm doing as I homeschool and slowly release them to a world that is not their own.

 

[Melanie]

I took 4 kids who are home schooled on an outing today. We had a of fun, it was a big day out with a bus load of folks of all sorts.

We were in the back seat so we could be altogether as a 5 some.The homeschooled kids I have met have SUPERB MANNERS, act as children and are ALWAYS chaperoned.

We had a quiet singsong on the way home ranging from the usual travelling songs of "One man went to mow" to "Mr McGinty's Goat".

We picnic ed alittle away from the others so we could pray before our meal without being thought odd.

Homeschooled children are innocent of the filth of the world, but as they grow,their parents expose them to the outer world with the tools and fortitude to deal with it.

 

[heisrisen]

Awesome! I homeschool because public school will teach my kids how to steer away from Jesus. It will teach evolution as fact, a lot of schools teach islam and make the kids write allah is god, but won't teach Christianity. I think my kids will learn best from me, and I try to show them how to handle real life situations. I want them to actually be raised by me and not by the state. This is what I feel is God's plan for my life so I'm going with it.

 

[dyanmarie25]

I don't have kids yet, but honestly, I don't think I would ever consider homeschool for my children in the future. I want them to experience what I have experienced when I was young. I want them to mingle with other people and live like a normal child. I want them to learn from their mistakes and take those life lessons as they grow up.

 

[Don]

Socialization is one of the most misunderstood things about homeschooling.

You mentioned in another thread that you miss the summer camps; homeschool kids go to those. We actively sought out homeschool groups in the areas we've lived. My kids played sports through church, homeschool, and other groups. They hung out with other kids from their church groups.

There's no lack of opportunity to "make their own mistakes."

 

[annsni]

I don't have kids yet, but honestly, I don't think I would ever consider homeschool for my children in the future. I want them to experience what I have experienced when I was young. I want them to mingle with other people and live like a normal child. I want them to learn from their mistakes and take those life lessons as they grow up.

That's exactly what homeschooling kids do. My kids mingle with a ton of other people - and not just people who are within a few months of their age. They mingle with toddlers, adults, seniors, teens. They have more opportunities to experience things in their lives to be able to learn from their mistakes. What was very telling was when each of my kids entered the high school and I met with each teacher at back to school night, without exception, every single one said that my kids were more mature than their peers, better able to interact with the teachers and other students, were leaders in the class and were knowledgeable in their discussions in class. So in other words, they were better socialized than most of their peers.

 

[Lerie]

I am extremly nervous since I have a two year old daughter. I don't want her to go to some weird crazy school. Maybe homeschooling would be best.

 

[annsni]

I am extremly nervous since I have a two year old daughter. I don't want her to go to some weird crazy school. Maybe homeschooling would be best.

More than likely, you don't have a "weird crazy school" but just a regular old school in your neighborhood. You get involved, be in the classroom as a class mom and work to make your daughter's education the best it could be if public school is what you choose to do. Don't ever homeschool out of fear. You need to be driven to do it because it's not easy. It's not hard but it's not a walk in the park either. Pray about it and God will guide you!

 

[Lerie]

More than likely, you don't have a "weird crazy school" but just a regular old school in your neighborhood. You get involved, be in the classroom as a class mom and work to make your daughter's education the best it could be if public school is what you choose to do. Don't ever homeschool out of fear. You need to be driven to do it because it's not easy. It's not hard but it's not a walk in the park either. Pray about it and God will guide you!

Yes I guess I will be involved a lot in the school if and when my daughter starts school.
Thanks for the answer.

 

[ApollotheBrave]

I think I'll cross this bridge when I think of having my own kids. I've only ever studied in a private Catholic school so I wouldn't know the benefits of homeschooling from a personal perspective but I've also heard good things about it. I just want my children to have the same childhood that I had. We learn through the pain of education I suppose. I'll enroll them in a Christian school definitely though.

 

[evenifigoalone]

I don't have kids yet, but honestly, I don't think I would ever consider homeschool for my children in the future. I want them to experience what I have experienced when I was young. I want them to mingle with other people and live like a normal child. I want them to learn from their mistakes and take those life lessons as they grow up.

I was homeschooled. We had a group we participated in that provided things like PE and field trips, as well as just socializing with the other homeschoolers. I wouldn't say I missed out social-wise or experience-wise. I'm an introvert, but I'd still be an introvert even if I had gone to public school.
There are things I wish I had been taught, but those are also things public school doesn't really teach you.

Homeschooling is a lot of work, though, and one of the reasons I don't want children. My education went well, I'm glad for it, my mom did a good job. I just don't feel like I could do the same.

 

[SynodOfDort]

I've been listening to a bit on this topic recently! I feel like the trio over at the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals' "Mortification of Spin" podcast did an excellent job of handling the subject in an older episode I am feeling too lazy to track down on mobile... Will do it later

Overall, I believe it is the parent's responsibility to oversee the education of their children. Whether this means teaching them themselves, organizing tutors, choosing a private school or making an educated choice of a public school is their decision. I understand that home education could be a full-time job in itself for a parent, but I nonetheless think that there are distinct benefits.

Even if a parent chooses to do a publicly-funded distance learning K-12 program through their state they would be able to be in more control of what their brood soak in during formative years! A parent knows their child and their learning styles, strengths, and abilities than any teacher ever could. Children grow, both intellectually and physically, at differing rates. Wouldn't it make sense to tailor the education accordingly?

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[ReformedBaptist]

Our family is a homeschool family. My wife does all the work. ha! I do teach, but not the academics. I teach the Bible and theology in our family worship. There was a short season where I had 4 out of our 7 kids that wanted to try public school. I warned them of the environment and also mentioned some good things.

Since children are not qualified to be missionaries, I never laid that responsibility upon them. However, I encouraged them to be salt and light. The grades my kids experienced were 9th, 8th, 4th and 5th. I live in the south, in the Bible belt, and both the middle school and high school were cesspools. My son who was middle school at the time requested to leave because of the wickedness there. He went into a deep depression and only came out of it after returning home. My daughter faced every kind of temptation, kept her purity, struggled, but still finished with honors and achievements. She found the system to be inefficient as she could accomplish her subjects in 3-4 hours or less yet they kept her locked in for 8.

The grade school kids did ok. I found the school systems to be bossy, intrusive, and somewhat ignorant. They were definitely liberal minded and my children missed singing praise to Jesus and learning the Bible. With today's push toward gross immorality I cannot imagine having children in a government school. I don't think we are better Christians because we homeschool, but I cannot see how we could raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord by giving them over to godlessness 30-40 hours a week.

Academics is not all its cracked up to be. Raising a child to fear the Lord is the goal. It seems the culture has influenced believers to think we must prep them for college or...gasp...they won't be able to get a job. Why do you wish to train your kids to be employees anyway? Why teach them to start a small business?

Trust the Lord. Put the things of God first. The goal of child raising isn't to create worldlings. We are to make disciples. Pray the Lord to convert your children and give them the new birth at a very young age. Teach them to obey all that Christ commanded. Tell them that the most important reason for them to learn to read is so that they can read the Bible. Love them. Nurture their character and teach them the things they need.

We have found after 18 years of homeschooling that they will do well. In fact, they will do as well if not better than if they were publicly educated, but they will face A LOT less wicked and ungodly influences.