Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Why We Homeschool

This could be an incredibly long post as there are so many facets to homeschooling. I really want this to be concise and to the point. Have you ever heard this verse:

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

I'm sure the majority of you reading this have. It's Deuteronomy 6:5. But do you know these verses:

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when though risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and thy gates.

These verses are the three verses that follow Deuteronomy 6:5. How can I teach my children to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and might, if I send them to public schools where they are taught that God does not exist, everything is relative, and parents don't matter? Educating our children is a God-given right, which is also a constitutional right. It is a right that is being closely watched by the government and which may become harder and harder to protect.

I don't know what all schools are like obviously, but I've taught and subbed in quite a few, and despite the presence of many godly teachers, I know this is not an environment where the majority of kids can flourish. I know there is much wasted time each day where the teacher is busily trying to keep up with too many students and just as many behavior problems.

I'm not writing this to condemn parents who send their kids to public school. I am writing this to state my beliefs on why we homeschool our children. And just so you know, there are many trying days when I think about how easy it would be to send my children to public school. But we persevere. I am blessed to have a husband who supports our family in homeschooling and provides so that I am able to stay at home. I know there are many families who would love to homeschool, but can't because of various reason. If you are a homeschooling family, I applaud you and I encourage you to keep going when it's difficult.

It's hard to stop there, but I will. I'd love to hear why you homeschool!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here here!

Train up a child in the way he should go...

What shall it profit a man...

Heidi said...

Amen!

Especially the part about how there is just no way that PS can be the best environment for every kid (or even most in my opinion)

Mrs. E said...

I agree with you 100 percent. I too, had lots of experence in the public school setting, as a student and substitute teacher. I believe that Christian parents should either homeschool or send their children to Christian schools. I will begin homeschooling my son for kindergarten instruction this Fall.