Our Decision to Homeschool

"Education doesn't need to be reformed - it needs to be transformed.  The key to this transformation is not to standardize education but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions." -Sir Keen Robinson

"The foundation and power of successful Christian homeschooling is found in the quiet resolve of two parents who are committed to teaching their children to be fully devoted, mature follows of Jesus Christ." -Heidi St. John

"We always talk about how we need to make the world a better place for our kids...we also need to make the kids better for our world." -Martin Malota

"People should be free to find or make for themselves the kinds of educational experiences they want their children to have." -John Hill

"No nation can remain free when the state has greater influence over the knowledge and values transmitted to children than the family does." -Ron Paul

"I don't see homeschooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools.  I think that the home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education.  Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools were." -John Holt

When David and I first got married and started talking about having children, we casually discussed schooling options.  We discussed private and public school, neither of us thinking much into homeschooling as an option.  The more we discussed the public/private debate, the more problematic issues popped up for us on both ideas.  Neither of us were terribly comfortable with the instruction being given in public schools now, nor with the learning environment there.  But private school certainly is expensive, and we would probably need part of my salary to pay for that.  We had always planned for me to stay at home with our children until the youngest got to kindergarten, but even then we weren't sure that we were okay with me going back to work full time.  So the private school option presented a financial issue.

It was only when we discovered these hurdles that we broached the idea of homeschooling with each other.  When we were growing up homeschooling was soooooo radical, and, while I always supported the rights of parents to homeschool if they wished, it was never something I had thought I'd want to do (side note here - I grew up in public school and David grew up in private school, both of which were great, but so much has changed since then).  But the more we looked at it, the more it appealed to us.

Fast forward to getting pregnant with Joseph.  During the pregnancy, of course we knew we had 5-6 years to decide on a "formal" school option for Joseph, and even longer for any other kids that we may have.  But we couldn't seem to shake the idea of homeschooling out of our head at that point.  It's like God put it there, even when we hesitated initially. So we started praying about it.  It may not make sense to some people to have a prayer answered so clearly YEARS before you need that answer.  In fact, this is probably the first time in my life it has happened to me.  But the more we prayed about it, the more God confirmed for both of us that homeschooling is HIS will for our family.  It is not right for everyone, but it is what He has put on our hearts to do.  So I guess I should say, our NUMBER ONE reason for homeschooling is that God wants us to!  However, I will say that, in the year or so since we received that confirmation in our hearts from Him, I have become OFF THE CHARTS excited about the years ahead of me of teaching my children (and, for those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, you know we've already started "Baby Homeschool" at our house).

Now let me be clear, this decision is not going to make life easy.  Homeschooling, ironically, is NOT the cheapest option.  Public school clearly is the cheapest.  Homeschooling parents still have to buy a curriculum, and those can get pricey (although not as pricy as private school!).  Homeschooling until our children finish high school, which is our plan, means I am never going back to work, or, at very least, not until all of our kids are out of the house (and maybe not even then - I LOVE being a homemaker).  Our financial advisor has me marked as "retired" on our system.  It is overwhelming to think how we will raise children, send them to college, and still have David retire at a semi-normal age when living off just one income.  But when the Lord has told us he will provide for us in homeschooling, we are not to doubt.  So we have the luxury of being able to move ahead confidently with our plans.

As I said, our true reason for homeschooling is because we truly believe it to be God's will for us and our children.  But I'd like to use this post to explain a few of our own motivations (in no particular order) behind homeschooling as well.  I could throw millions of statistics at you, but in this particular post I don't think anyone is really interested in that.  This is simply a high level overview of why we are planning to do what we are planning to do:

1) Spiritual reasons: David and I want our children to look at the world through "God-colored glasses."  We recognize and rejoice in the fact that God is involved every single area of life - from the presidential election, to the animals in the African jungles; from the smallest molecule in a test tube to the biggest math equation a calculator can handle.  He created it all, and no parts of our lives are to be separate from Him.  By homeschooling, we can constantly point our children to the presence of the One who made it all, whether that's on a field trip to the zoo or in a science experiment.

2) We believe we can give our children a better education at home: Statistics show it - schools, particuarly US public schools, are largely failing students.  The numbers are incredible - from high school graduates who can't read to elementary kids that consistently perform below grade level.  By teaching my own child (with a LOT of help from the Lord), and focusing on their own strengths and weaknesses, I believe the education I can give them is better than the one they can receive elsewhere.

3) Poor learning environment at school: David and I are not a big fan of the learning environment that many children are exposed to in school today.  The fact that teachers are expected, unreasonably, to meet the needs of 20-30 different children with different learning styles, different needs, and different interests, make it hard to create an effective learning environment for children in general.  We believe that, at home, we can give our children a better environment in which to discover the world.

4) Objection to what schools teach: We aren't crazy about a lot of the things being taught in schools today.  Textbooks are being written to reflect things that don't line up with our beliefs, and we don't want our children to get only the "one side of the story" that they often would at school.  And, while choosing the right private school would mitigate some of this, it is still no guarantee that the curriculum your child is taught is in line with what you are wanting them to learn.

5) Homeschooling if an extra way to develop a child's character and morality: Yes, these things can be developed in a child no matter where they go to school.  But the extra time with a child just gives a parent more time to "train a child up in the way they should go..."

6) Safety concerns: Columbine.  Sandy Hook.  A school in Asia where multiple children were victims of a mass stabbing.  The list goes on and on.  These threats to children's safety are things that we felt neither public nor private school could properly mitigate.  YES, bad things can happen anywhere (home included).  BUT, at home, I have ways to protect myself and my children and given them a better chance at coming out of an incident alive.  While home invasions do happen, I feel like my child is safer with me there to defend them in such an incident then they would be in a mass shooting at school.

7) Mitigation of negative influences: Drug use, peer pressure, and encouragement of sexual activities run high in our schools today.  I fully realize that a child cannot be "sheltered" from such influences forever, and that, to SOME degree, they have to learn to live in the "real world."  But I do not subscribe to the theory that human beings have to be exposed to such things at young ages in order to be able to deal with life.  Homeschooling is, for us, a type of "spiritual greenhouse" in which our children will be sheltered UNTIL they are at a maturity point to deal with such issues in a more adult way.

8) Ability to teach child at their own rate of learning: Many, many homeschoolers I know may be a grade ahead in certain subjects and on-target in others.  And if a homeschooled child is struggling in a particular area, the parent has the time to give them the added attention on that subject they need to excel.  I like the ability to challenge or assist my child at a rate that is most beneficial to them.

9) Flexibility in curriculum: Will we follow an "accredited" curriculum so that our child can more easily apply to college (if they choose to do so)?  Sure.  BUT, I love that in homeschooling you can add in whatever classes you find approrpiate.  We plan to add etiquette and Bible, to name a couple.

10) Convenience: I love that I won't have to rush to get my child ready for school in the morning - to make sure coats are on, homework is in the backpack, and lunch is packed.  I love that we will start our school days right in our own home, and that I can have a load of laundry going or cloth diapers hanging on the line to dry while I teach our children.  I love that I can make them wholesome lunches in my own kitchen every day at lunchtime.  These conveniences are hard to beat.

11) Family time: I realize not every family wants, or needs, the time together that our family does.  But the fact is, David and I are serious "quality time" people, and thus far Joseph shows signs of being the same.  By my calculations, sending a child off to school from grades K-12 means they are out of the house and in school for approximately 16,380 hours of their life.  For our family, this is just too much.  They grow up so fast, and those years are so precious.  I know I can't have my children with me all the time, but I want as much time as I can during these special years.   If I struggle to be away from my child for more than 3 hours, I'm not sure I could handle sending my kids off to school every day.

12) Travel flexibility: I love that homeschooling allows me to keep "schooling" my children while traveling.  Trips can, but don't HAVE, to mean a break from school.  In fact, vacations are excellent "field trip" opportunities.  Already, I did an abridged version of baby homeschool on our last trip to see David's family in the mountains (and we did it before anyone else got up, so it didn't interfere with our time with them).  There are so many ways to work with a family's schedule.

13) Child too young to go to school: For those of you who have read about Joseph's baby homeschool curriculum, you know that we never feel it's too early for a child to start learning.  And there are few "schools" we could send him to at his age where he would get such a purposeful early learning plan.  So, for the time being, the ability to "school" a child before he can be "schooled" is a huge plus to homeschooling! :-)

Like I said many times, most of these reasons are very unique to our family, and to how David and I feel we want our children to be raised.  None of these reasons make homeschooling the right choice for every family.  But I'm glad I got to share the reasons that we are planning to teach our children at home.