Know Why You Homeschool

Before you research curriculum and purchase supplies, do you know why you homeschool? You should; it makes all the difference in the world.

When we think of education, there are actually three ways we view children:

1. Child as product.

This is the “factory” idea most of us are familiar with. We take a tot, pop him into the system, and out comes a “unit” social engineers can funnel into whatever conduit to fulfill the tasks the political machine deems necessary. Those who do not do well within the mechanism are marginalized and labeled as “failures.”

2. Child as salvation.

This puts great pressure on the child. He must go above and beyond his human abilities and become the salvation of the race (or the country or the family or the parents) via his Herculean intellect, super-human righteousness, and grave spirituality. He is going to show the naysayers how a tiny baby can be trained to take the world by the tail and turn it right-side up.

3. Child as person.

He is an eternal person, created in the image of God. This means he has implied worth, with unique thoughts and aspirations. Parents are necessary to keep a child safe from himself, the world, and others, and to point him to God via instruction. But a parent also must realize that this child is only on loan, that he belongs to God, and God allows him the freedom to choose.

So why DO we homeschool?

Three main reasons:

1. Responsibility.

Jesus said:

But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:14 nkjv

When we abandon our children to the care of a godless education system, we forbid them to come to Jesus. Why? Because secular education destroys any notion of Jesus by default since He is not allowed in any subject. Nothing was created except through him; not stars or mountains or tiny sea plankton, yet He is never mentioned in science programs. He created communication and language, but His words are not included in English and literature class. He is a God of order who formulated the Golden Ratio and knows the number of hairs on our head, yet you will not find Him referenced in math textbooks. He is the center point of history (B.C.–before Christ and A.D. the year of our Lord), but we even try to hide this under the C.E. and B.C.E nonsense.

Everything belongs to Him, but public schooling leads children to believe that nothing belongs to Him, except perhaps for two hours on Sunday morning.

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell therein.
Psalm 24:1

This alone “forbids” little ones from coming to God, but then add in the current perversion and mutilation in the name of “inclusion,” and you have another situation all together. Parents who put their children in such a position should tremble. Not only are they harming their precious offspring, but they are culpable to God.

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10:30-31

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Luke 17:22

Homeschooling allows us to obey God by bringing up our children in the “fear and admonition of the Lord.”

2. Joy.

There is so much I could say about the joys of homeschooling. As the homeschooling mother of 15 children for over three decades, I can tell you that I have had more fun than should be legal! I have been witness to a thousands of lights going on, of millions of eureka! moments, of voyages into the past and scientific discoveries of monumental significance. I have been able to soothe fears of my children and celebrate their achievements far better than I ever could have if they had been in conventional schooling.

And I have grown, too. What was amiss in my own education has been corrected a million times over by my homeschool re-education.

3. Family Cohesion.

When we relegate our children to a system outside of our control and influence, that system dictates many facets of our family life. The days, the weeks, the months, the holidays, all are engineered according to what the system needs, not what will build positive familial relationships and memories.

Children turn their allegiance and dependence from Mommy and Daddy to “Teacher.” Their peers are preferred to their siblings. The official “wisdom” which runs the majority of their waking hours becomes the standard by which they order their social lives.

When we homeschool, our days become our own. We have time to spend cuddling and looking into each other’s eyes when we speak. We enjoy familial fellowship cooking together, as well as enjoying the delicious results.

If Grandpa is ill and needs watching, we can drop the schedule and take care of him. Or we can simply spend the day gardening with Grandma and learning from her stories.

We don’t have to get permission to use the bathroom or go to the dentist. Nothing is stopping us if we want to go on a family picnic in the middle of the day in the middle of the week (and the park will be empty!).

As our children grow they will have a more organic understanding of how relationships work, and their family members will not be unnecessary appendages. From this strong foundation point we can build churches, communities, and governments with depth and permanence.

What are some reasons YOU decided to homeschool?