I have some friends who are considering homeschooling. Kevin has been blogging some about his research and thoughts on the idea, since they will have a kindergartner next Fall. He is very smart & well-spoken on the issues and has obviously been reading a lot about it. I just read his last post, and feel passionate enough about the comments made to post my own response on my own blog. You may want to read his before you read mine.
First let me start by saying that we are not the type of homeschoolers that believe this is what everyone should do, Christian or otherwise. I won't tell you this is what you should do or should be doing-- if you're not, just the same as I wouldn't accept you telling me what I should or shouldn't do with my children. I write assuming that if you didn't want to hear my experiences which naturally leads to my opinions-- regarding homeschooling (or anything)--then you wouldn't be reading my blog.
Why do I homeschool? Because Brad AND I simply feel called to it. I researched every type of school there is, and actually felt called to homeschool when Luke was 4. (There is SO much to that statement, but I don't have time or space to elaborate on it right now. Ask me later.) Okay, so I said I felt called, but I didn't say that I obeyed...I was afraid I wasn't "cut out" for it, etc. Luke went to public school for kindergarten, based on..."it's just kindergarten" and "great school system". I loved the teacher. I volunteered there as much as possible. But at every parent/teacher conference, I was reminded of that calling. I also learned from the teacher that the entire first semester, is basically teaching students how to survive the classroom experience-- raising hands, sitting quietly at the desk or in the circle w/o "talking out", not talking while the teacher was talking, etc. In other words, they were learning how to NOT be social. They came back from lunch (20 minutes to eat, so NO time for talking!), had recess, and laid down on the mats for naptime. I learned that after 12 noon, I could take Luke home and he wouldn't have missed a thing....except yes, maybe that 20 minutes of recess (or social time, if running around screaming heads off is what you'd call being social). Did I mention that my son learned the finger, the f-word, and I'm sure other various words and things I still don't know? At 5, should he really be expected to be a missionary to the kids teaching these things? I don't think so. More on that later...
So then, first grade came, and I'd gotten a part-time teaching position at a Christian school! This was it. My out. God had handed me a job where I could feel good about running from my calling, all while paying half of my paycheck back to the school, and using the other half to pay for all the meals out, new "real job" clothes, and just driving back and forth every day. (Wow. There's another controversial post for Moms about working or staying home---is it worth it? I guess you know what I think.) So I know God has His hand in everything, no matter the choices I make, and so with this I believe I needed the confidence to know that I could teach. I learned how to "lesson plan". I learned a lot about being a teacher. I prayed a lot this year about what God wanted, because I would walk by my son's classroom and feel guilty that I spent half of the day with other people's kids, and the other half planning for the next day with other people's kids. I also learned that Christian schools aren't filled with good little Christian kids, who know and love the Lord and plan to be missionaries when they grow up. It's still up to the parents, and believe me, I could tell which kids' parents taught them at home, and which sent them to the Christian school, in order to make them "Christian". Yikes.
So when people ask me about the social aspect of homeschooling, and by that they mean the "lack of", I tell them what God showed me, by working as a teacher at a school. I'd walk down the hall at school and see kids lined up to go the bathroom, but not allowed to talk, or they'd disturb the class nearby. I tell them that "classtime is not social time", and those are exact words I used to use as a teacher to quiet the class down. I tell them that my son, because he was talking in class after finishing his work (which he usually did quickly in order to be able to play and talk) would miss out on recess (social time) most days as a punishment for being social. So what part of socialization are my kids missing? My kids are some of the most social kids I know. They talk confidently and openly to anyone. Actually, I think they're TOO social for traditional school.
Brad is the one that finally brought up the idea of homeschooling again. We prayed together about it, and the more I researched all of the curriculum out there, the more excited I got. I gave it to God, and He reminded me that I can't do anything without Him anyway. His power is made perfect in weakness, and so this was how I was to give Him glory. And I do everyday.
For us, the question of whether our kids should go back into schools has always been...."let's take it year by year." We know God will tell us what to do when it's time. We also know that He who began a good work in us, will continue to be faithful to complete it.
