OT – semi-political, formula for parenting?

Can I agree 100%?? To me, unless something is clearly stated in the Bible (and schooling options are not!), it is up for personal decision/following God’s leading.  As you probably know, we have several reasons for homeschooling our son, but they are perhaps not the standard ones, and we do not believe homeschooling is mandated by God.

I know plenty of people of my generation who were homeschooled, discplined in certain ways, and taught to see the world through only one lens without empathy for anyone who sees differently, who have RUN in the opposite direction as adults.  It makes me sad that they have turned against Christianity as a whole because of this.  It really breaks my heart.

Not to mention the guilt trip that the “guarantee” concept puts on those who CAN’T homeschool their children for one reason or another, or who believe that a Christian/Montessori/Waldorf/cottage school is a better fit for their family.  I have a friend who is a mother of a special-needs child and just honestly believes she is not qualified or able to homeschool her child.  KNowing her and her child, I agree with her.  She is extremely active in her son’s school (literally spends half of every day at the school, works with him for hours when he gets home).  He has progressed amazingly this year.  And yet, she often feels guilty about not homeschooling.  That is very sad to me.

Education is important.  Upholding beliefs at home is important. 

But, understanding is important.  Thinking outside the box is important.  Empathy is important.  What are we doing to teach these things to our children? 

I couldn’t agree with your last paragraph more.  Love and parenting do not fit in a single formula.  They are as vast and as various as the people and families that God has created. 

I think those types of post like the ones you are seeing on FB actually put a bad name on homeschooling. It is unfortunate.

I was not homeschooled. My husband either. We both grew up in Christian homes going to public schools.  I have at times felt isolated and even judged myself b/c we were not homeschooled as children.

Well, I totally agree that prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit is the MOST important part of rearing children who grow to love the Lord. I do see a pervading pressure on parents in the homeschooling community…a feeling that thier kids are more the product of what the parents have created than what God has created. A feeling that our kids must be successful in EVERYTHING – or we are to blame.

As individuals our kids have free will. Some of our kids will choose God, and some will not. We do not control our kids’ destinies – they have to develop personal relationships with Christ and they are the ones who choose whether or not to love the Lord.

BUT, I wouldn’t say that homeschooling is LESS likely to develop godly men and women. Aside from the strictly spiritual aspect, most homeschoolers are developing thier children in character and a Christian worldview that does ‘lean their tree’ toward Christ. As in, “Which way does a tree fall? It falls the way it leans. Be careful how you lean.” (And yes, got that from the Lorax 🙂

Let’s be careful to be balanced. No, not all homeschooled kids become Christians as adults. But are we giving them a better understanding of the REAL world – a world where moral absolutes and spiritual truth (ie: sin and salvation) are daily parts of life? For the most part, yes! And that does make a difference in the child’s life and in his ultimate spiritual choices. If you think that your children are just as likely to hear truth in a public school, you are very much mistaken.

Personally, I find that when we start depending on any government or political agency to solve all our problems, we are venturing toward idolatry. No government can legislate morality. A nation full of people loving God and serving thier neighbors is what would change the nation for the better.

Jumping off the soapbox now!!!!

Awww. Thanks :). Hope that we can all be encouraged that what we are teaching is valuable to them forever. God isn’t finished with any of us yet, and you never can tell when the fruit of what you are teaching today will appear.

Don’t have lots of time to post and certainly agree that prayer is essential! for our children… check out the book Already Gone by Ken Hamm – it’s super interesting about why kids raised in church are leaving the church as adults and it doesn’t come down to how they are schooled as much as it comes down to what they are taught from the youngest ages in terms of the truth of scripture and apologetics.  (our library had it on cd)  While there may not be a formula to ensure your kids turn out “right”, there are definitely certain things that you can do to make sure that they will have a high probability of leaving the faith at least for a time.

Dh and I happen to be products of the public school system, and we don’t feel we have turned out too badly.  I think it speaks volumes about our ps experience that we have chosen a different route for our children’s educations, but it would be wrong to say that we turned out poorly because of how we were educated. 

Unfortunately, opinions like those in the article have given homeschooling a bad reputation. I think it’s best not to go to extremes one way or another in how we think of either homeschools or public/private schools. Though it has a lot of weight, how a child is schooled does not in any way determine absolutely how that child will turn out as an adult. Rather, it is the combination of the parents, family, church or lack thereof, education, peers AND the child’s own choices as he/she matures. There comes a point when we as parents must stop trusting in ourselves to raise godly children and instead trust in the One who created our children.

If you all knew my testimony, you would probably be shocked that I turned out as well as I have. This is not to brag on myself, however, I know that it was ONLY by the grace and love of my Heavenly Father that I have the past that I have and became a strong woman of God.

Take those articles with a grain of salt. 

Blessings,

Lindsey