ForgottenWoman

My Personal #1 Reason

As parents, we are faced with decision after decision in the lives of our children. Too often, we lie awake at night wondering if we are making the correct choices. In today’s world of excessive information – literally at our fingertips – we are inundated with everyone’s opinions, research and studies, “experts” telling us what we should and should not be doing. To say that it can be overwhelming is an understatement.

The truth is that there is not one correct answer for many of our questions and concerns. When the Bible speaks of “Train up a child in the way he should go…” there is a supposition there. It is assumed that as parents we understand that each child is an individual and we need to work to KNOW our children and make our decisions in the day to day based on that knowledge. As a mom of 9, I can tell you that this is not an easy task, but it is so important. When I, as a parent, can see the value and uniqueness of the individual, I can do a much better job of meeting the needs and providing the experiences.

This leads me to the #1 reason that I chose to homeschool my children back in 1988 – before it was popular, before most people had even heard of it (in fact, I didn’t even know if it was legal – and didn’t know anyone else who did it!) It’s interesting to me to listen to people discuss home education and why they think some of us have chosen this route. To be honest; sometimes when I’ve had the discussion with those who teach inside the school setting, I’ve had to assure them that I didn’t make this choice because I don’t think they are good teachers. It actually makes me sad to think that anyone would assume that a parent making this decision is looking down on those who have chosen teaching others as their career – and some who have chosen it as their ministry!

No, I don’t think I’m smarter than those teaching in the school setting. No, I don’t distrust everyone outside of my home. No, I don’t want to shelter my children from everything in the world. No, I don’t think everyone who sends their children to public school is evil. Here’s the deal… I discovered very early on that I absolutely loved teaching my toddler basic things. Colors, numbers, letters, animal sounds, Scripture verses and more. It was early one morning when were taking a short trip to town for groceries that I saw a group of young children waiting for the school bus on the side of the road. My eldest was not yet 2! I literally began to cry. I looked at my husband and said, “I don’t think I can send him off every day to spend all of those hours with someone else. I want to keep teaching him!” My husband smiled in my direction and said, “Well, then don’t! Teach him at home!” At that moment, the idea began to take form in my mind.

YES, I value every single moment that I am able to pour into those that have been intrusted to my care! Yes, I feel that the responsibility for their health and education rests with me as their parent – and if I can find ways to best use our time and resources, I’m going to do it. That’s it. That is literally the first reason I ever considered home education.

In future articles we’ll discuss further the questions that many ask – Socialization, Quality of Education, Mom versus teacher; or at this point, Grandmommy versus teacher, Sports, Grading, College, Ability to Work, The Real World… While I’m happy to discuss each of these subjects, I will state as kindly as I know here: I have never felt the need to question friends and family members who choose public education for their children. I find it a bit frustrating that anyone feels the need to question those who choose home education – and yet, it is a very common stresser that many face while trying to do what we believe is best for our families.

For now, I’m going to enjoy a few hours of hanging out with my grandchildren and continue to be grateful that my sons and daughters-in-law allow me to pour into their lives – those whom I homeschool and those who attend public school. It’s simple for me. I hunker down with them as often as I can: whether they school with me or not. What a blessing it is to invest in lives in every way possible