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by Wayne S. Walker
We have been homeschooling formally now for over ten years. However, I certainly do not claim that we are experts. By trial and error we have found some things that work for us while things that otherhave recommended did not work. Our homeschooling journey seems to be progressing well, although there have been bumps along the way and at some times it has been an adventure! We do not feel that our ways and materials are necessarily for everyone. Many different methods and plans are available for homeschoolers, and each family will have to investigate and determine what is best for it. We cannot say that what works for us will work for everyone.
As I have mentioned before, we had given serious consideration to homeschooling from the very time that our children arrived, and even before, and had done quite a bit of research into the subject. However, I can still remember the feelings that began coming as the time drew nearer to commence formal instruction, and the question that kept comingto mind was, "Exactly what in the world do we do to get started?" This is a question that has been asked frequently of us by others who were considering home education, so I want to share with you some thoughts on the matter. Probably the first step in getting started is to decide why you want to homeschool. This is sometimes referred to as determining your educational philosophy.
1. Some homeschool because they feel that the classroom model of instruction is inherently wrong. I am not among this number. I do not necessarily believe that classroom instruction is all bad. For many years, one form of it or another well served the educational needs of this nation. At the same time, I do not think that it is the only way to provide an acceptable education, and the more I read, the more I am convinced that perhaps it is not even the best way.
2. Some homeschool because they feel that they can provide a better education than the public schools do. There are undoubtedly some good schools and teachers out there. Not all of them are bad. However, when Bob Taft ran for Governor of Ohio in 1998 and his platform included providing special tutors in schools to make sure that all students could read by third or fourth grade, that should have indicated that something was wrong! Why do we have teachers to begin with? And what ever happened to grades one and two?
3. Some homeschool because they feel that they do not want theirchildren exposed to the humanist-socialist-elitist-leftist agenda thatseems to control much of what is done in public schools today. Our schools are plagued with politically correct texts, values-free sex education. evolution taught as fact, revisionist history, homosexual rights (euphemistically called "diversity"), condom handouts, and so forth. This is one of my most important reasons for homeschooling.
4. Some homeschool because they do not want their children to be "socialized" during their most formative years with the wrong crowd. Far too many classrooms contain certain groups of kids who are rowdy, disrespectful, foul-mouthed, unruly, and otherwise undesirable. And, unfortunately, in many cases the teachers simply look on helplessly because they have been made powerless to maintain even any semblance of reasonable discipline.
5. Some homeschool because they just want their children to be safe. On the one hand, we cannot live in constant fear, or else we would never do anything. And we cannot remove all risks. On the other hand, we do need to take reasonable precautions to avoid knowingly unsafe places. We would not send a child alone into a dark alley at night. Recent events demonstrate that many public schools are simply not safe places. When we have to have metal detectors and police patrols in schools, something is radically wrong!
6. While all these are legitimate reasons to homeschool, most who choose to homeschool do so because they want to return to family-oriented and parent-directed education, or at least if that is not the reason why they start they soon decide that this is the reason to continue.
"Public" school actually does not exist any longer. By definition, a public school is one run by the "public," where the people of a local community establish and operate the school. In earlier days, the public schools were considered "in loco parentis," and the parents' concerns and needs regarding the schools were taken care of by having the decisions made by an elected school board consisting of local people such as businessmen, civic leaders, ministers, and other individuals, most of whom were parents themselves.
However, while elected school boards still exist, they do not really run the schools any more. They may make some decisions regarding hiring and financing, but that is about all. Decisions as to what to teach and how to teach it are now made by the teachers' unions, the courts, government bureaucrats, and politicians. The majority of school-board members nowadays are not simply concerned citizens but former or frustrated teachers whose primary goal, whether stated or not, is to promote the teachers' union's agenda. And often the position of school board member is looked upon as merely a stepping stone to higher political office. So, we do not have "public schools." We have "governments schools," where the real power is not exercised at the local level but at the state and federal level, and the parents' interests are simply not a concern. Homeschooling is a way for parents to take back the education of their children from this government-run monopoly.
While it is possible to "do the right thing for the wrong reason," there are not really any right or wrong answers to the question, "Why do I want to homeschool?" Any reason or combination of reasons that is good enough for you is the right reason for you. Several of the factors listed above entered into our reasoning. Homeschooling is an intensely personal decision. However, thinking about and knowing your own reasons as to why you want to do it or are considering it can be helpful in making future decisions as to what method to follow, what curriculum to choose, and so forth.
Reprinted by Permission
About the author:
Wayne S. Walker is a long time homeschool father and leader in Missouri. He publishes Biblical Homeschooling, a helpful, insightful newsletter on the internet at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biblicalhomeschooling/
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