Homeschooling

DiscipleOfIAm · Dec 27, 2004

I know there is a separate forum for this subject, but I wanted the feedback of my fellow Baptist/Anabaptists on it.

My wife and I have two children at present. Two girls, ages 5 and 2. The 5 year old finished her first semester of public school kindergarten just before Christmas.

Having come from a small public school myself, the public school issue wasn't a concern of mine. Needless to say, my family (parents, grandparents, sisters, etc) is anti-homeschool. The usual arguments of no social skills, how can the parent teach better than a "trained" teacher, etc, etc. That sort of thing.

However, our reasons for wanting to homeschool are more to limit what our children are subjected to or taught. Ensuring a strong Biblical education. Which brings me to the point that our local Baptist church has a private Christian school teaching A Beka. The problem there is the cost. $300 per month or so to attend. Plus other aspects including all the pro-homeschooling aspects.

We have wanted to homeschool for quite some time, but haven't felt we were in the position to do it yet. We are strongly leaning towards it for the next year and beyond. We are finally stable enough and have researched it thoroughly, etc. We are leaning towards the Sonlight Curriculum or the A Beka. We've heard pros and cons of both.

Anyway, does anyone have any Biblical referrence to homeschooling? Does anyone here homeschool and what curriculum is working for you? Any thoughts at all?

God Bless

rural_preacher · Dec 27, 2004

My wife and I homeschool our two children. We use a variety of materials. You might want to check out Bob Jones material. They are very good but not quite as demanding on your child as ABeka Books material.

http://www.bjup.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

--

lucypevensie · Dec 27, 2004

I can't think of specific scriptures that speak about types of schools. But the Bible is very clear on the important responsibility of parents training up our children in the way they should go. No school can really do that quite like a parent can! At my own kids (private Christian) school, one of the mission statements is that the school exists to support parents and what we teach them at home. I like that because it implies that we as parents are ultimately responsible for what our children learn.

I know lots of homeschooling families. For the most part I have been very impressed! The kids love it too. There is usually less classroom time, you can give very specific individual attention to each child.

The socialization argument is so silly. Kids don't go to school for the sole purpose of socializing anyway. The homeschooled kids I know are far from friendless!

I admire parents who take on this big challenge. It's a learning experience for all involved, parents and kids alike. Some people find that their homeschooling can only go so far and they end up using a regular school, but that's OK.

I'm just kind of rambling, but there you go...

ZiSunka · Dec 27, 2004

Deuteronomy 11:18-25 18 So commit yourselves completely to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. 22 "Be careful to obey all the commands I give you; show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and clinging to him. 23 Then the LORD will drive out all the nations in your land, though they are much greater and stronger than you. 24 Wherever you set your feet, the land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. F27 25 No one will be able to stand against you, for the LORD your God will send fear and dread ahead of you, as he promised you, wherever you go in the whole land.Parents are responsible for educating their children, especially about the things of the Lord, so I think it's very scriptural for you to homeschool your kids so they can receive this teaching at a price you can afford.

At the time the Bible was written, there were no schools for children, and the schools for adults were all about learning and understanding the scriptures. Parents had the sole responsibilit for making sure children had everything they needed to know in order to make it in the world. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that the idea of a free public education came into being, and even then it was mostly about learning to read and write and do math so the kids would be prepared to study and understand scripture and to make a profit at business. It probably never occured to the writers of the Bible that there might be a day when parents subjected the education of their children to paid strangers like we most naturally do these days.

TwinCrier · Dec 27, 2004

I don't homeschool myself, but a sight I like reading has some info. on it that may be of interest: http://famteam.com Below is a sarcasticly humorous list of reasons not to homeschool, that shines the light on the rasons many give for being against it.

Ten Reasons Not to Homeschool

Why send your kids to public schools rather than homeschool. Here are ten good reasons:
10. Skill development: Government schools do a great job of teaching children to sit down and shut up while the teacher engages in crowd control and mindless administrative duties. The ability to put one's mind on hold, sit there and do nothing is a skill that will be in high demand in the competitive marketplace of the future.

9. Lack of ability: I couldn't teach my own child - I don't know how. After all, anything meaningful in life can only be taught by those properly trained and certified to do so.

8. Financial aspects: We can't financially afford to homeschool. Without the school based health clinics, how could we afford to keep our children supplied with condoms and birth control.

7. Goals 2000: I want my children to learn all the correct stuff. Given how fast history changes, I want to be sure they are up on the most recent version.

6. Scheduling benefits: Staying on the same schedule as everybody else has its benefits. That way, when we go to Orlando, we can make sure that we spend our time waiting in lines rather than wasting it on all those rides and attractions.

5. Close friendships: I like the fact that my children are spending so much of their time with people not in their family. I would much rather my children's closest friendships be outside the family rather than within.

4. Separation of church and state: As long as we keep church and state separate, then the more time I can keep my kids under the control of the state, the less time they can possible be under the harmful influence of the church.

3. Socialization: What possible better way could there be to give your children the social skills they will need as adults than to stick them with children their own age all day. Besides, the best influence on your child is the one randomly assigned to the seat behind him or her in home room.

2. Class size: Learning can't occur in groups of less than twenty students. There is nothing quite like being lock-stepped through material with thirty other students to really develop within a person that true love for learning.

1. Class pace: I want my child to know how to learn at the proper pace. If a child can't keep up with the class, then it serves that child right to be left behind in the dust. If the child is learning too fast, then he or she needs to learn to slow down. And besides, what gives any child the right to assume that he or she can learn things he or she wants to learn rather than what the Federal Government decides should be taught for any given grade level. Anything learned at the wrong time might just as well be left unlearned.

DiscipleOfIAm · Dec 27, 2004

TwinCrier said:
I don't homeschool myself, but a sight I like reading has some info. on it that may be of interest: http://famteam.com Below is a sarcasticly humorous list of reasons not to homeschool, that shines the light on the rasons many give for being against it.

Ten Reasons Not to Homeschool

Why send your kids to public schools rather than homeschool. Here are ten good reasons:
10. Skill development: Government schools do a great job of teaching children to sit down and shut up while the teacher engages in crowd control and mindless administrative duties. The ability to put one's mind on hold, sit there and do nothing is a skill that will be in high demand in the competitive marketplace of the future.

9. Lack of ability: I couldn't teach my own child - I don't know how. After all, anything meaningful in life can only be taught by those properly trained and certified to do so.

8. Financial aspects: We can't financially afford to homeschool. Without the school based health clinics, how could we afford to keep our children supplied with condoms and birth control.

7. Goals 2000: I want my children to learn all the correct stuff. Given how fast history changes, I want to be sure they are up on the most recent version.

6. Scheduling benefits: Staying on the same schedule as everybody else has its benefits. That way, when we go to Orlando, we can make sure that we spend our time waiting in lines rather than wasting it on all those rides and attractions.

5. Close friendships: I like the fact that my children are spending so much of their time with people not in their family. I would much rather my children's closest friendships be outside the family rather than within.

4. Separation of church and state: As long as we keep church and state separate, then the more time I can keep my kids under the control of the state, the less time they can possible be under the harmful influence of the church.

3. Socialization: What possible better way could there be to give your children the social skills they will need as adults than to stick them with children their own age all day. Besides, the best influence on your child is the one randomly assigned to the seat behind him or her in home room.

2. Class size: Learning can't occur in groups of less than twenty students. There is nothing quite like being lock-stepped through material with thirty other students to really develop within a person that true love for learning.

1. Class pace: I want my child to know how to learn at the proper pace. If a child can't keep up with the class, then it serves that child right to be left behind in the dust. If the child is learning too fast, then he or she needs to learn to slow down. And besides, what gives any child the right to assume that he or she can learn things he or she wants to learn rather than what the Federal Government decides should be taught for any given grade level. Anything learned at the wrong time might just as well be left unlearned.

Those are great! I sent it to my wife to look over, too. She has a lot of those type list/articles.

Thanks!

RED that's ME · Dec 28, 2004

RED that's ME · Dec 28, 2004

This is from John Gatto. He was voted teacher of the year in New York City
in 1990.
The Unsung Benefits of Homeschooling

Homeschooling yields positive academic, social, emotional, and spiritual
benefits for any family that gives it an honest chance. By now it's no
secret that all the research shows homeschooled children outstrip both
their public- and private-school peers in every academic area. Less well
known are these benefits:

Safety Benefits. Years ago, strangers used to ask me, "What about
socialization?" Now, when I tell them I homeschool, they say, "I don't
blame you. The schools have become so dangerous!"

As a homeschooler, you won't have to worry about who is taking guns and
knives to your local school. Your child also won't have to fear school
bullies. According to a press release we received early this year:

Six out of ten American teenagers witness bullying in school once a day or
even more frequently, reported John A. Calhoun, President and CEO of the
National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC). The national group . . . released
findings from a survey conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide that show that
bullying is the terrorist threat that most frightens America's teenagers
and interferes with their education. Young people are far less concerned
about external terrorist attacks on their schools and communities than they
are about the bully terrorizing them and their classmates in the hallways
and classrooms of their schools.

Less Exposure to Alcohol and Drugs. Most kids don't get their drugs at
home. They get them at or near school. According to a study conducted by
the National Center for Substance Abuse, and reported in Family Research
Council's Washington Update online newsletter, "5 million high schoolers --
31% -- say they "binge drink" at least once a month. . . . A teenager who
starts drinking at 15 is four times more likely to become alcohol dependent
than one who waits until the legal age to drink." Add to this the huge
numbers of kids abusing inhalants, street drugs, and even their classmates'
Ritalin, and it's a problem many of us would just as soon avoid.

Emotional Benefits. Emotional bullying-name calling, mockery, and
humiliation-can be just as devastating as physical bullying. Smart kids,
special-needs kids, and anyone unlucky enough to appear "different" can
expect a steady diet of this negative emotional input in a typical school.
Since research has shown that kids need to feel safe in order to learn,
simply removing a child from the emotional pressure cooker of peer
pressure, gangs, and cliques may produce enormous learning gains all by
itself.

Ritalin-Free Kids. Boys get a double dose of labeling, as schools
increasingly label typical male behavior as "ADD" or "ADHD." In fact, any
child with low body fat (making it uncomfortable to sit still for long
periods in a hard chair) is at risk of being labeled "ADD" or "ADHD," which
in turn leads to pressure put on parents to medicate perfectly normal
children with psychoactive drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, or even Prozac.
At home, kids can sit on a nice soft couch, lie on the rug, or run around
when they need to burn off energy. Homeschool parents also tend to learn
child training methods that work, if only for self preservation! Instead of
blaming the kids' behavior on invisible "disorders" that are undetectable
by any medical test (3), homeschoolers learn to accept a wider range of
normal behavior. Kid still misbehaving? Don't pay big bucks to a
psychiatrist or open a self-help book. Ask any veteran homeschool mom with
a big family. She'll tell you what works!

Removes Sexual Pressure. According to a recent survey from the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 81 percent of kids aged 12-14 --
including those who have lost their chastity -- believe that kids today are
pressured to have sex too early. Younger and younger kids are trying to
dress and act sexy as well. Both school culture and sex-ed classes promote
the idea that "everyone is doing it" and that this is OK. And don't assume
this is not true in your local Christian or Catholic school, unless the
administration is making a real effort to keep things simple and sweet. In
homeschool, parents can wait until their children are of a reasonable age
to learn the facts of life. At home, parents are also free to add morals
and Scriptural teaching to the mix.

Builds Family Bonds. Homeschooling brings families closer together. Kids
thrive under parental attention, and parents get to really know their kids.
Homeschooled siblings tend to be more kind and helpful to each other, also.

Better Preparation for the Real World. Modern schools only seem normal to
us because we have been brought up from birth to accept them. Actually,
they are highly unnatural environments. Where else in your life will you
have to spend all day with a group of 15 to 35 people of your same age,
doing activities that never yield any usable result? In the real world, you
are with people of different ages, working together on real projects.
Families are more like this than schools are. And it's easier to give
homeschooled kids real-world adventures, such as participating in community
theatre, volunteering in a hospital, etc.

The Best Environment for Spiritual Training.
In the New Testament, the followers of Christ are called "disciples," not
"students." There's a reason for that! Disciples observe and model their
teacher's behavior. Students merely study; the word implies they receive
information, not application. At home, your children can see you apply your
beliefs, and hear what you think about life's various experiences, if they
have the chance to be around you enough.

Homeschooling

DiscipleOfIAm

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rural_preacher

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lucypevensie

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ZiSunka

It means 'yellow dog'

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TwinCrier

Double Blessed and spreading the gospel

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DiscipleOfIAm

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RED that's ME

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RED that's ME

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