The more of an advocate one becomes of homeschooling, the more it begins to affect other aspects of life. It is a natural progression for homeschoolers to become homesteaders, or to prefer home church or family-integrated church over the mega church down the street. Not that all homeschoolers pursue such routes, but that some do is quite understandable.
The societal view of education does not end with education. It has impacted the rest of society. Somehow the definition of socialization requires having eaten lunch daily in a cafeteria full of kids, or riding on a yellow bus, or sitting in the same room with other children of the same age seven hours a day, one hundred eighty days a year. It has become natural and normal in our society for a working mother to leave her 6 week old baby in the care of another in order to continue working after the birth. Even if a mother decides to stay at home with her children, many transport them to pre-school at as young as 3 years old, and the majority are still compelled to load those precious kids onto the yellow school bus once they are old enough to start Kindergarten (despite the aching in their hearts). After all, aren’t the teachers at the school much more qualified to teach; they have degrees and specialized training that most mothers don’t have. And do we really have the patience to deal with our kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Isn’t a little separation necessary and even beneficial for our relationship? They’d much prefer to be with kids their own age, right? They need to establish their own values and identity apart from their parents, isn’t that what the “experts” say? This line of thought continues through the elementary years, into middle school, high school, and beyond.
Is it no wonder then that when the parents become older and are no longer self-sufficient, that they too are placed in the care of someone else; someone more “qualified” with special “training” and education, in a facility which is much more "suitable" to their needs, and where they will be surrounded by people their own age?
As I visited with my 92 year old grandmother in an assisted-living facility this weekend, I couldn’t help but be influenced by my radical home-education philosophy! I didn’t want to leave her there! She should be at home. The responsibility for her care should not be left to strangers, but to her family who loves her! She ought to be surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so that she can be rejuvenated and renewed. Even as she listened along as I read to the children, I thought, "Many of Charlotte Mason’s teachings could be so nicely applied, even to the elderly." Enjoying living books and nature would be so much better than just sitting, listening to music from the 50s & 60s. Her mind would benefit from some stimulation! What they are providing is so insufficient!
Alas, I do not control my grandmother’s present or her future, but when the reins are in my hand, I can choose differently for my own parents. I can keep them home with me. I can stimulate them intellectually, read aloud to them when they can no longer read themselves. I can surround them with youth and beauty. Just as I have chosen to stand against the tide and keep my children home with me, I can trust the Lord to enable me to care for my parents when they are unable to care for themselves. It’s not just about education, it’s about reclaiming God-given responsibilities, and that extends far beyond the classroom. |
