Ever since I started homeschooling one of the biggest complaints I've heard against it--outside of socialization-- is that homeschooling takes money away from the public schools. Not that I really ever cared. However, I love it when the truth comes out! Nevada recently discovered that homeschoolers actually SAVE the public schools money instead of draining their budgets.

And people say I don't post anything positive about public schools on here . . .

Comments

Jan. 11, 2010 - Untitled Comment

Posted by LadyM

Well, that tosses yet another argumentative myth out the window. I always wondered how on earth they thought homeschoolers were COSTING them money, as they still got our property tax money and no student. I mean, really, we save the district from having to build a bigger building, hire more teachers, order more books, etc.

- Home Where They Belong

Apparently the Spokane School system thinks letter grades are the cause of ongoing problems with communicating how a child is doing in their subjects. Numbers on the other hand make everything clear. Read the article to find out how.

I have nothing against numbers, and I have nothing in favor of letters--as grades, but the problem the Spokane schools are hoping to solve won't be cured because of their preference for numbers over letters. They could do the exact same report card using the letter system. Nor will telling parents how their children are doing after the term help. Parents need to know how their children are doing during the term. Unfortunately many teachers never communicate that at all and leave it to the report card to do their "dirty" work for them.

Just a few weeks ago I spoke with a mom whose son had been placed in a new school. She thought her son was doing well. She had signed up to be a substitute teacher's aide and one day she was called in to help in the remedial math class. She was shocked to find her son in it. At first she thought he'd lost his way or something, but he soon let her know that this was his math class. It was a rough day for her as she waited for the day to end to find out the answers as to why her son was in this special class and why hadn't she or her husband ever been told?

While the parent should always be the one to keep tabs on their children and not leave it up to the teachers to relay how a student is doing, parents have been conditioned to believe that they have put their children in safe hands and that until they are notified, by report card, everything is fine and dandy.

Communication among parents and teachers is bound to get worse, not better, no matter what grading system is used as long as parents continue to blindly follow the blind.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

- Home Where They Belong

Recently I was introduced to an article that piqued my interest. I read the article carefully to make sure I was understanding it, and to make sure I wasn't skipping any clues that the author might be a crack-pot. Plenty of people think I'm one, so I suppose I should be able to recognize one when I see it.

The article is called, "Can Dyslexia Be Artificially Induced in School? Yes, Says Researcher Edward Miller" and it's written by Samuel L. Blumenfeld, a name many homeschoolers should recognize because he's the author of Alpha Phonics.

Now, I admit that I know next to nothing about dyslexia. So I thought I'd do a little research on what dyslexia is. Interestingly, it isn't just about seeing and writing letters backwards or upside down, that is only one symptom, and someone with dyslexia may not have that symptom at all. Basically, it's anyone who struggles with reading. Not necessarily a dislike of reading, but someone who truly struggles with decoding and comprehension. That is not a medical description, but the sum of what I read from several dyslexia help websites. All of them agreed, however, that dyslexia is always either inherited or neurological in nature.

Mr. Blumenfeld and Mr. Miller disagree with the above theory. They believe that the cause of this artificially induced dyslexia is caused by the sight word reading method and they offer evidence that backs their theory. Read the article, it's very fascinating! (Note: There was one "bad" word in the article but not so bad that I didn't want to write this post and link you to the article. Just be aware that's it's there and I know that it's there.)

Now one of the things mentioned in the article are the Dr. Seuss books. Dr. Seuss himself apparently thought sight word reading was a lot of twaddle. Still, he wrote the books and made tons of money. Why this interested me is because two of my children went to bed one night with Green Eggs and Ham and the next day they could read nearly anything I put before them. Wallah! The mystery of decoding words was revealed! So if sight reading can cause dyslexia why could my daughters read anything and with a voracious appetite? The simple reason is that I had been teaching them phonics, not how to sight read. They didn't memorize the words in the book, they sounded them out.

My youngest daughter didn't learn to read until the end of her third grade year. She struggled with reading until that point. All of her symptoms pointed to dyslexia. After reading the linked to article, I began to think more about the change. If what the article says is true, then my youngest daughter should still be dyslexic, and yet three months after she started learning to read she was reading The Hobbit. It struck me that what I had been using to teach my daughter to read prior to the few months before her night with Green Eggs and Ham had been sight word books like Dick and Jane, and Rod and Staff Pathway readers. The books themselves don't teach using phonics, but I was still trying to use them to do just that and supplementing with phonics because I knew phonics was the best way to teach reading. My daughter was caught in that limbo state mentioned in the article.

Because my daughter struggled with reading, I kept reading her schoolwork to her knowing that when she was ready to read, she would. We never made a big deal out of it. Then in the middle of her third grade year I switched to just a phonics reading program. The night my daughter went to bed with Green Eggs and Ham she read the words by sound, not sight. She then took off with her reading, the method of reading set. Praise the Lord it was phonics and not sight reading! By fourth grade many of the students reading method is set, and for many of those it was set before then. I think my daughter wasn't set before that because we weren't forcing her to learn to read like they would have in the public school.

All I can say is that the article totally fit the pattern that my family experienced. I know that it was teaching reading by sight that caused my niece in public school no end of struggle and tears for many years. The public school system still believes that sight word reading is a valuable tool and it refuses to look at the evidence that shows the dangers of it. I won't say that sight reading is bad for all students, it is used to teach the deaf, but we are talking about a handful of students who need to learn to read this way. If the schools would quit pushing students to learn to read before they are even ready, and use phonics to teach reading in the mean time, they would have a much better success rate at making children literate.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

-Home Where They Belong

We are starting to get a glimpse of what is in store for America's school children should they choose public schools under Obama - end summer break and spend more time in school learning to serve the state.

"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

The president, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go."

What this really means: Parents you're potentially dangerous; therefore, only the government can keep your kids truly safe. Longer school days and years also increases the the demand for teachers and the hours of indoctrination so children can learn more praise songs to "The One" and how they can serve the needs of the state and has nothing to do with keeping kids safe.

Which brings up the next change under Obama, National Service-Learning:

A teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

This is compulsory voluntary service to promote liberal causes and social justice such as voter mobilization with Operation Rainbow/Push. (I wonder if they'd count voter mobilization toward Sarah Palin as service-learning too?)

The national service-learning campaign kick-off is scheduled for October 5.

I'm all for volunteering when it comes from the heart not a requirement for school. The challenges of a new century may require Obama's daughters to spend more time in the classroom but Obama's choices as the father should not become our mandates as a nation.

-Spunky

Reposted, with permission, from spunkyhomeschool.

Comments

Sep. 29, 2009 - Education or Indoctrination? Obama Worship Songs in School

Posted by eaglesnest

Great post--I referenced you in my blog today:
"You can’t get away from it, so we might as well discuss it. Obama worship songs; they’re all over the internet, including Youtube. (Read more about Obama schooling at Homeschooling With Heart.)

We should teach our children about our government, and about our president. However, these songs and curriculum go way beyond teaching children facts. Should public school dollars—your money—be spent to teach kids to love Obama—some may say to practically worship him as a god?

“One song that the children were taught directly quotes from the spiritual "Jesus Loves the Little Children," though Jesus' name is replaced with Obama's: "He said red, yellow, black or white/All are equal in his sight. Barack Hussein Obama."-- Fox News Politics.

I’m not sure if I should be rotfl or covering myself with ashes because of the blasphemy. I guess it doesn’t really matter what I think. What really matters is what God says. So I searched His Word, to try and find out.

I don’t find public school in the Bible; God’s Word, in Proverbs 22:6, charges parents with the responsibility for child training."

Read more at EaglesNestHome, Sep. 29, 2009 - Education or Indoctrination? Obama Worship Songs in School, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/eaglesnest/

- Home Where They Belong

Today we wrap up this short 4 part series on how parents need to first begin in our own homes when it comes to making disciples of all nations. Again we notice that our Lord's strategy for reaching the lost is very clear and direct: before we go out to the ends of the earth, we are first to "begin in Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47 & Acts 1:8). Let's turn to God's Word and catch this last very important point on what we as families should be doing and that is Family Worship.

And he [Jesus] led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:50-53)

What we see here is simply the disciples worshipping their Lord and Savior at the scene of His ascension, and then they go back to Jerusalem where the worshipping continues. They keep praising and blessing God in the temple. Are you as a family continually praising and blessing God? Our children need to see that part of our lives. Our children need to see that we as parents have an authentic relationship with a real God. We need to model to them on a regular basis what it means to praise and bless God. This is part of our discipling them. Remember that we are not only supposed to tell them about who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He requires, but we should be modeling it also. The disciples asked Jesus to actually teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1) and our kids need to witness first hand how we worship our King and pray--not just on Sundays and before meals, but continually.

Parents we need to bring back family worship in our homes which was something that was commonplace in Christian homes for centuries. What is family worship? It is simply worshipping as a family, where the father, if possible, leads the worship time and the family participates by singing, reading, asking or answering questions.

Let me give you a glimpse into our family worship which we have been doing for several years. We choose a song for the month and start off our worship singing together, then whatever book of the Bible we are reading through that month, my wife and I read out loud and delegate verses to our older children to read out loud, too. We will stop at times during the reading as the Lord impresses upon our hearts to discuss a further a section of Scripture. Most often my children will have questions that come to their minds during the reading of God's Word. There have been times when we discuss for about an hour a certain story, lesson, or teaching in the Bible. Those are really wonderful times. To keep the younger children's interest and to flesh out the story a little more, sometimes I will have them act out a certain story in the Bible (great to do with Jesus' parables). After reading and teaching of Scripture, we pray, recite our Bible memory verse for the month that we are working on then close in song. We have chosen as our final closing song the old doxology, "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow." Normally our family worship lasts between 10-20 minutes and we aim for the mornings, but if our schedules don't allow we will do it in the evening. Again I cannot stress enough that this family worship needs to be led by fathers where possible.

I would highly recommend a little book written in the mid-90's (20 pages long) called "Family Worship" by Jerry Marcellino.  However you decide to do family worship in your home, remember the words from the saints that have gone before us, "Let family worship be short, savory, simple, plain, tender, heavenly."- Richard Cecil (1748-1810)

I cannot emphasize enough what an incredible blessing this has been to our family over the years. We have had some real tender moments during worship time. Some of the questions that the younger kids ask during this time surely show that they are paying attention, and that our Lord is working on their hearts and minds through His Word (Hebrews 4:12).

Parents, we need to turn our hearts towards our children (Malachi 4:6). Turn your own houses into "temples" that are places of worship, praise, and blessing to the Lord. I would say that few things will have as much impact on a child than to see their own parents worship the Lord on a regular basis.

The saints that went before us understood the importance of parents modeling the Christian walk to their children. The great 19th century preacher C.H. Spurgeon wrote, "Children do not take to religion as ducks to water; they must be led and trained with earnest care. Are you sighing after Christ for yourself and your children? Are you content without Christ? Then you are not likely to care about your children. Do you already possess a home in Jesus? Rest not till all yours are housed in the same place."

Parents let's begin in Jerusalem. Homeschooling is so much more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic. Our families are our first God-given mission fields. Let us work our mission fields for God's glory while using our Lord's methods, which include blessings, singing praises, worshipping, and yes, beginning in our own families first.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)
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—David d'Escoto is a teaching elder, the co-author of "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool" and its companion Bible study, he also co-hosted the former radio program "Homeschooling for Life." He and his wife, Kim, have homeschooled their five children for over 10 years. Visit their website to sign-up for their free webinars and newsletters at http://dexios.info.



- Home Where They Belong

As we get close to wrapping up this blog mini series, let's cover some final steps we can do in our "Jerusalem" mission endeavor. Last week we addressed that most Christian parents are not obediently working their first priority mission field— their own family. The facts are in and we are seeing the tragic results of parents abandoning or doing a very poor job with their own kids. Sending them away to public schools has been a big part of this downfall. By subjecting a child to a godless education for the majority of their formative years, the following three things will occur:

1. They will have nearly a 90% chance of falling away from the local church
2. Their worldviews will be radically altered to a Marxist/socialist view
3. They will knowingly or unknowingly convert to the anti-God religion of secular-humanism

I am not going into all of the other problems that occur to these young victims on a daily basis, such as being sucked into the "peer-dependency" traps, being deliberately "dumbed-down", being abused by their teachers, and on and on. Sending kids from Christian families to today's public schools is, in fact, decimating the next generation's mind, bodies and souls—period. Why is that? Public schools are "mission fields" of another kind, but their mission directly opposes what Christ has commanded us. Since public schools are in such opposition to Christ, it would be fair to say that public schools are "anti-Christ schools" that have an "anti-mission." Harsh words? Nope. Scripture makes it clear, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." (1 John 2:22). Can this be true? The great Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote about 1700 years after John, "Let us not think it strange that there are deceivers and opposers of the Lord Christ’s name and dignity now, for there were such of old, even in the apostle’s times."

CH Spurgeon was hard on places and/or institutions that were inherently opposed to Christ when he wrote, "It should be the daily prayer of every believer that Antichrist might be hurled like a millstone into the flood and for Christ, because it wounds Christ, because it robs Christ of His glory... because it is against Him, we shall love the persons though we hate their errors: we shall love their souls though we loath and detest their dogmas..."

Folks public schools' dogmas are not neutral but actively in opposition to the Father and Son. A case can be easily made from Scripture that it is in fact a sin to send your kids to such anti-Christ places. Besides, look at the pathetic and godless by product of our disobedience. Our Lord told us, "...the tree is known by his fruit." (Matthew 12:33b)

If you are a homeschooler who is obediently working your own mission field and leaning on the Lord's strength, then you may be comforted to know that recent studies show that less than 4% of homeschooled children will disown their Christian faith.

Let me close by giving you some Biblical tools for your homeschooling tool-belt. Let's turn to Scripture and learn from our Savior.

And he (Jesus) led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:50-53)

There are two important things that we can learn from this.

Number one: notice that Jesus' last actions towards His disciples was one of blessing them. Parents, are you blessing your children? What kind of words come out of your mouth? I want to park it here for a moment and be real transparent with you. As a father, I discovered about 8 or so years ago that blessing my children was a very powerful thing. I have been regularly doing it now since then and have so many powerful testimonies to share. Okay, I'll share just one.

One time at night, a little after bed time I was typing away on my laptop in our living room when I hear this voice coming from the top of the stairs saying over and over again. "Papa bless me, Papa bless me."  My three year-old daughter standing at the top of the stairs calling out to me, asking her father to come up stairs and bless her. I ran to her, embraced her, and said, "May our Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you His peace." Yes, that was taken right from the Bible (Numbers 6:24-26), but those are the verses that I have been blessing them with for almost nine years. To this day, my almost 17 year-old daughter and 14 year-old son experience my laying hands on them and blessing them like they did when they were much younger. I am blessed as a father to still be able to do this with them. The key is to begin when they are young.

I stumbled across this idea of the family blessing when reading an old book titled "The Gift of the Blessing" by John Trent & Gary Smalley. Here is a little something from the introduction of the book, "A flower cannot grow unless it has the necessary elements of life. Every flower needs soil, air, water, light, and a secure place to grow (one where its roots are not constantly being pulled out). When these five basic ingredients are present, it is almost impossible to keep a flower from growing. The same thing is true of the basic elements of the blessing. Like the flower's basic needs, the blessing has five key elements. These five elements, blended together, can cause personal acceptance to blossom and grow in our homes today. Each individual part provides a unique contribution...A family blessing begins with meaningful touching. It continues with a spoken message of high value, a message that pictures a special future for the individual being blessed, and one that is based on an active commitment to see the blessing come to pass."

This book hit me hard as a Christian man because I tend to be rough around the edges and would use this as an excuse to be...let's say, "verbally rough" with others. To make a long story shorter, I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit and compelled by Scripture to immediately begin verbally and physically blessing my children on a daily basis.

Parents, this fallen world is indeed a rough place and has plenty of curses and vices to offer everyone. Let us train up our children and teach them to live virtuous lives for God's glory. One of the key things we can do is learn from our Lord and physically and verbally bless our children.

And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Next week we conclude with worshipping in Jerusalem...
____________________________________________________________________________________
—David d'Escoto is a teaching elder, the co-author of "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool" and its companion Bible study, he also co-hosted the former radio program "Homeschooling for Life." He and his wife, Kim, have homeschooled their five children for over 10 years. Visit their website to sign-up for their free webinars and newsletters at http://dexios.info.

 

- Home Where They Belong

Last week we found out that the first place we must start in the great commission is within our own families, or as we called it, "Jerusalem." The fact is, most Christian parents are skipping Jerusalem by sending their children away for the majority of their "education"  to the godless government schools. Some parents are trying to play make-up by sub-contracting out once a week to their local church a job that they should be doing themselves. What's also sad is that there are many misguided parents who believe that we should separate our roles as parents from our roles as educators. These parents have no idea how ridiculous this sounds. The latin root word for "educate" means "to lead." Parents, either you are leading your kids or some other person or system is. Sorry, but you cannot have it both ways, yet so many parents are puzzled as to why their kids won't listen to them or why they think and act like pagans. I think the answer is clear— see Luke 6:40.

So getting back to Jerusalem, what should we be doing? The three following points should help.

1. Put on your new life (power) in Christ (Eph. 4:22-24).
2. Witness, teach, and disciple FIRST in your own family then move out from there (Luke 24:48 & Matt. 28: 19-20).
3. Remember He will be with us always (Matt. 28:20) and try not to do it in your own strength but in His strength (Phil. 4:13).

Figuring that the parent is already a born-again believer (John 3:7), let's  quickly tackle the first point,  "...ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem..." (Acts 1:8) and "...beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47b). Parents, do you realize that our Lord has given us our own little mission fields (Jerusalem)? If we are claiming to be followers of Christ, then do our children see that in our lives? Think of some of the previous great missionaries like William Carey, David Brainerd, Mary Slessor, John Paton, and Hudson Taylor, to name but a few. These were people who were really sold out for Christ and we still esteem them today for that, but let's not forget that we, too, as parents, should be sold-out just as much. Do you have a burning passion that your children know the Lord? A recent survey found that only about 1 out of 5 Christian parents really cares about their child's salvation.

Are you feeling like you are at the end of your rope, that your have lost your passion for training up your kids,  are having bad day, week, month or year in "Jerusalem"? Remember parents, God gave us our children, God called us to homeschool, God has given us the power to train up our children, God has given us the instructions (Bible), and God wants us to lean on His strength in doing this work in our kids lives. Are you trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength? Why?

Learn from Hudson Taylor, who once said, "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply." Are you doing it God's way or your way? Are you tapping into your supply or God's supply? If you are asking, "How does one tap into God's supply?" The first step is to pray. This is such a vital step that parents miss, myself included. I heard a pastor once say, "Prayer is not part of the battle, it is the battle." I would agree with that and also with the great 17th century theologian, Jonathan Edwards, who said, "Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life; and to say a man lives a life of faith, and yet lives a prayerless life, is every whit as inconsistent and incredible, as to say, that a man lives without breathing."

Preaching to our kids is not the only tool to teach them about the Lord. Learning from past missionaries--yes, tell them about Christ, but be sure that you are walking the talk. A person from Mary Slessor's Nigerian mission field said the following of how Mary's ministry reached them, "Ma Slessor didn’t stand up on a mountain top and preach to us. She came right down and lived among us, ate our food, slept in our huts, showed us what was right and wrong by her example."

Our Lord has called us for a purpose to "Jerusalem". Let us never forget that. So when we are teaching, discipling, or training our children, remember that He has promised He would be with us always.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world Amen." (Matt. 28:20).

Next week: more on how we can and should be teaching, witnessing and discipling our children.
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—David d'Escoto is a teaching elder, the co-author of "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool" and its companion Bible study, he also co-hosted the former radio program "Homeschooling for Life." He and his wife, Kim, have homeschooled their five children for over 10 years. Visit their website to sign-up for their free webinars and newsletters at http://dexios.info.

Comments

Sep. 13, 2009 - Beginning in Jerusalem -part 2

Posted by Anonymous

Thank you for your encouragement and challenging words in the blog. I am from Western Australia and homeschool my two sons, ages 6 and 8. I havn't met many christian homeschoolers and have been feeling quite weak and weary in my efforts of late. It was good to be reminded that I need to do things in Christ's strength and that family - "Jerusalem" comes first, after God.
God bless, from an Aussie Mum.

 

- Home Where They Belong

 

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ~ Luke 24:47

The late great preacher C.H. Spurgeon nailed an extremely important point over a 125 years ago when commenting on above passage:

"Beginning at Jerusalem, must surely mean begin at home. You know the old proverb, 'The cobbler's (shoemaker's) wife goes barefoot'...I knew a man who used to go out with preachers every night in the week, and try to preach himself, poor soul that he was; but his children were so neglected that they were the most wicked children in the street, and they grew up in all manner of vice. The father was prancing about and looking after other people, and did not care for his own family. Now, if you are going to serve Christ to the very ends of the earth, take care that you begin at home...Dear parents, need I urge you to look to your own children?" ~ Spurgeon

I think one of the biggest blind spots in the Church today is the fact that we are skipping Jerusalem. We are not beginning in the home and are therefore suffering the consequences for our disobedience. Luke reiterates our Lord's strategy for impacting the world for Him where he records Jesus words in Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we are to begin in Jerusalem first, which for Christian parents means in the family. We are not supposed to go to Judea, Samaria, or the ends of the earth until we first begin in our own little Jerusalem.

Most Christian parents today are not beginning in Jerusalem with their own families; rather, they are sending them to Caesar (a.k.a., public schools) and then wondering why their kids are turning out to think and act like Romans.

Do you want to impact the world for Christ? Parents, obey Him and start at home. Home education is the best model by which to disciple our families. Watch how powerfully God will move if we first turn our hearts towards our children (Malachi 4:6). I cannot put it any simpler that our first mission field is in the family, so, by God's grace, let us begin there.

"... But if any of you are in the Sabbath-school, and never have a Sabbath-school at home; if any of you talk to strangers in the aisles, but are neglecting your own sons and daughters—oh, let it not be so! The power of a father's prayers with his arms about his boy's neck I know full well. The power of a mother's prayers with her children all kneeling round her is far greater with the young than any public ministry will be. Look well to your children: begin at Jerusalem." ~Spurgeon

Next week how to begin Jerusalem
__________________________________________________________________________________
—David d'Escoto is a teaching elder, the co-author of "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool" and its companion Bible study, he also co-hosted the former radio program "Homeschooling for Life." He and his wife, Kim, have homeschooled their five children for over 10 years. Visit their website to sign-up for their free webinars and newsletters at http://dexios.info.

Fashion is a strange thing. Some clothing industry aficionado decides what the new look will be, the stores stock their apparel departments with the new look, we see the new look in magazines, catalogs, and store windows. People begin wearing the new look and before long, everyone’s got the new look. Consider the transformation that blue jeans have taken over the years. They started as basic canvas overalls preferred by farmers and miners, patented by Levi Strauss in 1873. Since then, we’ve seen America’s favorite bottom-wear take on various shapes, colors, and textures, from bell bottom jeans to straight legs, high rise to low rise, dark and crisp to soft and faded, and baggies to skinny jeans. It’s hard to keep up the look of denim duds over the years. I wonder how many perfectly good pairs went out on the curb because they weren’t what everyone was wearing anymore. But that’s how fashion is: someone makes the choice of what’s “in” and we all follow.

School choice is very similar. If you rewind the clock, there was a time when all families taught their own children at home. In fact, it was the standard for the majority of history. Then the idea of mass education took root and it grew to become the acceptable norm. Parents bought into the idea that someone else, an “expert,” was better qualified to teach their children. Before long, everyone was doing it—plucking their little ones from the home nest and putting them in public institutions to be shaped into a particular mold and moved down the education conveyor belt during their prime, formative years. Who decided what the standard would be? Was it based on God’s Word or some humanistic principles void of any Biblical foundational wisdom?

Look around you today and the answer to these questions is quite obvious. When children spend the majority of time outside of the authority and influence of their parents for 12 or more years of their lives, you can be sure they will be sporting the “new look” that the founders of the education system were looking for. Horace Mann, John Dewey, and other humanists believed children belonged to the state, and the mass education system was the way to capture young minds and shape them according to ideals that would serve their socialist agendas.

Before long, the local school style became as American as apple pie, foot-long hot dogs, and blue jeans. School became a right of passage that every child went through, and parents bought into the idea that it was a good thing. After all, everyone was doing it. Well, several generations after the dawning of the age of mass education, parents began questioning whether public education was actually doing more harm than good. Many Christians, in particular, began reexamining child training in light of Scripture and they realized that the methodologies and philosophies of public school ran contrary to principles that God has clearly laid out for us (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Proverbs 22:6, Matthew 18:6-7, 1 Corinthians 15:22...)

It’s no wonder there are so many problems within the Christian community. The divorce rate is just as high among believers as non-believers, teen pregnancy and drug use is not a shock to hear about among young church goers, Biblical illiteracy is at a staggering all-time high within the Body of Christ, the worldview of Christian youth is completely warped, mirroring that of a Marxist/socialist and secular humanist mindset, and the falling away of the next generation of believers is said to be between 80-85% when they graduate from highschool.

The sad thing about all this is, it has become the norm! We are complacent with the sad facts and figures that point to a crumbling generation because we have become used to seeing the fallout. Another pregnant unwed mother sitting down the pew in church on Sunday morning? Oh well, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen that. A college kid who decides to move in with his girlfriend to save money on room and board? Times are tough, right? Young Christians who support liberal extremists in our nation’s government offices because they make some vague promises about prosperity and change.

It’s not too difficult to connect the dots between the moral decay that has permeated the Christian culture and the day-to-day exposure to all things ungodly in the public schools to which Christian kids are subject. For some reason, the public school danger alarm that we try to sound within the church is falling on so many deaf ears. People like the soft, worn comfort of the local school. It’s what’s readily available, easy to wear, and in style. Prom, football games, honor societies, lots of friends...what good parent would deny their child these opportunities? Besides, going against the norm is hard. Don’t we need a teaching degree? Isn’t there a lot of work and sacrifice involved in homeschooling? Won’t people look at us funny? Might we be denying our children a chance at a solid future?

Take it from me, I was an institutional school guru. I attended public and private schools for seventeen years of my life, my father taught in one, I ended up teaching in one, and my husband, David, and I even began our oldest daughter’s education in the local Christian school as a preschooler and kindergartener. We know what it’s like to comfortably follow the norm. Then, by God’s grace, we discovered the “new old” look of homeschooling. We tried it on. It fit! God’s ways usually do.

Isn’t it time more parents abandon the traditional school style and put on the genuine article of homeschooling? It’s not a matter of whether everyone’s doing it, it’s whether it’s the right thing to do.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. ~ Proverbs 14:12

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Kim d’Escoto and her husband, David, co-authored The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool and its companion Bible study/discussion guide. They also co-hosted “Homeschooling for Life." The d’Escotos have homeschooled their five children, ages 2-16, for over 10 years. For information on their speaking, writing, newsletter, and live webinars, or to get more encouragement on homeschooling, visit their website www.dexios.info or email them at davidandkim@dexios.info

- Home Where They Belong

 

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

A homeschool mom recently shared with me an interesting conversation she had with a confused friend about Proverbs 22:6. Her friend’s distorted reasoning can be summed up as follows: since we, as sinful parents cannot save our sinful kids, why should we try to follow the guideline/command given in Proverbs 22:6?

First off, anyone who believes they can save their child's soul needs to re-read the Bible, especially Ephesians 2:1-10. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Now that we cleared that up, let's quickly look at what Proverbs 22:6 is really teaching parents. First, notice that the Bible says that we should "train up a child" not train up an adult. Why a child? Our gracious Lord is teaching us to train children because these are their most impressionable learning years. Do you think it is any coincidence that the public schools and their like-mined socialists are working on getting our children younger and younger?

If you are among many who think that public schools are neutral and that there is no underlying agenda, please read the following quotes by just a few liberal educationalists and secular-humanists/socialists who understand the importance of capturing little minds.

"We do not need any more preaching about right or wrong. The old ‘thou shall nots’ simply are not relevant. Values clarification is a method for teachers to change the values of children without getting caught." -- Dr. Sidney Simon, Lecturer, Secularist & Educator

"Having found the present generation composed of materials almost unmalleable, I am about transferring my efforts to the next. Men are cast-iron; but children are wax. Strength expended upon the latter may be effectual, which would make no impression upon the former."  –Horace Mann founder of public schools

"Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It is up to you as teachers to make all of these sick children well -- by creating the international child of the future." -- Dr. Chester M. Pierce, Professor of Education at Harvard (1972)

" I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers that correctly perceive their role as proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being … The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and new. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing the classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool day care or large state universities." John Dunphy  (The Humanist magazine, Jan/Feb 1983)

"He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future." —Adolf Hitler

"Give me your 4-year-olds, and in a generation I will build a socialist state." —Vladimir Lenin

"Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American school is a school of humanism. What can a theistic Sunday school's meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of the five-day  program of humanistic teaching?" - Charles F.  Potter, Signer of the Humanist Manifesto

"There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." --John Dewey, co-author, signer of the Humanist Manifesto and founder of today's public schools

The public school model and its curriculum is working on the kids young so they can indoctrinate them to think like secular-humanists/socialists. Period.

By the way they (the Liberals) are having a tremendous amount of success. Makes you wonder why the Church (Shepherds and sheep alike) do not make this a topic of utmost importance, huh?

So going back to Proverbs 22:6, why should we train up our children in the way they should go if we cannot save them? How about because we love our Lord and want to obey Him? Let us obey our Lord and let God be God. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15.

Listen to the wisdom of Matthew Henry, a former homeschooling father of nine kids who was homeschooled himself and was considered by the likes of Spurgeon and Whitefield to be a superb and gifted Bible commentator: "Train up children in that age of vanity, to keep them from the sins and snares of it, in that learning age, to prepare them for what they are designed for. Catechise [instruct] them; initiate them; keep them under discipline. Train them as soldiers, who are taught to handle their arms, keep rank, and observe the word of command. Train them up, not in the way they would go (the bias of their corrupt hearts would draw them aside), but in the way they should go, the way in which, if you love them, you would have them go."

God clearly tells us to train up our children in the way they should go. If we don't or only make a half-hearted attempt to train them up, their sinful nature will take them on completely different path in life. We need to start when they are young because if we don't, we will make our labor all the more difficult. Again, quoting Matthew Henry, "The branch is easily bent when it is tender."

Let me put it as simply as possible. Children would naturally follow their corrupt hearts if parents did not train them up as they should. This makes them easy prey in the hands of the public school gurus. Therein lies the reason we should follow Proverbs 22:6. Either we train them, or someone else will.

—David d'Escoto is a teaching elder, the co-author of "The Little Book of Big Reasons to Homeschool" and its companion Bible study, he also co-hosted the former radio program "Homeschooling for Life." He and his wife, Kim, have homeschooled their five children for over 10 years. Visit their website to sign-up for their free webinars and newsletters at http://dexios.info.

Comments

Jun. 17, 2009 - thanks for the reminder

Posted by hymnstudies

Gena,
I don't have time to read a lot of blogs, but scrolling down through the home page of homeschoolblogger today I came across this article from David d'Escoto that you posted and appreciate it. I have greatly benefitted from David and Kim's work.
The point I often make is that, yes, parents cannot save their children--only God can save, but as parents we have a responsibility to "train" our children so that their hearts will be prepared to accept God's grace by faith rather than to reject Him. And you, David, and I all know that it is so much easier to do when you do not have to fight the error and ungodliness into which they are immersed in the public schools.
Thanks to you and David for the good reminder. I do miss being volunteer coordinator for TOS, but I still enjoy the magazine!
Wayne S. Walker

 

- Home Where They Belong

California is always coming up with a new way to teach the homosexual agenda, the latest being a curriculum for K-5 grades. Starting with a book about gay penguins (if they make them cute and cuddly then who can be against them?), up to sexual orientation.

If the curriculum is adopted by the school board they say that parents will not have the right to remove their children for the day. I say hogwash. You always hold that right. On any given day you can walk into the school and remove your child. You don't need anyone's permission. The only permission you would truly be asking for is a leniency on grades. Flunking a child for a whole year because they didn't attend the gay studies day isn't terribly likely and in the event that it is, is that really a school you want your child to attend? I'd hardly be upset because my child got a lower grade because he wasn't there to hear about the plight and trials of antrhopomorphed, flightless birds.

What will more likely happen is the parents won't even be notified what day the curriculum will be presented, so that parents won't plan ahead to keep their children out of school.

The schools keep reporting that these studies are only about stopping bullying. If that was truly the case then why not a book and curriculum about bullying itself and not about gay penguins? Why is there never a book and curriculum in the classroom dedicated to not bullying the special needs child, or the children who grow up on farms instead of the city? (Oh yes, us country children have had our fair share of being bullied for being "country bumpkins.")

The curriculum isn't about being kind and showing respect for a human life that God has created, its about trying to convince others that a homosexual lifestyle isn't sinful and therefore perfectly acceptable. As a parent, you are the one who will stand before God and be held accountable for what you allowed your child to be taught. You won't get to pawn it off on the teachers. Your children are your responsibility, bring them home where they belong and teach them true respect, kindness, and love.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

 

Comments

May. 28, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by www.livinginstewartville.blogspot.com

Amen!

 

- Home Where They Belong

Well, it couldn't get any more precise than this article on National Review Online.

Just in case you thought we were making it all up, or something.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

 

- Home Where They Belong

A teacher in California who was sued for the anti-Creationism remarks he made in his classroom lost the case when the Judge sided with the former student that at least one of the remarks had, indeed, violated the student's First Amendment rights.

The teacher's daughter says that he is only trying to get the students to think. Think about what? It would appear he only wants them to think how dumb he thinks Creationism is. If he truly wanted all of the students to think he would rail against Creationism one day and then the next day rail against Evolutionism. As a student  you would be thinking that you had it all worked out in your head, either for or against what was said, and then once confronted with the opposing view you could compare your arguments.

A teacher is there to teach, and in order to do that you have get a student to think for himself. Not spoon feed or pile drive the answers into him.

I wonder what the test this teacher gave on the subject was like?

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

 

- Home Where They Belong

If you've been a regular reader of HWTB you know that I am not in favor of proms. You can read my last post about prom here, which shares my experience with the prom (3 time, time-waster) and it links you to the best article out there on why the prom is so ridiculous.

Deborah Wuehler forwarded me an email today about a guy who is wanting to help high schoolers understand finances, and he has an interesting way of doing it. Pay money to send your student to his seminar where he will talk about how to manage money, and after the seminar he will donate some of the money to the prom committee. Very enterprising of him, and I like that he wants to teach students what the schools are not. Yet he seems to think that proms are one of the most important things to happen to a high schooler.

I have never been asked on a job application if I attended the prom. It isn't a pre-requisite for going to college or the military. It wasn't even a requirement to graduate. Conclusion: it is not that important in a high school career. (Career is even a bad word choice. Aside from the faculty, who wants to make high school a career? Yet, that's the way Mr. Bielagus worded it.)

In other prom news--safe, organized, after prom parties are no longer the big hit they used to be. Which doesn't surprise me one bit. Several years ago my local paper printed a letter from someone who had just moved into town. That person was rather upset with the community for not having any clubs for teens to go to so that they wouldn't get into trouble. I replied to the letter--it was printed in the paper as well--to let the newcomer know that our community had tried clubs for teens. Three of them in five years as a matter of fact. All of them failed. Why? Teens don't want to go where they can't drink and all the other "fun things" that they want to do.

Teens already have a safe place to have fun, it's called home. If your teens don't want to be there, then you need to be looking a little deeper into your teens' lives.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

Comments

May. 2, 2009 - Amen...

Posted by proverbsmomof3

I'm with you about proms. I think the money saved on the elaborate event could be better spent. Thanks for posting about this.

May. 5, 2009 - Homeschool Proms

Posted by Shelly Mabe

Our high school prom was a joke, however, as I'm sure you know, not all proms are that way. I did have the opportunity to go to a prom and form an opinion so I hoped to pass this option on to my children also. Though a prom is not a "need" but it is something that is talked about among friends from time to time throughout adult life as you know from having to blog about the issue.

We hold an annual 6 hour, Michigan Homeschool Prom Cruise on the Detroit Princess. We had one just this past Friday. It is a beautiful evening full of fun and laughter with the teen homeschooling kids and even some parents. Ages 14 and older can attend. If you want to see video of what a fun homeschooling prom can be like I urge you to watch the videos on the bottom of our Prom website on Facebook.

http://tinyurl.com/bf73um

All of that fun was had with CLEAN music even. :o) I'm hoping obviously that you may change your opinion of them a little bit, maybe... Just a thought. :o)

Shelly Mabe
Founder: Macomb Christian Homeschoolers In Michigan


- Home Where They Belong

Last week the news covered a story about a boy who was sent home with human feces in his backpack. A note was with the bag, containing evidence that the boy had, had an accident at school.

The boy does have some special needs, but apparently the teacher feels humiliation and degradation will cure him of his problems. The school district decided to move the child and keep the teacher, who has not apologized for her actions, as yet. They're waiting for everything to blow over. Sadly, it probably will.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

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