It's that time of year again and I'm planning our schedule for school.  So, the notebooks and parphernalia go in a tote bag with me everywhere. While at the doctor's office this morning, a couple of people mistook me for a teacher.  That is how I reacted, as though they were mistaken. Somehow there is still a block that says because my class is at home, I'm not a "real"  teacher.

Having taught Sunday school and currently teaching a class doesn't give me permission to think of myself as a teacher, either. Something about the clash of what is often perceived as a "real" teacher by society, and the off-the-beaten path we've chosen caused me to re-evaluate our choice to homeschool and ask, "Hey, am I just fooling myself? Am I just playing teacher?"

It's Not About the Title

That needed some pondering. Here's what I've decided. I'm still, first and foremost, a Mom. Not just a mom, but my children's Mother. I'm the one that God wanted to raise these kids. He's equipped me to do this job.  It's not about the title. It's about truth, family, and Jesus first. In that sense, yes, the nice folks I met were mistaken.

I'm not a profesional teacher. But my reaction of  being "just a Mom" is the one that needs tweaking.  Especially if my daughters are to catch the vision of motherhood being a blessed occupation and a high calling.  "Just a Mom" can do great things for the Lord! Children can and do thrive emotionally, spiritually, socially, and academically in the environment of a healthy, happy home.  But am I qualified?  Boy, that's a pesky question.

Some Outside Encouragement

On the way home while listening to WRJZ am 620, Dr. R. C. Sproul, Jr. brought a message about education.  How timely is that considering my experience this morning?  Focusing on the passage from Deuteronomy 6, one which is hand copied in every planning notebook I've owned in the last seven years,  he masterfully showed how education is the vehicle by which we develop worldview and the need for that education to be thoroughly Christian. He also cited an article I re-read every year, Dorothy Sayers' The Lost Tools of Learning.  The message I heard today, The Myth of Neutral Education,  mightily encouraged me in the choice we've made to homeschool.  I encourage everyone to look it up or buy the cd of that sermon!

 As a Sunday School teacher, I also appreciated his clear teaching from Deuteronomy 6 about parents not being given a pass to slough off the education of their children to the government, but also teaching that we are not  to slide the instruction in matters of faith to the church for one day a week.  As privileged as I am to teach children about Jesus and the grand old truths of the Bible,  I wish more parents of my students would experience this blessing as well by teaching their own children diligently.  As thrilling as it is to introduce these precious children to the stories presented in God's Word, and watch them as they stare back at me wide-eyed, waiting for the next part of the story, what a greater blessing it would be to have families experience this around their table at night!

 Is it Fruitful?

And that's when it hit home. Not the statistics, not the examples of other families, nor debates about methodologies confirmed our decision of homeschool. The fruit that our children are bearing is what comforted my heart and answered my questions.  The children are doing well in so many ways, but chiefly in learning about and loving the Lord. That was my top goal from day one, and by His grace and mercy we are reaching it.  Our own experience is bearing the fruit!

Truly, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. " 3 John 1:4 (KJV). Teaching them diligently in all areas--not just academics--is crucial to our family's homeschool plan. Our measurement of the successfulness of our little homeschool is not graduation, scholarships, portfolios, or big paychecks. While we know that Christian homeschooling is most surely not a pre-stamped assured ticket to Heaven, it is the way we want to diligently teach our children about Jesus and nurture  them to Christian faith. Our success will be when we can all be together in Heaven with Jesus.