Posted in My Homeschool FAQs

The State we lived in when we first started homeschooling required that each teacher keep on file a list of their teaching qualifications.  When we first started homeschooling I sat down to write out a list of my qualifications.  I included my education and additional classes I had taken at homeschool conferences.  I wrote out classes I had taught at Church and volunteer work I had done.  When I was finished with my list I was very disappointed with what I had on paper.  I knew those were probably the things the State wanted me to list, but they paled in comparison to what I felt in my heart qualified me.  This led me to begin to search the Bible for verses that backed up what I was doing as a homeschooler.  One of the 1st verses I found reassuring was Proverbs 6:20-21 “My son keep your fathers commands and don’t forget your mother’s teaching.  Keep their words in your mind forever as though you had them tied around your neck.”  Okay, this was a step in the right direction.  Soon I had 3 handwritten pages of verses that supported homeschooling.  It wasn’t long before I painted a little chalkboard to hang in our schoolroom that reads “Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord, but fools hate wisdom and self control.  Proverbs 1:7.  

Then one Sunday our Pastor preached a sermon called Home Improvement, Building A Healthy Family.  In the sermon he talked about making our homes a center for learning and used the verse “You must teach these commandments to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and first thing in the morning.”  Deut. 6:7    Well this set my mind a spinning!  This was what I had been feeling all along!  So using the Bible verses I had been collecting and incorporating what I learned from that sermon I came up with a new more accurate Teachers Qualification for myself.  

(Disclaimer:  Although I do feel that God has called me to homeschool my children I do not want to leave the impression that I feel everyone must homeschool.  I think there are many wonderful parents whose children are being educated in either public or private schools. These parents are working  hard to fulfill  the commands I now see in the Bible about teaching our children.  They have just chosen a different path than I have.  Also, the Pastor who preached this message was not a homeschooler.  I firmly believe we are ALL the teachers of our own children.  If you have children in your life they are watching and learning from you whether you realize it or not!)


As a believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior I believe the Holy Bible to be The Word of God and therefore true.  Based on God’s word I am uniquely qualified to be the teacher of my children.

Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”  As a parent God has commanded me to train my children, to spend unlimited time with them, being an example as well as a teacher, in all aspect of their lives.

In Deuteronomy 5 Moses presents the 10 Commandments to the Israelites.  Then we come to Deuteronomy 6:6-7
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of then when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

In breaking down just 4 of the words from Deut. 6: 6-7 we learn who God sees as our children’s teachers:

YOU – Parents are their children’s teacher.  It is our responsibility.
SHALL - Something we must do, not an option or suggestion.
TEACH – You are the teacher.  Your children are always watching you!
THEM – (These commands.)  These are not suggestions; they are God given commands.

When am I to teach them?  “When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”  God’s words tell me that it is my responsibility to spend limitless time influencing and teaching my children.


In Luke 6:40 we are told that “A student…that is fully trained will be like his teacher.”  To ensure that the teacher they are like is following God’s commands I need to have intimate knowledge of who is teaching them.  As their parent and teacher I am uniquely qualified to fill this role.  

In Luke 16:15 Jesus said to the followers “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News (of Christ) to everyone.”  As a believer in Christ it is my responsibility to raise and educate my children in a way that they will believe “…there is one God;  and there is none but He: And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself.” Mark 12: 32-33.  In order to accomplish these mandates from God, I am not only their parent, but their teacher as well.  I desire to be completely involved in all that they are learning.  I am available to talk and discuss issues as they come up, anytime, any place.  I desire to be an example to them in their day to day lives.  “...be(ing) an example to believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. I will lead them in all aspects of their education, as well as, their spiritual development.

As the teacher of my children I am more deeply concerned about the final result than anyone else can possibly be.  I desire for my children to be well educated, socially well balanced and responsible.  More than anything I desire for them to well educated believers in Jesus Christ and to spread the Good News about Him.  With these things as my goals I am willing to spend unlimited time, energy and patience to teach, direct and guide my children down the correct path in all avenues of their lives.

Okay, I realize this is probably not what the State had in mind, but it is much better reflection of what I believe qualifies me!