Teach, Live, Love's Husband - Homeschool Blogger

Many Reasons to Homeschool...or Not

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:23:00 -0500

There are many different kinds of homeschoolers. And I have found that in some circles, it is assumed that all homeschoolers are just like themselves.

Do you homeschool for religious reasons? Not all homeschoolers do.

Do you homeschool because you think that the public school system is evil? Not all homeschoolers do.

And the flip side is just as varied. Just because some people don't homeschool doesn't mean that they, themselves, are evil, or that they don't love God.

As for us, we're not really in any of the "stereotypical" homeschool profiles. We began homeschooling for one very simple reason: our child needed it. We recognized that he was not getting what he needed in the school that he was attending, and so we decided to homeschool.

Have we seen spiritual benefits? Yeah, I think so. Do I think the public school system is evil? Not exactly, but I see huge flaws in its approach, and I don't agree with much of the systemic self-preservation techniques.

We're in an odd situation, too, because Christy has continued to work within the public school system. So when we're reading blogs of homeschoolers who think it's just selling your soul to the devil to set foot in a public school, we don't feel like we fit there. Yes, we understand the philosophy, but no we don't fully agree with all of it.

Anyway, having said that, I saw an interesting blog post (thanks to my lovely wife who forwarded it on to me) that talks about the different reasons why some homeschool and some don't. I'd encourage you to read it, especially if you tend to think that everyone homeschools for the same reasons you do.

Exciting News!!!

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:47:00 -0600

For those of you following our adoption saga, you may want to read this!

Things Some Homeschoolers Would Like to Say

Sat, 8 Dec 2007 19:28:00 -0600

I think that any of us who homeschool or have homeschooled have heard most of the questions, comments, assumptions, criticisms, etc. that come from people who don't understand (or don't approve of) homeschooling.

Well, today I stumbled across a post that answers many of those comments with what a lot of homeschooling parents would probably like to say. Now, I'll offer the very obvious disclaimer that I am not endorsing everything on this page (and I have not even looked at the rest of the site), but I found quite a few of these made me chuckle.

To tease you:

7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.

13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.

16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.

18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.

You'll have to go read the rest for yourself. See how many you can identify with! ;)

Update on Adoption Possibilities

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:16:00 -0600

For those of you interested in following our adoption possibilities, you will want to read my latest post on Love Each Child. We are rejoicing at the work God is doing. And as you will see by that post, the news is even better than what we thought the best outcome could be!

We anxiously await the next step in the process...

I've Been Published!

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:07:00 -0500

I'm super excited about the new Fall 2007 TOS Magazine. Why? Because my very first real published article appears in it! :)

If you get your hands on a copy, make sure to look up the holiday section and read my article about some holiday hymns and songs and the stories behind them.

Thanks, TOS, for giving me the opportunity to write. I enjoyed the experience very much!

A Little About Me in Response to a Tag

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0500

My son tagged me recently, and so I'll answer the questions that were posed in the tag:

What color are your eyes? Hazel
How tall are you? 6'3"
What is your favorite cereal? That's a tough one. I like a lot of cereals, but mostly ones that have some kind of fruit or nut clusters -- or both!
What kind(s) of music do you like? A lot of kinds. Classical, CCM (although I'm going through a phase where I'm pretty tired of most of it), Smooth Jazz, just about anything instrumental, pop, a little country, etc.
Who are your favorite artists? Too many to name. Todd Agnew, Amy Grant, Acoustic Alchemy, Pat Metheny, Vladimir Ashkenazy...
What are your favorite colors? Burgundy, forest green
What state do you live in? North Carolina (but hoping to maybe move to Virginia next year...)
Do you have any blogger friends that you know IRL (in real life)? Quite a few, actually. TOSPublisher and family, JenIg and family, just to name a few
What's your favorite type(s) of gum? I don't like gum. I'm addicted, however, to Listerine strips! ;)
Do you live in town, or in the country? Country

Wonderful Review

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:33:00 -0500

HSB blogger "Jamin" (you can find out on her blog why she calls herself that) has written a really sweet review of my CDs on her blog. You can read it here. As she mentions in her post, all three of my CDs are now available through The Old Schoolhouse.

Thanks, Jamin, for the very kind words!

Please Welcome My Son!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:29:00 -0500

I'd like to welcome my son to HSB! He has just started his first blog, and is GuitarDylan here on HSB.

Won't you take a moment to stop by and say "hey" to him? Thanks!

The Death of Instincts

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:55:00 -0500

Last year at about this time, I wrote about the Sad Eyes that I saw in young children waiting for the school bus on the first day of school. It was our first year of homeschooling, and I suddenly saw things through a whole different perspective.

This year, we continue on the homeschooling journey, and my awareness of what it all means continues to grow.

Homeschooling feels so...natural. It feels like the way children are meant to be educated. The "life is learning" type of attitude that I now have makes me see learning opportunities in areas and ways I never thought of before.

And the egg-carton, one-size-fits-most approach that we pulled our son out of seems more and more difficult to justify.

It's that "one-size-fits-most" that bothers me. I'm not even entirely sure that it fits "most". In fact, it's more that children are forced into a mold that seems unnatural. And I think that deep down inside, a lot of us realize there's a problem, but don't always know what to do about it. It wars against our very instincts.

Well, all of these thoughts are spilling out in response to a recent CNN.com article. The article is called "Help your child outgrow separation anxiety" and it talks about the common problem of children being upset on the first day of school.

[The father of a 5-year-old heading off to kindergarten] admits the boy really suffered from separation anxiety during preschool years. "He would cry every day for the first year. ... Oftentimes, the teacher would have to grab him from my leg and I would have to sneak out."

When I read something like this, I have to ask, "Could this possibly be right?" Of course, the article goes on to talk about how we need to get the child to a point where they're ok being left at school like that.

But how many parents have a nagging deep down inside? An instinctive desire to stay with their child... A sadness that they wish it didn't have to be this way...

We have killed those instincts in our culture. We have told parents that preschool or kindergarten or grades 1-12 are all very normal, natural, and necessary. But I say they are none of the above.

The parents aren't the only concern here. What does the child learn from this experience? Do they really "outgrow" separation anxiety? Or do they just learn that being sent away from home is what can be expected and they are just going to have to rough it on their own?

I can't prove it. But I have a hunch that inside us parents, the instinct to nurture and educate our children ourselves gets killed by the system. And inside the children, a sense of safety and being cared for is damaged at best, lost at worst.

(As I was proofreading this post, the bus my son would be riding on went by the house. My son lays quietly in his bedroom finishing up a restful night and getting ready for another day of homeschool. How grateful I am that we have decided to follow our instincts and keep him home.)

Homeschool and the 2008 Election

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:18:00 -0500

I don't normally like to speak out politically very often, but occasionally, I feel the desire to do so.

While there are always important issues at stake in any election, it seems that often conservative Christians punt to the same issues over and over again.

So I have a question for my handful of readers here: Have you considered what candidate(s) might be supportive of homeschooling? It's an important issue, don't you agree?

Today, I read a blog post (HT: Dave Black) on Ron Paul's position on homeschooling. Now, I'll not hide anything here. I am unashamedly supportive of Ron Paul for President in 2008. Well, supportive emotionally, that is. I have not contributed financially to his campaign.

But anyway, I'd like you to go read "Ron Paul on Homeschooling" on Dow Blog. And then ask yourself why this candidate is not getting more support among homeschoolers.

It's a question that troubles me, to say the least.