May. 12, 2008
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Keep On Homeschooling
Awhile back drewsfamilytx asked me to write a few posts about homeschooling my oldest. She thought it might help to encourage those moms who are still homeschooling their grade school aged children, to help them keep on homeschooling to the end. How did I keep going when I was frustrated and tired?
The first step really is that there was no other choice in my mind. Public school was no longer an option and I couldn't afford to send my daughter to private school. (Over time I have come to realize that most private schools aren't any better than public schools.) We were going to homeschool, end of conversation.
I have spoke to several moms and read blogs of others who seem to always have kept the public school option open. For some, I believe, their biggest mistake was in letting their children know that this option was still a possibility. With threats of sending their children to public school if they didn't shape up, constantly repeating that they are only doing this for as long as it works, and even suggesting that they will homeschool until high school, the children realize that they can use this to their advantage.
I listened to one mother pour her heart out about how her daughters wanted to go back to public school, she didn't want that, but they were wearing her down. Others in the group patted her sympathetically, told her to just keep praying about it, and so on. I said, "You need to let them know that there is no option." I was given wicked looks, I'm not known for my kind and loving words, but really, I didn't think any of these women were helping her. Yes, the mother should be praying about it, but that didn't answer what she needed to do now during an onslaught from her teens. She had been praying about it, she came to the group to get advice, and for all we know my advice was what she needed to hear. However my advice fell on deaf ears because this mother believed that her 12 year old daughter should have a say in her education. This mother was upset that her daughters were against her but unwilling to stand up for what she thought was right.
While I want to point out that I often let my children decide what it is they will be learning or which text they will be learning from, by no means do I leave that choice solely up to them, nor do I leave their actual place of education up to them. I am the one who will have to answer to God for their education during this time, not them. I am the one who is responsible and will be held accountable, not them. Parents need to remember that. My children have never asked me if they can go to public school because they know it is not an option.
You also need to remember why you are homeschooling. Most parents homeschool because the situation in the schools is intolerable, one way or another. (Religious, academic, social...) Those reasons usually do not change, only your heart changes. Schools haven't miraculously become moral, with high academic standards for every student, and pleasing company. They are still anti-God, self-gratifiying institutions where children and teachers abuse each other on a daily basis. What has changed is your heart toward homeschooling.
At one time you believed you were convicted that homeschooling was the right choice. Don't fool yourself into thinking that homeschooling is only right for a season. If that is so then you were never truly convicted that homeschooling is the right choice, it was merely an experiment or interlude. When you are convicted you recognize a truth. Truth does not change. (It may have been hidden behind an untruth, but the truth itself is always there, waiting to be revealed.) If you still believe you were convicted then you now have to say that your conviction was wrong, which means it was wrong from the start. Your heart changed on the matter, the matter itself did not change.
Homeschooling your children can become wearisome and frustrating. When that happens take a break from the academics, not the homeschooling. I have yet to meet a homeschooled child who has fallen behind because of time off. You aren't homeschooling for yourself, you are doing this for your children.
I know this post isn't "uplifting" but it is what I had to share with you. It is a part of why I have been able to do it all the way through. I will write a few more posts that will be stories about homeschooling my daughter. Trust me, they will be more inspiring. Still, I feel that the message behind this post is encouraging. Keep on homeschooling. |
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May. 12, 2008
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May. 12, 2008
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May. 13, 2008
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Thanks!
May. 13, 2008
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thanks
May. 20, 2008
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May. 29, 2008
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I can just picture the scene of those women telling her to keep on praying. I'm with you on this one! But sometimes I doubt myself in speaking up to someone further down the road than myself. To me it is so clear and plain-- public school is not an option. Or when their teen won't finish their assignments... ummm... then tell them no more beloved basketball! But then they look at me like I just don't understand... just wait until you have teens.
Ah well... I can't wait to read your next post on this Tia! No pressure though. I can't wait. I'm patient.
Are you done writing it yet?