Home Schooling your children has rewards

For years the decision to homeschool children was optional. Now in a COVID-19 world, it seems as if parents have no choice but to homeschool their children.

And I rejoice.

It is no secret that I am not a fan of the public educational system. It’s not that I do not support teachers, athletics, or the marching band but as a whole, I think compulsory state-run schools have largely failed our kids. Instead of preparing the next generation to be productive, creative, critical thinkers, what is churned out from the educational machine is far less than exemplary. Students can score well on standardized tests and school districts can boast in their academic achievements but can their students think critically? Do they understand logic? And more importantly, do they recognize the source of all knowledge and glorify and fear the Lord?

How you choose to educate your child is how you choose to disciple them. Christian discipleship and education are not at odds with one another rather they work in conjunction, forming character and shaping the minds of students.

The public educational system undermines the Christian worldview by what it teaches. For example, it disciples young people in Darwinism which states that all we are is matter and products of random chance due to evolution. The existence of God is denied, moral absolutes become relative and schools now have become bastions of Socialistic-Liberal doctrine. Even the most conservative school districts aren’t immune. In the guise of holding to traditional values and conservative principles, they still teach a worldview that is devoid of God and therefore just as destructive and damaging to the soul.

It is estimated that 80% of all kids who attend church, youth group, and Sunday school, will abandon the faith by the time they hit college. Another statistic to consider is that 90% of Christian families send their children to public schools. The correlation between the two statistics shows why we are seeing such a staggering rate of youth falling away from the faith. It is because they were discipled by an ungodly system.

Think about it for a moment, the average school day is roughly 8 hours, and in that time, the student is told God doesn’t exist, the Bible is untrue, that morals are relative and sexual identity can be redefined. Compare that with time with parents, other activities (church, hobbies, etc.) and you see that most of the discipling happens within the public educational system. In discipleship, the one who has the most proximity wins and Christian parents, you shouldn’t be surprised that if you send your children to Caesar for the majority of their day, they come back as Romans.

Yet things are different now and many children are unable to be sent back to school due to COVID-19 which leaves the decision and responsibility of education falling on the parents. Biblically speaking, parents it is your job to be the primary educator of your child, not someone else. We see in Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4 that the “training” “discipling” and “teaching” all fall upon the parent, not the State.

So, to all these new homeschooling families, I do want to offer a bit of encouragement. The transition from public education to now home education is a difficult one. It takes a great amount of effort to reorient yourself to this “new normal” but I, as a homeschooling parent, can attest to you that it is worth it.

It is worth it to invest in your child and be the main influencer that shapes their minds.

It is worth it to see them get inspired about a certain topic and encourage them to pursue it all the more.

It is worth it to settle down next to them when they get frustrated and show them that you can relate. 

As difficult as homeschooling is now, it does get better. O