Lessons I Could Only Learn as a Homeschooler..

As I was considering what I was going to write for this post, one topic kept surfacing, and since it is a really relevant subject, I decided to go with it.

Many people, when they hear that someone is homeschooled, have doubts and questions as to whether or not the student is adequately “socialized” or if they will be “ready” to go to college when they graduate. This skepticism from people is just something with which I have just had to learn to live. I answer their questions, assuring them that — believe it or not — I still saw my friends (or wouldn’t see them anyway, since I had a good amount of friends in other parts of the country and world…) and that I really loved learning at home.

Homeschooling, I believe, can be a path that actually prepares someone for college more and in better ways than going to a public or private school could ever do. It gives the parents opportunities to teach their children not only the traditional school subjects, but also how to have a biblical worldview. I know a biblical worldview is not important to everyone, but it is one of the aspects I’m most thankful for as far as my homeschooling goes. Because I had the chance to homeschool and learn what the Bible has to say about various subjects, my college experience has been amazing. College has given me opportunities to share my beliefs, views and insights on current events, abortion, presidential elections, and countless other topics that come up in class and in random conversation. It is so great to see the influence and impact I’ve been able to have through it all.

Sure, had I gone to public school, I am certain I would still have beliefs about such subjects and would be able to share them, but.. had I gone to public school, I would not have had the practical lessons of life that I gained through homeschooling. Respect… Loving others… Compassion… Being a good listener… Praying about everything… Leadership… Creativity… Logical and critical thinking… A love of learning… Friendliness… Humility… Self-discipline… Motivation… etc.

These lessons are just a few of the ones I learned during my years of homeschooling, and I can honestly tell you that every single one of them has enhanced my college experience. My classmates and co-workers respect me and who I am, and they frequently come to me, besides in our regular everday conversations, asking my opinion or what I would do in a certain situation, or just to have someone to lend an ear for a while.

Maybe you are considering homeschooling your children and want to know more about it and what former homeschoolers have to say about it. Maybe you’re researching homeschooling for a paper or speech. Maybe you’ve never really agreed with the thought of homeschooling. I don’t know what your situation is… I hope you’ll be encouraged though and see the value of homeschooling. Respect and other such values and lifestyles are things that have to start in the home and be reinforced there in order for them to show up in the lives of most people.. I am so thankful to have been blessed with the opportunity to grow up with these values in my home as a way of life. 

007

Here is what another person dear to me had to say about her upcoming “sending forth” from home education. 

It isn’t easy to grow up, I guess it never has been. I do think we of the class of ‘007 have sure had a bumpy road.  We all watched a century, a millennium even, change. We learned a lot. We got a new president and heard way too many details about why the previous one had disappointed some folks. At the beginning of one school year, We watched two huge buildings crumble to the ground and learned later that those buildings were a symbol of our country and began to realize what our country stands for and what it means to others.

When we started here Hurricane Isabel whirled by. What a way to start a school year, especially when your school only meets one day a week. Two weeks later my grandmother passed away and I realize that everyone of my classmates has, while the years have passed had joys and sorrows, challenges and triumphs at home.

 We have seen war, and tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquake and famine. Some have gone into those areas to help, some of us have had a front row seat courtesy of the internet. Does anyone here expect life to slow down? Me, either.

I know some things.  I belong to Jesus. He will never leave me. I have learned a great deal over my years of home education.  But the best thing has been that my tutors, my classmates, my parents and siblings have always been committed to reinforcing my faith. I thank you all. 

(end bio)

Sally Settle

The Life of a Home Educated Young Lady

Here is the bio of someone I have grown to love. ss

Here I come world, ready or not,

When I was 18 months old, my Mom tried to get me a part-time job. I was very busy and energetic and she just thought it might help me to have more responsibilities than just taking care of my older brother and my baby sister and, of course, Mom. She says that she knew as soon as I was born that I would be this way, but she didn’t know how long it would take her to be grateful for it.By the time I was 6, I could cook a whole meal, if no one minded what the kitchen looked like in the end. By the time I was 9, I regularly cooked for the whole family and gave copious advice to anyone foolhardy enough to enter the kitchen. Now, in anticipation of my eventual exit from home, I am not even allowed to tell people what to do. Now, there is a challenge!

In addition to my culinary prowess, I was quite athletic and could pull myself and then my brother up onto the washing machine by the time I was two. To empty the washer from this position you need only place your foot down into the barrel. This probably helped me to do well in Field Day competitions. I could do more pull ups and sit ups faster than anyone in my age group. It must have been good for my endurance, too, because I remember the last time I attended Field Day, I ran the mile three times trying to better my time.

I think my biggest challenge has been my dyslexia coupled with mild hearing loss. I had no idea, for many years, that I was having a difficult time learning to read and that I was not hearing words well enough to “sound them out.” Of course my Mom and Dad knew and I got special reading lessons from Ms. Vivien. (Thanks, I love you!) But it seems strange to me that some people learn to read so easily and yet can’t make dinner for 12 at the drop of a hat!

I love my family, and sometimes it is hard not to leap in and try to fix the little guys ways of doing things. My parents keep saying, “M., you are not always going to be around. You need to let the little ones grow up.” I really understand this, if only vaguely. I try to keep busy by doing my school work, working two jobs and going to the gym.

Lu., you mean more to me than you will ever know. We may not be attached at the hip any longer, but I am glad we once were.

Mom and Dad, thanks for all your support. You may be “out there, ” but that is what I love about you.

J1, Ice, J9 and too many little girls to mention, I love you and I promise that I will always be there to tell you what to do.

End Bio.

We all like to say “Homeschoolers are (this virtue) or (that vice), but there is really no such thing as the typical homeschooler, anymore than those who have been group educated. I have many dear friends from both groups who are coming upon their graduation. I can’t wait to see them change the world. God Bless you all.

The Parallel Societies Within

The parallel society discussion is especially interesting, I think, to various groups of home schoolers. Early on in the life of homeschooling, all home school families seemed supportive of one another. We were working together to protect the right to homeschool. The main enemy was ignorance followed by fear. The public at large felt suspicious. The number one question asked of homeschoolers, historically,has to be “Is that legal?” The fact that that hasn’t even been mentioned in the beginning list of FAQ’s for this blog is indicative of how far we have come.

In a way, our first ally in proving the right to homeschool was the US Government, which, even to this day supposes that parents have a compelling interest to do what is best for a child. Much of the state-by-state effort was involved in reminding our elected and appointed officials of that truth. This still goes on. Americans, in general, influenced by incidences of heinous neglect, abuse and its attendant horror have begun to look to government regulatory bodies to protect them from living in a society in which horrible things happen within families.

We still fight a state to state, even county to county (or other local division) battle to remind Boards of Education that our goal is education and faithful discharge of our obligations toward our children, not truancy or cover-up of disfuntion. This will continue as long as there is public education and families chose to opt out of it. Before Home Ed, many private schools had similar issues.

Then we come to the split within homeschooling. Many people have made the decision to homeschool on the basis of education. They think that they can do a better job teaching their children than the public or private school can. If we think this, then we have an obligation to our children and society to do so.

Other parents have viewed group education as an opportunity for their children to be exposed to ideas and behaviors that do not honor their beliefs. How parents ultimately address this varies. Some choose private schools, some choose schools based on a certain belief system, and some choose homeschooling.

Then the fun starts. Why are we homeschooling? (That did make the FAQ) Is it because we want to protect our children from attacks on their faith, their innocence, their very bodies? Do we want to restrict our children to our own set of narrow beliefs? Are we hoping to create a society which holds our ideals as its guiding principle and unabashedly demands that all within this society behave in certain ways? Is there some educational method that we find superior to those offered in local schools? How shall we, then, educate?

Over the years, as homeschooling has grown to the point where we can find our niche and have a group of families who share our distinctives, whether they be in faith or in practice, we now have parallel home educating societies. We have squabbles between them and in them. We have groups which are growing and beginning to serve a second generation of homeschoolers, we have groups which have been incredibly harmful to individuals and which are changing or disbanding.

All of this occurs within a healthy organic system. (Organic-developing in a manner similar to a living organism) Which means that it heals itself. Which means that at times, it is wounded , or split, or damaged. To try to protect this system from the natural outworking of differences is, ultimately, self defeating.

We all like to point out our own bunch of folks as not being monolithic, but, really, no group is, it can’t be. God has worked too hard to make each of us unique and precious. Parallel societies sound good to me. Even divergent societies have their place in the scheme of things…a group may, at any given time have compelling interest in staying together, but we also see that sometimes, the best solution is to acknowledge differences and split.

If we split over an issue of godliness, then to put off those who are ungodly is a proper response. If we split over something which is a preference, while it may cause grief for a time, another group of godly folks with a different view can serve as iron sharpening iron.