Pastor Mike and Meredith Curtis

Should I Homeschool?

by Meredith Curtis

Nolettes Camping

What joy and contentment homeschooling our children have brought to Mike and I as parents. And what a challenge it has been! Homeschooling is hard work! It has required sacrifice and faithfulness. Yet, looking back, I would not do it differently. Homeschooling is wonderful! I look forward to years ahead homeschooling our children. I do not believe that homeschooling is for every family. There is a great amount of time and commitment that many parents are unable or unwilling to give. Without seeing homeschooling as having the same time and energy commitment as a full-time job, there will be problems and disasters. Weigh carefully whether or not you are able to give the time required (without resentment). Homeschooling requires you to have control over your children's behavior. Rebellion and homeschooling don't work together. Teaching a student requires that the student respect you as a teacher and follow your directives. There is not time for temper tantrums, arguments, or passive resistance. All children experience disobedience and disrespect from time to time. But over all, is your child respectful and obedient? Are you able to give directions and have them followed? Homeschooling works the best when relationships are healthy and happy. Children learn best in a loving environment and thrive under approval and admiration. Children are at their best when they know that their parents are their greatest cheerleader. Do you believe that God has great things ahead for your child? Do you like spending time with your child? Does the thought of being together with your child all day bring joy or fear? Honestly evaluate yourself before jumping off the safety ledge into the adventure of homeschooling.

Why Homeschool?

The first "basic" of homeschooling is articulating verbally (and possibly in writing too!) why you and your family have chosen to undertake the "homeschooling adventure."

Why is this a "basic?"

Your faithfulness and commitment to homeschooling for the long haul will depend on the strength of your convictions. It will not always be easy or flow smoothly. Knowing why you are homeschooling will help you persevere no matter what circumstances arrive. Secondly, from relatives, close friends and complete strangers will come the big questions: "Why are you homeschooling?" and "Aren't you worried about their socialization?". Be ready to answer these questions graciously and calmly. Here are the reasons our family has embarked on the "homeschool adventure."

OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S WORD!

God's Word makes it clear that the responsibility to teach and train their children belongs to parents, not the church, nor the government. You are free to delegate this responsibility to a public or private school but keep in mind that as a parent, you, not the school, have the ultimate job of educating your child. If they do not receive a good education, the blame is on your shoulders. Delegate carefully.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

--Proverbs 22:6

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

--Ephesians 6:4

"My son, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching."

--Proverbs 6:20

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the LORD is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

--Deuteronomy 6:4-8

Parents are responsible to equip children for the life God has called them to live. They are to train little ones academically, socially, physically and spiritually. Part of a parent's duty to their children includes developing their character, preparing them with practical life skills, teaching them to handle their emotions, and equipping them for long-lasting relationships. When parents put their children in a public or private school, they are delegating a portion of their children's education to someone else. It does not alleviate their responsibility for their education nor their accountability to God. Their education must still be closely supervised by their parents. In our home, we decided not to delegate our responsibility to a school but rather to teach our children academics at home. We combine our areas of teaching and training: spiritual truths and character building are interwoven with academic time. Social training takes place as well when we learn to interact as a family in a way that honors God. There is so much to learn! Learning is not restricted to "school hours" but takes place everywhere and any time!

OBEDIENCE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Brian

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

God began to make it clear to Mike and I that it was His plan for our family to educate our children at home. He showed us His plan through various means: circumstances, provision of resources and finances, godly counsel, a confirmation in our heart that we were to homeschool, and a workable plan to carry this adventure out in practical ways. But the strongest way God made it clear that it was His heart for us to homeschool was a conviction that grew stronger and stronger every time we prayed about it. Homeschooling was something we had never heard of before when a book arrived as an order mistake. The book was on homeschooling and I decided to keep and read it. Then we met a few families that homeschooled and were impressed by the character of their children. When our oldest child was a year old, we went to hear Gregg Harris. We met more homeschooling families. There were several years of prayerful investigation on our part. We looked into curriculum, legal aspects, and support groups. But above all, we sought God. What was His will for our family? We are very pleased that He led us to homeschool. Our family has grown tremendously from it!

THE OPPORTUNITY TO IMITATE JESUS, THE PERFECT TEACHER

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

--I John 3:2

"Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children."

--Ephesians 5:1

As Christians, we have the glorious hope that one day we will be like Jesus! Wow! In the meantime, we are called to imitate Jesus while we await that wonderful day when we see our dear Lord Jesus face to face! The best teacher that ever walked the earth was Jesus!

Homeschooling gives me as an unique opportunity to imitate Jesus! His methods were excellent and creative. Some of Jesus' teaching methods were tried and true--used effectively for centuries! Other methods that Jesus used were very innovative. Like us, Jesus was surrounded by a small group of teachable men and women (ours are younger) that were with him constantly. Like us, Jesus had to repeat lessons over and over again. Like us, He sometimes felt weary and often had his time alone interrupted. Our dear Lord Jesus was a loving and skilled teacher and we would be wise to watch Him closely and learn from Him.

It encourages me so much to know that Jesus understands what I go through. I remind myself that Jesus knows what it's like to be weary, to have to repeat lessons again and again, and have his time interrupted. Not only does Jesus understand, but He handled every situation perfectly. He can give me the wisdom and grace I need with the situations that arise for me as a homeschooling mother. When I keep Jesus in mind as the Perfect Teacher, I am quicker to pray and ask for help as circumstances arise.

Since I became a Christian at age sixteen, I have longed to walk closely with the Lord more than anything else in life. I realize that the more I imitate Him (as well as read the Bible, pray, fellowship, witness, etc.), the closer I will walk with Him. Homeschooling gives me so many situations to ask myself: "What would Jesus do in this situation?" or "What would Jesus say right now if He were here in person?" Homeschooling gives me so many opportunities to grow spiritually.

When I see in the Bible how Jesus taught, live with and loved his disciples and compare that to myself, I am aware of the discrepancy. I have so far to go and so much to learn. This does not discourage me. Rather it makes me thankful for the Cross and thankful that His grace is sufficient for me and that His power is made perfect in weakness. (II Corinthians). Homeschooling keeps me dependent on god and thankful for His grace--and that's a good place to be!

TO SERVE MY CHILDREN OUT OF LOVE!

"Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

--Ephesians 5:2

There is a special love that God pours into our hearts when we become parents. Suddenly that little baby's needs become more important than our own. Jesus acknowledges that parents desire to give good, not bad, gifts to their children. (And that God gives better ones!--Matthew 5:9-11) Almost all parents sincerely desire to give their children all the good that life can offer them.

As a mother, I want to give our children the very best that I am capable of giving them. There is much that I am not capable of. I am not brilliant, nor a great athlete, nor an artist, nor a musician, nor wealthy, nor a perfect mother. I stumble and fumble and make the same mistakes more than once!

But in spite all that I cannot do, there is a lot that I can give to my children.

Time: Homeschooling allows me to give a lot of time to my children. We have heard it said that children spell love "T-I-M-E." There is time to laugh together, to cry together, to plan surprises together, to dream together, to walk together, to play together, to work together, to finish projects together, to learn together, to sing together, to pray together, and to talk together.

Homeschooling gives me the opportunity to share my life with my children in an intimate way. I am able to share my heart with them.

Godly Heritage: Homeschooling allows me the opportunity to give my children a godly heritage. They are able to watch me walk with God on a daily basis. They see me learn, grow, stumble, fail, and receive forgiveness. They see God answer prayer, teach us all through His Word, change us from the inside out, provide for our daily needs, protect us, give us opportunities to minister, send people to love us and remain faithful. God is not an "abstract concept" but the living and intervening Lord of our home. "In this home we serve Jesus!" we often tell our children. More importantly, we try to live for Him each and every day.

Besides watching Mom and Dad (and older sisters) have a personal relationship with God, our children serve God with us. We have daily time of Bible study, prayer, and worship. We also turn to God when situations arise where we need His help!

Most importantly, we introduce them to God and instruct them in the ways of relating to and serving Him! We share the Gospel with them at their level from many different Scripture passages and stories. We lead them to Christ and personal salvation when they are ready to repent and trust Jesus. From the day they are born we train there to live in a way that pleases Jesus. We teach them to have their own personal devotion them. They begin personal devotions before they can read with a toddler picture Bible (telling themselves the story aloud from the pictures), praying simple prayers, and singing simple songs.

Homeschooling allows me to instill godly values in my children. We discover together in God's Word what He sees as important. We have learned that God values relationships, strong families, wisdom, hard work, evangelism, missions, hospitality, obedience, and service among other things. We contrast the world's values (money, fame, self-love, power, romance) with God's values and ask God to change our hearts regularly so that we value what God values.

Another priority in our homeschool is building godly character in our children. Our children are like tender young fruit trees in a garden. We water, fertilize, and prune with tender care. The fruit we expect to see is godly character (love, joy, honesty, integrity, hope, industriousness, kindness, self-control, faith, etc.).

Tutoring: One on one tutoring is considered the most intense and effective teaching method. That is why it is used for children struggling in an academic area or with a learning disability.

Homeschooling allows me to teach one on one. We read. We discuss. There is instant knowledge on my part of my child's grasp of the material. I can also read their interest in a subject from discussions and body language. It is easy to keep their attention on the material and we can go longer on exciting things researching more deeply than our original plan.

Two hours of tutoring is roughly equal to six hours of classroom instruction. This means that school hours at home can be shorter and that more can be learned during those school hours. Our children are then free to pursue other interests, talents, and areas of service.

Individualized Care and Training: Homeschooling allows me to tailor my nurturing style and teaching methods to each of my individual children. Since I have four daughters, I am able to raise them up to be feminine young ladies. I can applaud and cultivate their mothering instincts repudiating the asexual agenda of the public school system. In our home, homemaking is held in high esteem as a wise career choice. We try to relate many careers to the homemaker--"How could she use that educational and career background to be a better homemaker or to bring extra money in with a home business?" I am able to let Jimmy be a man. I want him to be free to be aggressive -- conquering and subduing his world. But I also want him to respect others, be a gentleman and control his temper.

The Curtises