The Facts on Home Schooling

By Virgil Vaduva

Ever since my wife and I decided to homeschool our children, many acquaintances, and even some family members have criticized our decision, encouraging us to reconsider. The problem is that most of the comments stem out of total ignorance and zero knowledge concerning the topic of homeschooling, illustrating that everyone is buying into what the liberals and their media arm are regurgitating on a daily basis.

What is even worse is the fact that even Preterists appear to completely miss the point of homeschooling, allowing a secular, anti-God, government entity to directly affect the education and raising of their children. Yes, I am talking to you Preterists who choose to send your children away to be taught that “there is no God”, rather than keep them in your own home and teach them your own values. If you are under the illusion that the two or three hours you spend every evening with your children can compete with the eight or more hours your children spend with government employees, think again.  

 

A while back, Sharon Harris wrote a brilliant article titled They Pry Them from Our Cold Dead Fingers, in which she set to discuss a speculative situation, in which the citizens of Freeland, an imaginative town, decided that, because the citizens of the town are not taking proper care of their guns, and they are not storing their guns properly in their homes, the government would build special buildings for the purpose of storing the guns, and on a daily basis, the citizens would drop off their guns at the specified buildings, leave the guns in the care of the government for the day, and have the guns returned to them in the evening. Like she speculated, the virtual town loved the idea: “It’s a win-win. Folks really appreciate this service!”

 

Of course, in a real-life town, no citizens in their right minds would agree to such a ridiculous scenario. Nobody would want to own a gun so that the gun would be in the custody of the government for most of the day, cleaned, maintained and calibrated by government employees. The sad fact is however, that we are doing the exact same thing and worse with our children, who are infinitely more valuable than a gun. Christian parents are on a daily basis giving up custody of their children to complete strangers, so they can go to specially built buildings, where these strangers (whom parents are not allowed to enquire about spiritual matters) are teaching the children many important things, such as how to have sex with one another in a safe manner, that God does not exist, that their parents lack the intelligence and ability to educate them, and that government is the answer to every societal problem. Often the children are subject to ridicule from their peers when the topic of God and Bible are brought up, the strangers alluding quite often to the fact that intelligent people cannot believe in God, thus if a child believes in God, his or her intelligence can be questioned. When children are confronted with such situations, the two hours a nigh spent in the presence of their worn out and tired parents become a distant memory, and all their convictions fall to the ground. In their little minds, it is indeed a lot more important to satisfy the peers and teachers, rather than conform to parental standards, especially when the parents are not even present.

 

When Christians choose to homeschool their children, rather than the Church, or their friends displaying ignorant behavior and criticism, they should be encouraged and empowered to do so! The arguments against homeschooling are flimsy and are results of misinformation and refusal to accept reality and responsibility for raising children in the home:

 

Homeschooling is illegal
Homeschooling is actually legal in all fifty states. There are very few regulations depending in which state you live, and very little government interference in the homeschooling process.

 

Homeschooling is really expensive

Nothing can be further from the truth. You can homeschool your children on as little or as much money as you want, often materials and books being readily available in public libraries free of charge. Even if homeschooling would be expensive, the financial aspects are irrelevant. You would not try to “save money” if your child’s life would depend on a surgical procedure? Well, the lives of your children depend on the education they receive, and their relationship with Christ and eternal life are directly related to the quality of their education.

 

You are not smart enough to homeschool
Please, do not insult my intelligence! One does not need any special training or education to homeschool his own children. Just as a mother can instinctively raise her children without directions from the government, so can she give her children the same, if not much better education than a trained teacher. A child can in fact learn just as fast or just as easy when the parent learns along with him or her.

 

You don’t have the time
Often, a homeschooling “day” can range from one hour to three hours of schooling, leaving the rest of the day freely available for homework and play. Even single parents with a full-time job can homeschool if they are willing to forego the excuses. Your children will be socially messed up (un-socialized) I will relinquish my answer to a direct quote from a homeschooling magazine:

 

“This is the question homeschoolers often grimace about and call the "S" question (socialization). The real concern, it seems, is whether homeschooled children will be able to function out in the world if they don't have the experiences schooled children have. Think for a moment about what schools really do. They classify and segregate children by age and ability, reinforce class, gender and racial prejudice, and strip from children the right to any real interaction or private life. Socialization, in this respect, becomes submitting one's will to that of the group (or person in charge). This is not the basis for healthy relationships. Home educated children, because they spend so much of their time out in the real world, generally are able to communicate well with both adults and children and to have friends of all ages. They choose to spend time with others because they enjoy their company or have a similar interest - just like adults.

 

I will venture to say, knowing that in most Christian households, both mother and father are employed, that it is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible for parents to turn over the education of their children to the government. To think that every day, especially as Preterists, we would be sending our children out of the gates of the New Jerusalem, and expect them to come back in every night, is incomprehensible.

I really do not care what the motives or excuses are. If a large mortgage keeps you working long hours and does not allow for homeschooling, move in a smaller house. If you think you are not smart enough, talk to a homeschooling group in your area. Whatever your excuse is, stop whining and take control of your children’s lives. And most importantly, stop criticizing those of us that choose to keep our children close! We should be the one criticizing you; and we are not doing it enough!

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Virgil Vaduva is a columnist for www.PlanetPreterist.com . Virgil was born in Romania and spent most of his life under the communist dictatorship of Ceausescu. He is the proud husband of Jamie, and father of a beautiful daughter, Jade Vaduva.