My final little thought explosion in this vein, at least for now. ;) Again, I want to point out that while I do use strong language here and there, I hope you remember that I am talking about my convictions and how I got there. MY convictions, MY reasons, and MY beliefs. I'm not saying they have to be yours. I hope you can hear my heart, that I am simply trying to do my best with the knowledge and experience God has given me, and that my convictions are strong because I've become
convinced. And when you are convinced of something, you are hardly wishy-washy in regards to it!
My own experience of homeschooling gave me some good perspectives and tools that enabled me to pass that gift on to my children. But as I said in
my last post, experience alone does not a perfect teacher make. And as is the case for most of the parenting choices my husband and I have made, a careful examination of the facts and realities concerning school became necessary. My fuzzy feelings alone cannot dictate the paths we set our children on, nor Hubby's. He was public schooled the whole way through, and it quite convinced him that public school was a waste of his time and an ineffective means to socialize or learn. Still, we must make our decisions wisely.
The Function of SchoolOne of the first realities I began to look at was the function of school in the life of a child. What was the goal of school? What benefits did it have in the immediate? What benefits in the long term?
Much is made of 'socialization'. But looking at the structure of public school, it is clear that it is at a disadvantage for socialization. In fact, it is not set up on that level at all. Any socialization that happens is subliminal and subconscious; the function of public school is not to socialize or moralize or parent children, but to give them an academic basis of knowledge and skills to develop a whole, thinking person and guide them toward a productive and full adult life.
That is quite a packed paragraph, if you didn't catch it. I could write entire entries on each sentence. What kind of socialization do children receive in school? Children are not permitted (although of course, it happens anyways) to play with their friends all day long, to speak in class unless they are invited to and acknowledged through a raised hand, and they spend the majority of their time with one particular adult throughout the day and one particular set of children who are of the same age and skill range that they themselves are. There is really, truly, very little socialization that goes on in this stifled environment. Recess is quickly becoming a thing of the past, but even so, recess is a short amount of time compared to the amount of time kids are supposed to be staring at the teacher or working in their books or on a project. Certainly, there are some benefits to all of this--group learning, taking turns, how to get along with a group of people, listening to authority figures, etc. But most of the socialization that takes place is
not necessarily beneficial at the time, and most certainly doesn't transfer to any point later in life.
In contrast, homeschooling encompasses all of the beneficial things that can be learned in public school, socialization-wise, but
eliminates the disadvantages. Almost any disadvantage in homeschooling can be accommodated for, and homeschooling is fluid, varied, wide, and more immersive than public school in terms of a well-rounded social experience.
John Holt, a noted author and educator, once commented: "If I could give just one reason why children should NOT go to public schools, it would be the socialization they receive there. In general, the kind of behavior one finds most often in schools is petty, cruel, and mean-spirited."
I discovered that public and private school--
the very model of it, in addition to the practice of it--can actually hamper proper social development, while homeschooling was repeatedly shown to
enhance social skills. In part, this is due to the sheer amount of hours kids spend in the public/private school environment learning, modeling, and molding to a particular way of life...versus the amount of time homeschoolers are interacting with others. As I said, a lot of what is absorbed is subconscious.
I don't doubt that there is serious intent and indoctrination in schools, but I also think that it is mostly unintentional on the actual individual teacher/school level. But intentional or not, the teacher's values seep into the classroom. How your child is corrected for misbehavior, and how that misbehavior is defined, is out of your control. Research has certainly shown that kids need quantity time, not just quality time, and if the majority of that quantity time is spent with peers similarly mature and with teachers, they become the biggest influence-bigger than parents--and it can indeed be a
very negative thing. After all, teachers and schools don't support what you teach your children at home; you are instead encouraged
to support what the schools are teaching!And if you think about it, it makes logical, common sense. Sure, research backs it up, but it makes sense. Kids are in school all day with those people, and then your interactions with them are largely 'secondary'. They do their homework, we all eat dinner, bath, bedtime routine, get 'em up in the morning, etc. What time is there *left* to educate children on morals, faith, citizenship, etc.?
Not much, apparently. And the sad part is, research also shows that the best indicator for adult success and staying away from bad choices isn't school experience, but
parental involvement.So, while socialization is clearly not the function of school, socialization, behavior modification, and morality training happens regardless...even if it is a shoddy afterthought in the institutionalized school system. We contemplated this, and decided that we'd rather go with the option that allows for improvement in social skills. After all, how often have you heard someone make a comment about someone else's maturity level in terms of "junior high"? For us, homeschool wins points here, but I have heard this dismissed because socialization is not the primary goal of education. If that is not the primary purpose of school, then what is? Arguably, it should be academics.
Unfortunately, I did not find much better news here.
Just recently, a study came out that found homeschoolers to be on top in every way academically. But this is really just a drop in the bucket...
consistently, for years now, homeschoolers have come out on top in terms of standardized testing, college levels, and low drop-out rates. This is mostly regardless of how 'smart' the parents are, their income level or level of schooling.
That's pretty compelling, for me. If academics is the purpose of school, then I want my child to have the best chance at a good academic education. And increasingly, public and even private schools do not fit the bill. I already know that the options available and opportunities are greatly increased with homeschooling, and my own experiences, but now I had the research and statistics to back up my presupposition that if I homeschool my children, they have a better chance in life. And I believe part of this is because the focus of school and the focus of homeschooling are very different.
Education versus Momentary PerformanceInterestingly, there has even been a backlash in the institution of school against how it functions. If you've ever heard of
Waldorf or
Montessori, you are familiar with at least two of many educators and learned professionals that veer from the status quo.
As our system stands, what is taught is mostly taught for the purpose of passing tests. A long time ago, I discussed my issue with this as well as my
issue with grades. The problem with teaching to a test is that it leaves out a lot of background information, and is not meant for longevity. A
momentary performance in time is no measure of the academic capabilities of an individual. And so I realized that my
standards for education run more along that of Montessori or other such educators. School as it is does not promote a culture or curiosity or a lifetime love of learning; instead it squelches it into a mold and regiments it to an arbitrary standard.
Homeschooling, in contrast, can engage the child in an education of the whole person. There is no schizophrenia in how I teach and how we live; no worries about whom is supporting whom and what and if the messages are consistent, quality, and agreeable to our values. And it can happen contentedly all day, every day. I found that public school indeed educates the whole person, but in a fragmented, confusing, and incomplete fashion. Homeschooling is uniform and
complete in its presentation. Uniformity in public school was a problem for me; because children of the same age were expected to perform in certain ways and excused in others without regard for individuality. Uniformity in homeschooling just means a consistent message. Instead of worrying about whether my child is falling behind and thusly labeled, or feeling prideful because she is ahead (and thusly labeled...or frustrated because she is ahead but her age prevents her from tackling the challenges she is capable of), I am
able to go at her own pace.Another concern for us, along these lines, was living out our faith in terms of teaching our children. While I don't believe there is a specific mandate to homeschool, I did not see how we could expect our children to remain godly
while most of their education wasn't, and how we'd be able to consider the mandates in scripture regarding parenting.
Deuteronomy 11:18-23, for example: "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow--to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him--then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you."
This is just one scripture that stresses the need of consistency and constancy in teaching our children. It seemed to us that it would be hard to accomplish this if we were abdicating our responsibilities to the state, and handing our children over to others to teach. And, looking at both my own experiences and also statistics, I knew that homeschooled children keep, explore, and flourish in their faith in greater numbers than their other-schooled counterparts. I mentioned in my
last post that it is not a guarantee of success, but it certainly helps. The
National Home Education Research Institute has found, through various studies, that a frighteningly greater amount of homeschoolers keep their faith, in fact.
My goal for my children is ultimately this: to love the Lord their God with all of their being, and to love their neighbors. Even if they are dummies who can't tell right from left, the most important thing in life is not how they are educated or what level of education they have, but their eternal destination. And while they will, indeed, grow up to make their own decisions, while they are small it is my duty to steward their experiences and shepherd their minds for His glory. For us, this means homeschooling. We just simply can't see how, for our children, we could accomplish that which God asks of us unless we have the time and opportunity to do so, while keeping them safe from wrongheaded attitudes and experiences.
So we homeschool them, with love, tears, prayers, humility, awe, and sincerity. We pray that one day they will look back with fondness on these years, and look forward to many precious years together before they fly the coop.
Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 3.5Another excellent post that highlights many of the same subjects I covered in this post:
The Case for Christian Education
