Why We Home Educate Part 2

If you have not seen the first part of this series, you can read it HERE.

Let me tell you a little about our home educating experience:

For kindergarten, we were at home and loved it. We were able to blow right through the school year without any glitches. It was also during this year, when the Lord called us to the ministry.  During the summer we put our house up for sale and our school year was gaining on us. Both my husband and I prayed about what to do for school. We felt that the Lord wanted us to put Monkey into school since we were going through the selling of our house and the beginning of deputation. The only thing, we could not put him in the Christian school due to finances, so we put him in the public school. This was a good thing. Our first grade teacher was a Christian. In fact, most of the staff at the school were all Christians and  involved in some of the local churches.  We had a good couple of months; we went on the deputation road, and a traditional school was not going to work. So we began home educating again and all was going well. For second grade we schooled at home in Montana.  Then for our third grade year, we were back in Georgia and dealing with returning to mission field and deputation all over again. We thought we would try the public school system for a second try. Boy, was that a huge mistake! Over the past year and half the school district changed some things and we ended up at another school. We had a teacher who was not a Christian and in fact tried to have Monkey removed from her class room because we were “Missionaries”; for some reason that did not work out. Every week, Monkey came home at least 3 days crying about something that had happened. The straw that broke the camel’s back, was when Monkey had to take a stand against evolution. He had told his teacher that he would never believe in it and that he believed what the Bible says about creation.  His teacher did not like this and told him that the Bible was a lie and that his parents were foolish to believe in it and for teaching it to him. We were never allowed to meet with the teacher about this. Instead of fighting to get a meeting and ruining our testimony, we pulled Jamie out that Wednesday.

Needless to say, we have not even thought about putting Monkey back in a school. There are many verses in the Bible that tells us as parents our responsibility in raising our children.

I. Our children are a gift from the Lord.

Psalm 127:3-5  Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gates. 

The Lord gave us our children,  we are to raise them for Him. These precious souls that we are trusted with are truly a gift. The Lord did not have to give them to us. He could have shut the door from the beginning in our lives and not allowed us the privilege to raise them. Yes, I look at raising my son as a privilege. The Lord knew in advance that I am not perfect but He trusted me to raise Monkey to serve Him.

II. We are to teach OUR children.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 

In the early years of our nation, most families educated their children at home. There were some who sent their boys to a school to help in the aid of learning a trade. At that time, there was no government stepping in and controlling what was taught. Families had the freedom in choosing what their children learned. Down through the years, Bible was a major topic in schools. Sadly, Satan used and is using many people to do all they can to remove anything biblical from our society.

III. We are to protect our children’s eyes, ears and minds. 

When we allow our children to be in an environment where they are taught that the Bible is wrong and that there is no God; we are opening a door to problems. Think about this~ We send our children to a school for at least seven hours a day. That is 35 hours a week spent hearing and seeing and even participating in things that are worldly. We as parents will have to spend much more time in “retraining” our children.

What about a Christian school? I honestly believe that there are some great Christian schools around. You are really going to have to look to find them. Before allowing your children to step foot through the doors, parents need to do a thorough research on the school. There are some who have Christian in their name, when they are no more than a “paid” public school. A good thing to check into is their Statement of Faith. They should have one, if they don’t LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY.  When a school asks for a letter of recommendation from your pastor, don't take offense. Know the school is looking out for the lives who enter their building. I will warn you as a former Christian school student and teacher, your children will learn all sorts of things that are not pleasing to God. They will be exposed to some of the same things that are found in the public school systems. There are many parents who put their children in a Christian school in hopes that the school will reform their child. It does not happen! Remember the saying, “It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch?” Every Christian school has that one bad apple and then some.

It is up to the parent  to protect their children. No one else will protect them, like a parent.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

This is a verse that I lean on. I can only pray after all the years of teaching my son, that he will continue on the right path and serve the Lord. I know of many families who did all they could do in raising their children for the Lord, and the child left the right path. I honestly believe that the Lord will not hold the parents responsible. If the teaching, the guidance and the discipline is put to use along with prayer, then the parents obeyed what is required of them. The child has left the “umbrella of protection” and will have to answer to the Lord, for his actions.