WHY NOT HOMESCHOOL?
This is an issue that has been on my heart for quite some time. I have heard other moms say "I just can't homeschool" or "Homeschooling is not my calling" or the likewise. And all I can think in my head is "that's just not true!" When we first considering pulling Amber out of public school, mentally I fought the idea. All I could think about was how hard it was going to be managing 3 kids at home. How would I shop for groceries? How would I do the household chores? When would I get any "me time"? I mean, there are lots of advantages to having your kids leave the nest for 7-8 hours a day! I happened to mention the struggle with my friend Joy. She told me she had similar struggles and realized it was just selfishness. Whoa. Wow. That's exactly what is was! (I'm so thankful to have a friend to call me out on that one, and hence my burden to my friends to speak the truth in love to them) I was selfish. I didn't want to give up MY plans, MY time, MY energy, even MY money. I mean, don't make ME spend more time with MY kids! I really thought that way and to be honest, I still struggle with those thoughts! Maybe you've had similar feelings? Don't get me wrong, I do love my kids, but did I really have to be around them more? Weren't we going to drive each other crazy?
Our decision to homeschool was originally based on child need, not religious or other conviction: Amber desperately needed attention, and I knew I was the one who needed to give it to her. But since that time, I have realized that homeschooling is much more important that I originally thought. The Bible says "You shall teach them (the words of God) diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 6:7, NASB) Homeschooling makes it a whole lot easier to do that! The world is not going to teach our kids about Jesus. That is our responsibility. I taught in public school for 10 years. Every science textbook (even social studies textbooks) teaches evolution as fact. And they hide evolution in other ways, like when speaking of the first people, they'll say they've lived as nomads for millions of years. Or when discussing space, the books will talk about how old the stars are, billions of years old. And most teachers I taught with were not Christians. Sure, they were really nice people, they loved kids, they were fabulous teachers, but they were not believers. And the kids...yikes! Amber had what the teacher described as a "partner in crime" in kindergarten. Really! The Bible says, "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals'" (1 Corinthians 15:33, NASB). Should we let our kids continue to socialize with bad company? Or should we provide the moral and social instruction the soul needs?
CONSIDER THIS:The following is copied from the HSLDA website (http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/200908100.asp)
Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states who took three well-known tests—California Achievement Test, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007–08 academic year. The Progress Report is the most comprehensive homeschool academic study ever completed.
The Results
Overall the study showed significant advances in homeschool academic achievement as well as revealing that issues such as student gender, parents’ education level, and family income had little bearing on the results of
National Average Percentile Scores
Subtest Homeschool Public School
Reading 89 50
Language 84 50
Math 84 50
Science 86 50
Social Studies 84 50
Core 88 50
Composite 86 50
a. Core is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math.
b. Composite is a combination of all subtests that the student took on the test.
There was little difference between the results of homeschooled boys and girls on core scores.
Boys—87th percentile
Girls—88th percentile
Household income had little impact on the results of homeschooled students.
$34,999 or less—85th percentile
$35,000–$49,999—86th percentile
$50,000–$69,999—86th percentile
$70,000 or more—89th percentile
The education level of the parents made a noticeable difference, but the homeschooled children of non-college educated parents still scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average.
Neither parent has a college degree—83rd percentile
One parent has a college degree—86th percentile
Both parents have a college degree—90th percentile
Whether either parent was a certified teacher did not matter.
Certified (i.e., either parent ever certified)—87th percentile
Not certified (i.e., neither parent ever certified)—88th percentile
Parental spending on home education made little difference.
Spent $600 or more on the student—89th percentile
Spent under $600 on the student—86th percentile
Let me sum that up. It doesn't matter how much money you make, how much education you have, or even how much money you spend on curriculum...homeschooling is an AWESOME way to educate your kids.
Need a hand getting started? I'm here for you. :)
