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I know not everyone is called to homeschool. However, every Christian parent should spend time on their knees and prayerfully consider homeschooling.
I have said numerous times on this blog that homeschooling is not for everyone. I have shared how public school moms and homeschool moms can and should be friends. I promised that as a homeschool mom I don’t judge public school moms because I know not everyone is called to homeschool.
I still believe all of this.
However, I am also, now urging each and every Christian parent to seriously spend time on their knees and prayerfully consider homeschooling.
The recent ruling by our President that bathrooms need to be opened and free to all genders is really just the final straw for me. And no, it is not because I am a homophobe or someone who discriminates, or anything else. It is because it is proof (as shown in this video) that our president truly could care less about the health and safety of our children.
What is to stop any man from following a young girl into a bathroom? What’s to stop a group of boys from bombarding one girl in a locker room? They now have the freedom to come and go as they please with no chance of punishment. (Heidi St. John has a great podcast about this)
That’s ludicrous. This on top of common core, and on top of the fact that public schools teach our children everything that goes against the Lord means it’s time for Christian parents to take a stand.
I mean, think about it. If someone came into my church, stood in a pulpit and preached false doctrine they would be run out of the church. We would not want someone coming into our church and teaching our children that the world is millions of years old, or that Jesus does not exist. We would not want them telling our kids that having premarital sex is ok, and to do what “feels” good. We would not let someone in church tell our children that homosexuality is ok and normal. We would not want our bathrooms opened up so anyone can come and go as they please. Yet Christians send their kids willingly into public schools to be taught and exposed to this all the time.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15
Please, I urge you to prayerfully consider homeschooling.
Yes, you can afford it.
No, you don’t need a degree.
Yes, your kids can go on to college.
No, grandparents, they won’t mess up your grandchildren.
No, you don’t need loads of patience to homeschool.
Parents, I have been where you are. I didn’t want to homeschool. I fought it. Then, God called me to it. My husband then fought it. Then, God softened His heart.
I have heard the reasoning behind leaving kids in public school, and I understand a lot of them. But the more and more corrupt and out of order with God’s laws our government gets the worse our public schools are going to become. I believe the benefits are becoming less as the risks become more. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Our children need to be the salt and light
One of the most prominent ones is that our children need to be the salt and light. The salt and light argument is not valid. I have had public school officials tell me that they cannot speak about Jesus in the public school system (in some cases they can, but still they have to carefully watch what they say). See an example of this here. If adults can’t do it what makes you think your children can? There have been numerous cases like this one or this one where students have been told to NOT discuss Christ in schools. Also, it is not a CHILD’s job to witness and preach to others. Jesus was speaking to adults that He had trained when He told them to go be the salt and the light (Matthew 5:13-16).
You can read my whole post about why it is NOT our kid’s job to be the salt and the light here.
Our schools need to put God back in schools
We hear all the time that we need to put God back in schools. Well, in reality, God was never in government-run public schools. As soon as we turned our schools over to the government God was not welcome. A school that takes money from the government cannot teach about Christ. It’s a violation of church and state.
I urge you today, to please spend time in prayer asking God what he wants you to do in regards to your children’s education. Maybe it’s a private school, maybe it’s public school, maybe it’s homeschooling. But, ASK HIM. Truly open your heart to the possibility that it may NOT be the public school anymore.
Going along with this is the movie Indoctrination. If you have not watched it I encourage you to do so NOW. It is a must watch for any Christian parent.
Disclaimer:
* I want to point out that I am not anti-teacher or school administrator. I believe that there are many great Christian teachers, principals, and administrators out there. It is not their fault the public school system is in the state that it is. It’s the system. It is a system that has left God out from the beginning. It is a system that teaches kids to pass a test, because if not the school won’t get its money. It is a system that is failing our children over and over again*
Ready to consider homeschooling? Check out my book Homeschool 101!
Thank you, Alicia!
This came up in a Google search, as I’ve been feeling God lay on my heart to write a post along these lines. I agree more than ever, almost 6 years after you’ve published this post, Christian parents need to make their kids a bigger priority. It’s too important. Thank you for sharing so boldly.
Hi Rose! I think it is totally fine to begin homeschooling in high school. I highly recommend the Facebook Group “It is Not That Hard to Homeschool High School” Ann and her friends in that group will get you started and help you succeed. You can do it! Here’s the link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ItsNotThatHardtoHomeschoolHighSchool/
What are your thoughts about beginning to homeschool in high school?
Hello. I was on the fence about approving this, but am going to give ou the benefit of the doubt. I encourage healthy discussion, but I don’t encourage plain out bashing. There are a few things in your comment I want to address.
I have never taught my kids that the world is a terrifying place. I don’t shelter them from the world. They experience the world each and everyday. This doesn’t have to happen by me shipping them off to a public school to be raised by strangers for 8 hours every weekday. What part of that is “real world”? Being segregated by age, herded around like cattle? Tell me what workforce that prepares them for. Please.
I am not hiding behind God’s calling. It is an important part of my life. Had I not been called to homeschool I wouldn’t have done it. Period. I have also never made my children be “fearful”. We are called to be a light, but that doesn’t mean my children are missionaries. They need to be trained. Guided. Raised. Then they can go out into the world and be whatever God called them to be. They still have an opportunity to be a light. There are numerous situations each and every day where they can show others love, respect, Christ. It doesn’t have to be in the public school system, where God isn’t even welcome. If that is YOUR mission field go for it! It doesn’t have to be my children’s.
As a Christian who is also very well educated, I want to challenge one statement: “teaching our children that the world is millions of years old” The earth is millions of years old. It is fact proven time and again by science. I think you are a bit misguided. I know that you are going by the timelines set forth in the Bible. God created the world in 7 days…etc. I completely agree with that. However, how sanctimonious are people to believe that God’s timeline is based on the Roman calendar that was set less than less than 50 years before Christ?
God’s “day” could have been a million years on the Roman calendar. Actually, the earth is probably around 4 billion years old. Please enlighten yourself with information from CHRISTIAN scholars and scientists.
After all, on the 3rd day, “God created the vegetation 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:10b-12
The creation was of God, the growth was of the earth, so it was certainly more than 24 hours.
I applaud your wish to protect your children from the harms of the real world. However, please be fully educated before you judge what happens in public schools. And yes, one day your children will certainly face those of different belief systems and theologic backgrounds. It is best that they
Ephesians 6: 13-15
13) Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace.…
And be ready to defend and protect what they believe and hopefully lead others to Christ, not to hide behind a terrifying notion that the world is a terrible place, and therefore they must hide from it.
If you want to change the world, be the change you want to see in the world, don’t hide behind “God led me to do this” and ignore that change must come one step at a time. If you want to homeschool your children, I certainly applaud that. But please don’t make them fearful of what God called all Christians to be which is a light to a world living in darkness.
A few places to start:
http://www.letu.edu/opencms/export/download/chemphys/AgeofEarth.pdf
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/7-how-old-is-the-earth
http://www.godandscience.org/youngearth/age_of_the_earth.html
http://www.reasons.org/articles/notable-christians-open-to-an-old-universe-old-earth-perspective
It always surprises me that parents will research and discuss their options thoroughly before making life-altering choices about their family – except for where and how their children will be educated. They don’t actively choose public school; it’s the default. They say things like “Public school was good enough for me, it’s good enough for them.” Really?
I realize this post is a call to Christian parents, and I agree that because of our faith, we must pray and think carefully about how we believe our children should be educated. I believe, however, that ALL parents should be considering the alternatives before choosing one option over the other.
I couldn’t agree more!
You are so very welcome Angela. I know how hard it is. Prayers for you!!!
I wholeheartedly agree!
Thank you, Misty! For a while now we have known we wanted to homeschool our children. But your oldest just turned five, and in August it is time to start. Now, suddenly all of our family and friends who have known of our decision for quite some time are now beginning to belittle the idea. It has now turned into faces of disgust or worry; along with comments such as, “Oh, I thought you would have changed your mind about that by now. You do realize it’s going to be hard, right?”. Lately, this negative energy has really brought me down. Now, reading this has really reminded me of the reasons we decided to embark on this journey in the first place. So, thanks.
Oh, Deborah. If I could, I would hug you right now. I am so very sorry that you went through that. It sounds like your boy was amazing and that you did a fantastic job raising him. Thank you for sharing your difficult story. I believe this will help and encourage others. I also hope and pray that you have found peace. Praying for you and your family <3
I 100% agree with you Misty. I sent my oldest 2 children through the school system and i will live to regret it the rest of my life, due to the fact that we lost our son in 2009 to complications of swine flu( he contracted it from school) and because of my son passing from swine flu( he was 14 years old, very healthy boy) the health department jumped in and started vaccinating all the other children in this area right away, tamaflu saved many lives that year also…2 hospitals in this area called him a silent hero… He was a Jesus lover and He spent his free time at school talking to others about Jesus and always defended and befriended the children that had special needs or were bullied. He begged me daily to homeschool him because of the corrupt, ungodly things he had to go through while at school. Since his passing we have had 2 more children and they came into this world for our blessings and help us heal from a horrible event that took place in our lives, the Lord knew exactly what we needed. i just wanna say that we all need to ask God to open our spiritual eyes and ears. We all know its only gonna get worse, our children need us more than ever.
very well said
Yes, for myself, Acts 13:47 is a mandate. By God’s grace, through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit I fight the spiritual battle. For my children? Well, the younger ones have not shown the ability to confess Christ or even articulate why they believe that Jesus is God’s only door or way into his presence and promises – let alone present a defense of Christianity against a (possibly aggressively combative or even a milquetoast go along to get along teacher who doesn’t approve or disapprove but allows all views presented to remain relative) teacher with a, at minimum, bachelors degree or possibly multiple masters. There is no competition. Just like throwing weak, beaten Christians to the lions in the coliseums of old.
Not to mention the authority factor. It’s been said the the adult a child spends the most time with will be that child’s first paradigm. In other words, your worldview will be the last thing your child considers as they grow older. You may find that conversations with your young ones coming home from school begin with “Teacher said xyz”. You will always be behind. Defending instead of taking the offensive. Try to catch up. Who has your child for longer periods of time through their waking hours as a captive audience (in chairs facing the speaker…)?
You brought up Acts. Gregg Harris in his book “The Christian Home School” quotes the ideas of “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) and “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20) I want my children to be blessed by God, blessed by men. I don’t want the destruction of fools to fall upon them.
What is the definition of a fool? The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Psalm 14:1) Simply, they say there is no God in their heart. Believe me, there are many so called Christians who are fools. Just watch what they do. Men do what they BELIEVE in their heart of hearts. Deep inside where no one but God can see. But God has given us the key to what is ANY man’s heart. Watch what they do. Do they act like they believe the promises of God or not. And believe me, there are those in teachers positions who really don’t believe in God and, if they do, are not willing to stand up. (I did not say “all”)
So yes, I agree with Dr. James Dobson on this one. (this is a memory, I don’t have the reference but the general idea is…) At the minimum keep your kids out of the “coliseum” events until 6th grade, preferably until the end of junior high. That is, traditionally, the age of adulthood (bar mitzvah for the jews and even in the colonial USA indentured service started at 14 years of age as well as higher learning). At this age the child has a biblical foundation and worldview. All the voices of teachers and professors will be in the position of proving themselves because your child will say to them, “My parents and the Bible say xyz”.
So let’s make the worldview of teachers and professors the “last” thing our children consider and the Bible the first.
Thank you SO much for sharing your story. I am so glad that you have prayerfully considered public school. As the post states, I don’t believe that every parent HAS to homeschool their children. However, I believe that too many times we as parents (me included, I did it as well) choose the “easy” route. The route more popular, more normal, and the route that oftentimes leads to a more comfortable life. We make that decision without prayer, and without a second thought as to whether or not it is truly the path the Lord wants us to take. The key is to pray about what educational path the LORD wants you to take. For you, it sounds like He has chosen public school. For me, it is homeschooling. Yes, I have prayerfully considered public school. A quick look around this blog would have told the story about how we came into homeschooling. How I fought it at first, then how my husband fought it as well. Now, we know without a doubt that this is the path we are supposed to be on.
Again, thank you for your time and for sharing your thoughts. I pray that the Lord continues to bless the path He has you on 🙂
I send all three of my children to public school and I’ve prayerfully considered the merits of public school, homeschooling, and private school. I believe the Lord wants my children in public school. My children are immensely benefiting from their public school education. They are learning life lessons that are extremely hard to teach in private school or at home. My children sit in a classroom with children who don’t hold the same beliefs they do or come from the same socioeconomic background they do and they must learn to interact and get along with these kids. That’s what real life is all about! Learning to get along with others who are different that you are!!. There is no substitute for being surrounded everyday by people who challenge your beliefs and values. There is no better way to teach my children to be strong in their faith than to have it challenged. We are confident that we have taught them proper discernment and that the Holy Spirit will guide them as they make their way through school. We have taught them the value of prayer. I reinforce to my children that they don’t have to accept as truth another person’s beliefs but they must love that person.
As for Common Core, all three of my children are excelling at the common core curriculum. If you look closer at it, it really is a helpful and better method of teaching. My husband was a math major 20 years ago and has a Master’s in math. He reviewed the common core curriculum and agreed that it was a better way of teaching math to kids.
I feel the only way my children can be effective messengers of the message of the gospel is to be in public school. Their school is their mission field as it is mine and my husband’s!!
Acts 13:47 says ” For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”
My question for you is why aren’t you prayerfully considering public school?
Exactly! I have had people comment regarding this article that in high school their faith was strengthened. That’s great! But, what does that have to do with my middle schooler? Or Kindergartner? It is NOT their job to be missionaries. Not even every Christian high schooler would be ready for that. The key is prayer, which as parents we need to do SO MUCH more of. Thank you for your encouragement and for sharing your thoughts 🙂
Hi! I just want to clarify one thing. I never said that no Christian parent should have their child in government run schools. I said that every Christian parent should PRAY about whether or not that is where God wants them to place their children.
That being said, you are absolutely correct. We won’t rebuild America overnight, but if we diligently seek God’s will for our children, and strive to raise up arrows to serve him we can make a difference for the next generation.
Wow what a great article. I, too, agree that it is harder now then ever to send kids to ps–and more dangerous. My husband is a ps teacher (3rd grade) and when the bathroom issues came forward he dogmatically said “now I am convinced that my kids will never step into the public schools.” This is our 2nd yr homeschooling and we love it. Thank you for not being too dogmatic by stating that people should at least “consider” homeschooling or pulling their Christian kids out of ps. I agree that kids are not going to be the salt and light that they want to be in ps at least until high school (roughly). I can’t expect my 6 YO to witness to other kids at school and not be influenced by the godless system at the same time. Thank you for being bold.
I read your blog on the Mache’ Facebook page. I too have come to the decision that no Christian parent should have their child in government run schools. I was very much of the mindset before that Christian parents could successfully use the public schools. I am losing that mindset quickly. I saw a quote in World Magazine from May 28 that was very telling. They interview a pastor from the Chinese house movement. Here are a couple of his quotes: “For future generations to maintain their Christian faith without being completely influenced by culture, it is very important of the church to create its own schools.” Also, “For the Chinese church’s revival of the last few decades to take root in China culturally and historically, the church must create an education system that can teach the next generation, which can then teach generations to come.” We as the church in America need to get this vision. We won’t change America overnight with homeschooling and private Christian schools, but need to build on the generation by generation thing.
Thank you Michelle! We were homeschooling when I watched Indoctrination and it STILL convicted me. It’s SO powerful. And same here, I NEVER thought I’d homeschool, now I can’t imagine it any other way. So thankful God put it on my heart to start this journey.
I completely agree with you, Misty! Everyone should watch the Indoctrination movie so that they can make more informed decisions about where their children are being educated. And all Christians should be on their knees in prayer to see if God wants them to send their kids back to school in the fall or if He wants them to keep their kids home.
I never thought I would be a homeschooler when God called us to it. I’d never even HEARD of homeschooling! But now, 13 years later, I can’t imagine any other way of life. I feel so blessed to be able to teach my boys the truth about God… and to be able to create an individualized education which will prepare them for the purposes God has for them on this earth.
Thanks for standing up and being courageous enough to tell the truth in this post. God bless you!