I remember the first time I heard about homeschooling.
I was sitting in a Fantastic Sam's waiting to get my haircut and I overheard one of the stylists talking to a young teen.
"So where do you go to school?"
"Oh, I am not in a school. I am homeschooled."
The stylist was a little taken back and so was I…though I kept flipping through the tattered copy of Sports Illustrated because I really wasn't supposed to be listening to their conversation.
"Homeschooling," I thought. "Is that legal? Sounds pretty weird."
That was around 1991.
A few years later, homeschooling started showing up at our church in New Orleans. I was the youth pastor and most of those being homeschooled, to be honest, seemed to be coming from homes with overprotective parents seeking to isolate their kids from the world…and even from our youth group!
My first impressions of homeschooling were not that positive.
And I had no grid to evaluate it.
I grew up attending public schools in my small town in Florida. There were no other options. I had never heard of a "Christian school" and certainly not a "home school." Everyone in our town went to the local schools. I sat between the same two students–Edwards-Foster-Freeman-for most of the grades that I can remember. My parents knew most of the teachers. On Friday nights, we all went to the high school football game to watch Clay High get beat (more often than not) by the other high schools in the area.
That was "school." I couldn't imagine anything too much different.
But when I started having my own children in 1998, the issue of schooling became more than a casual topic of discussion. By the time my oldest was 4, we began thinking about our schooling options. Christian school was out of the question. We simply didn't have the money. Public school was an option but we didn't know the schools, didn't know the teachers, and didn't how our child would do in such a setting. The public schools in central Jersey were nothing like the schools that I or my wife grew up in. Perhaps we were fearful…but as parents of 3 children under five, I think that comes with the territory. So we decided to homeschool. My wife was blessed to be able to stay at home and was more than capable for the task (with a Christian education background and an Army colonel for a dad). Our plan was to evaluate year after year and adjust as necessary.
We have kept evaluating but have never adjusted.
We are now ten years into homeschooling and I have clearly seen its benefits for our family. But I would never pontificate that everyone should homeschool. That would be naive and short-sighted. Not every family will have the same experiences or opportunities…or the same convictions.
Each family is unique.
Each child is unique.
It is that last statement, however, that makes me say that each family should at least consider homeschooling as one of their schooling options.
Each of our children are different. Same parents. Very different personalities…and passions. One likes reading and researching. One likes music and arts. One likes debating and thinking on his feet. One likes Legos and cheese quesadillas. Okay, not every difference can be catered to in your homeschool curriculum but many things can. As parents, we know our children best…and want the best for them…and I think can teach them best. At least when they are young.
As they get older, the options are endless. Latin. Piano. Guitar. Speech & Debate. Taekwondo. Swimming. Computers. Arts. Cooking. Photography. Video editing. Scrabble clubs. Reading. Politics. Community service. College prep. We have exposed them to as many subjects and activities as we can…through the skills and resources of other homeschool parents and in the local community…and we have watched them gravitate toward certain subjects and blossom as young men. And best of all most of the homeschool curriculum is accomplished before noon, leaving the afternoons and evenings free for family time or other activities.
Of course, homeschooling is not without its warts.
My wife is tired at the end of a long day of teaching four boys. Distractions can be hard to manage. Schedules can be hard to maintain. And the "free spirited" child can be hard to corral.
And we have to be careful that we do not isolate too much or expect too much or simply see too much of each other during the day.
That's why we have intentionally involved our children in programs and activities outside of our home. My boys have no shortage of relationships with people of all ages, races, backgrounds, and perspectives. And because of the benefits of college prep, my two older ones are now taking college classes at a local university where they are being exposed to the culture, language, context, and challenges of college while still being able (and willing) to receive guidance from us.
So that's been our experience with homeschooling. And the experience of many others we have talked to.
But that doesn't mean every parent should homeschool or could homeschool or would even want to homeschool.
And it doesn't mean that we shouldn't do everything we can to improve our local public schools…and support more options for those students who are trapped in failing schools. In Louisiana, for instance, the legislature recently passed a law allowing for school vouchers to give every family/student a real choice in education. Unfortunately our own federal Department of Justice is fighting it. Seems that many would rather have a failing monopoly than a thriving arena of competition and innovation. But that's another topic for another day.
In the end, each parent must make the best choice that they can given their circumstances and the temperament of their children.
But for those considering homeschooling….
It is legal. And I pray that it will stay that way.
It is effective. Studies consistently show homeschooling costs less and often has better outcomes than other schooling options.
And it isn't weird.
At least it's not for two million children in the U.S. and for four boys I know here in Louisiana.
