Why Do So Many Christians Home School Their Kids?
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. Deuteronomy 11:19
Many Christian parents choose homeschooling over sending their children to public or private schools. If you ask them why, you’ll find a variety of reasons. Some use the above verse from Deuteronomy, saying that to truly teach your children to walk with the Lord, they need to walk through daily life along with their parents. By learning not only academics, but also everyday living skills as they are involved in the various activities of life, kids learn through observation and through listening as their parents apply Scriptural principles to life.
The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Prov. 12:26
Throughout the book of Proverbs we are warned to choose our friends carefully and not to hang around with the wrong crowd. Many parents have become distraught when they have seen their children choose friends who lead them into sin.
Many parents choose to home school because they do not want their children to be exposed on a continualt basis to other children who will be a bad influence. Studies have shown that children who daily attend school classes with others of the same age become peer dependent, often valuing the opinions of their friends over the opinions of their families and church leaders. Homeschooling parents expose their children to people in a wide range of age groups and have more control over whom their children spend time with. Many are involved in home school associations which offer extra classes, field trips, and sports, so children are not isolated from other children. Also their children are involved in church activities. Having friends is important, and home schooling parents normally encourage good friendships, especially with others who share their Christian values.
Many parents home school their kids because they realize that public schools are based on humanism, and humanism is a false religion in which individuals are considered to be important, but God is not. Teachers have been trained in colleges and universities steeped in humanistic philosophies and beliefs. Most have been so engulfed in humanism that their own teaching comes from that point of view. And many textbooks are full of evolution and humanism as well. Parents who want their children to be educated from the perspective of the teachings of the Bible know that it is their responsibility to make sure that their children are educated with the truth. Protecting their children from the false belief system found in schools is a major reason that many choose to home school. Humanism also encourages acceptance of all life styles, including those which area labeled as sinful in the Bible. Christian beliefs are often questioned or mocked.
Homeschooling parents realize that children often learn better when their education is specifically geared to the individual rather than to a group. Children who can work at their own pace – whether faster or slower than what is expected of the group – and who have access to individual tutoring, are often more successful. Testing results on the average show that most home schooled students test out well. Some Christian curricula are more challenging academically than public school textbooks, and more accurately teach history.
Usually Christian home schooling is a matter of personal conviction that God is calling a parent to home school. it’s a matter of sacrifice. A home schooling parent often gives up on having a career in order to follow this call. The family often lives at a lower economic level. And it is a very time consuming process in which a parent sets asides her own pleasures and recreation to make sure that her children are receiving a good academic and Biblical education. A home schooling parent can help children feel secure and not threatened. The example of a self sacrificing parent who loves to spend time with her children will help children understand how much God loves them.
Do parents regret doing this? Not this writer! After home schooling my daughters, including them in family ministry opportunities, and seeing them develop into women who love and serve the Lord, I look back with wonderful memories and a knowledge that the fruit of my labor was good!
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