Should we homeschool?
Heartprints

Should You Consider Homeschooling?

Distinguish or Discernment

School is reopening, and instead of children walking to and enjoying classrooms filled with excited children, our nation is struggling to discern if it is safe for them to attend. Due to the pandemic, what was unthinkable even a few months ago has now become more and more a reality. Homeschooling has awakened, and parents have become the teachers—some of it is good and some questionable. Parents are on a quest to discern what textbooks are the “best” to use. Websites for homeschooling has skyrocketed! 

Also, children, today face more screen time and virtual classrooms due to the pandemic. Some think it is beautiful, but others see danger signals ahead. How quickly one screen can change and what was right is now false, and our children are questioning the validity of it all. Our culture today reeks of fake dramas, fake foods, false teeth, and more. We can almost find anything on the internet that is not real anymore. The church is falling farther and farther behind in their ability to teach the truth because churches are closed, and the dates to reopen is one week, yes and the next week no. Parents are bewildered as to how to teach and disciple their children to prepare them to face the cults and false teachers. If we are not discerning, we will fall for the lies that our archenemy has planned to trip us up, and we fall for the false doctrines found on the internet. Satan is a master at blinding the eyes and questioning truth.  

As teachers, parents, grandparents, we must be active. No longer can we trust because what was true yesterday may be false tomorrow! 

Here are two resources that I suggest you investigate to help you through this new season of life. 

John MacArthur and his team from his church have written a book: Fool’s Gold? He dispels the lies that the enemy has pursued and placed before our churches and our children in their textbooks. Be on the alert: Textbook writers are cleansing our historical records! They are also sensationalizing sex and glamour in magazines and books our children are purchasing. Since the Bible is no longer the textbook for our schools, Satan has demonstrated the ability to present lies and untruths about God, creation, and the universe. Beyond that, we now have a new phenomenon. No longer can teachers call a boy a boy or a girl a girl “if” they say they are the opposing gender. But, our God is not the author of confusion. The truth will always win out in the end. 

Natasha Crain has a blog page, Christian Mom Thoughts, written for parents to equip them to raise kids with an understanding and defend the faith. Her newest book, “Talking with your kids about Jesus,” is filled with 30 conversations every Christian parent must-have. Join her blog page to keep up on the newest ideas and apologetics geared to parents raising children. Teachers can benefit too! We must take charge of our children’s future and their faith so that they can be discerning.

Hebrews challenges us in how and why we need to be discerning: “But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:14]

Both Peter and Jude wrote about false teachers and how to discern their theology. Take time to read and meditate on those passages and teach from them in your Bible time with your children. 

Coordinator of the Heartprints Blog Page: Gaye-Ellen Austin or SonShine has a passion to train people to be successful Bible students, following the words of Paul to his protégé Timothy: “ entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.” (2 Tim 2:2). She taught 15 years in public schools and 12 years in a Christian school where she was coordinator of the NILD program for learning disabled students. She has taught Precept upon Precept classes and was a discussion group leader for 10+ yrs. in BSF in Daytona Beach. Fl. and Atlanta, GA. Also, Gaye-Ellen is the writer for the https://www.facebook.com/bible.org/ She also has her own personal blog page: https://sonshinesjournal.com/ David is a full time director for Bible.org as well as his secular job. He and Gaye-Ellen along with their son, Dr. Mark Austin, daughter-in-law, Dr. Blanca Austin and granddaughter Christina (https://christinaaustinlopez.com.) live in the Dallas area. Gaye-Ellen's goal is to present Christ and live Christ glorifying God. One of her favorite verses about the role as parents, teachers, and adults for the next generation comes from Psalm 78:4, "but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord."

2 Comments

  • Brian Holt

    Gaye, my wife and I saw the writing on the wall early on when it came to public education. We also had and still have many friends who were and are public school teachers. In nearly every case, our friends became quite disenfranchised with the direction of the public school system and the curriculum and texts from which they were forced to teach from. We did our research and found that homeschooling would be a good direction for our kids. We could give them the Biblical world view on subjects such as history, literature, social studies and even math.

    This worked out well for at least two of our children. Two our children, did not thrive as homeschoolers and we made the decision to adjust our lifestyle to put our other two kids into a private Christian school. If you can guess, these two kids are the more “social” of the four kids and quite honestly were simply not as disciplined as the other two. Homeschool kids need structure but the benefit to a homeschool kid is that they get to work at their own pace and they have to be disciplined enough to get the work done on their own especially as they get older.

    Gaye, you brought up a great subject here. I think homeschooling has actually helped us Christians find a way to educate out kiddo’s in a way they they should go.

    Brian

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