Why Do I Homeschool?

This is a question people frequently ask once they find out that we home school our five children. For the most part, my answer is usually not what people expect to hear…

Before my husband and I got married, we had a discussion about public school and decided that we would home school if we were blessed with children. Why were we so decisive about it? Well, when my husband and I were married, he was eighteen years old and had just graduated from high school eight months prior. Being that we were new Christian converts, we knew that the public school environment would not be beneficial to our children if we wanted to pass our faith to them. Peer pressure, anti-Christian teachings, and safety issues are just a few of the dangers that we didn’t want our children subject to especially during their tender, impressionable years.

Which worldview did we want our children to adopt-Biblical or secular? The answer was simple for us- Biblical! They wouldn’t get this in the public school system, but we could ensure that they would adopt a Biblical worldview if we educated them at home. By educating them at home, we would be able to make our own curriculum choices. Considering our purpose and direction for our lives, it was logical for my husband and I to wholeheartedly embrace the idea of home schooling.

Once we were married, I became pregnant right away with our first daughter. Then, two more daughters came within the following three years. After being married for just a few years, we came across the Biblical teaching for educating children. Scriptures like Proverbs 22:6 which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” reinforced our responsibility for training our children in righteousness. Another scripture was Proverbs 19:27, “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.” The teachings in public school were not the same as the Word of God. In fact, they were the opposite. My husband and I experienced that first-hand when we attended public school.

These Biblical teachings added unwavering faith to our decision to educate our children at home. When we gained understanding about God’s plan for educating, it made so much sense to us. Just like a father lays out the rules for his child for the child’s own good, we understood that the Lord did the same by giving us His Word to guide and protect us from destruction. He already knows all the negative consequences that would come as a result of letting unbelievers, a secular education system, or the secular-minded educate our children. I am so thankful that we were aware of the negative consequences before we ever had children.

After home schooling for over 15 years, we have never regretted this decision. Even when life’s challenges such as scarce finances, my three miscarriages, fatigue and physical ailments, children with learning disabilities, ministry work (my husband was a pastor for over nine years), and death of loved ones came our way, we didn’t think that home schooling was a burden. On the contrary, we felt that it was a wonderful freedom that parents have here in America. We are so grateful that we didn’t have to face laws that would try to keep us from educating our own children.

Today, all five children have been trained and continue to be trained with a Biblical worldview. They have a heart for God, and they understand the principles of self-government and personal responsibility for how they live their life. Although my husband and I have been imperfect parents over the years, we still see that our decision to home educate has helped us to successfully pass our faith to our children so that they think like Christians-our ultimate goal is being reached!