Home Schooling Trials and Troubles

Sometimes reading something that makes you step back and take a look at your own situation is the best thing that could happen to you in a given day. Hence the inspiration for this post. I finished reading a blog at Simply A Musing Blog this morning and left a comment. Here was a case of a mother feeling a little down about her home schooling efforts and children's character but knew that she was still on the right track and public school was not the answer:

"This is the reason I typically do not discuss publicly or talk about homeschooling. Instead of finding ways to be supportive, my family looks for every possible way to get me to place my kids in PUBLIC SCHOOL where they are going to magically be transformed into children who "learn to cope with the everyday stresses" of life.

To this I say: I am protecting my children because I love them. I'm not keeping anything of the reality of the world from them, but I am measuring it out in small doses instead of letting them be overwhelmed. The world should not be defining life for my kids. Psalm 127 says that we are to prepare our children - they are like arrows in a quiver - I am preparing them to speak with the enemy at the gates and not be ashamed. They will be equipped to face reality without letting men overrun them or tell them what they should be thinking.

I do not believe that public school is a magic pill that a child can take in order to be better able to cope with the everyday stresses of life. This is a fallacy long purported by those who tout public school and I'd like to formally call it out right now."

I applaud her for her honesty and sincerely and her desire to see things to the end. Too often we wallow in our own troubles, thinking that we're the only ones at this place in our lives, and don't reach out to others who are following the same path. Here was my response:

We are all parents and we will all have our own heart and education issues with our children regardless if we public, private or home school. As a home educator we know that there will be heart issues to deal with within ourselves and those of our children as we develop their character. It's a natural course of action as we are able to nurture and educate simultaneously. Once we realize that conflict and frustration are inevitable, then it is easier to move on and see the path before us. I have been homeschooling for over ten years and have seen the advantage and confidence and well-rounded social aspects that are the results of my 18yo daughter's home education. My son did enter public high school this past fall at his request while I still have his two younger siblings at home. I can say first hand that I would rather deal with the issues of heart that we did experience in prior years than those that we are now dealing with in the social arena, educational budget cuts, athletic politics and the like where I no longer am directly involved. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can compare to the strong moral, social, and educational foundation that a child receives at home. Compared to his peers at school, the time he spent at home has provided him with an attitude towards life that he would not have been able to obtain in a public school system. You've made the right decision.

I believe that is what has drawn me to write for this blog regardless of the subject content ... to recognize the support that comes from other mothers and home educators as they post about their experiences as they too travel through life. Simply knowing that there are others that have been, are now, or will be passing through similar circumstances is incredibly empowering. If you don't already regularly read the blogs of others who fill similar shoes as you, take the time to do so. You will be encouraged, enlightened, and renewed.