The second reason our family likes to homeschool is what I will call patriotic reasons. I reiterate that these reasons are particular to our family. I respect those who have different beliefs about government and education and ask for their respect for us in return.
There are those who believe that children should not be indoctrinated by the values of their parents, yet they don’t realize that the indoctrination train runs both ways. Children are going to learn values of some sort, whether we teach them ours or not. We do not shelter our children to keep them out of the world for as long as possible. We fortify them so that when they do face the world, they are well-prepared with tools that will help them with decision-making. I daresay this is the position of many homeschool parents as statistics show that homeschooled children tend to become more community-involved adults, i.e., participate more in voting, stand up for certain issues, write letters to the editor, etc., because they understand well about their civic responsibility and how important their voice is.
Some also believe that parents are not qualified to oversee the education of their children and want the government to be the entity that fashions their impressionable minds. Interesting concept because, if parents aren’t qualified to oversee the education of their children, after most parents have been educated in public schools themselves, what does that say about public schools? I believe that the adversary’s desire is to get children away from the influence of their parents as soon as possible, as seen by the growing trend towards full-time preschool, which some states have discussed as making mandatory. I believe it is not the government’s responsibility to dictate the education of children. Rather, it is the parents who grant permission to government to teach their children, and with the full knowledge and supervision of the parents.
Public schools tend to be liberal-leaning institutions, and homeschool gives us the chance to teach about conservative values and government as we believe the Founding Fathers intended it to be. As stated in this post, the framers of the Constitution believed that an educated populace was necessary to care adequately for the republic they gave us. We are not perfect, but we try to live up to their expectations as best we can.
~to be continued~
I have personally known the Davis family for several years. Thier children are not sheltered. They have thier own minds and all of them have amazing talents. Thier oldest child got an amazing score on his ACT test as he prepares to graduate this year, I forsee many great things in his future. I admire the dedication as parents and homeschoolers takes.
I think very highly of Shelly and her accomplishments and count her among my friends.
Way to stand up for what you believe and teach your children the same. Keep it up, and I hope others have a better understanding for why you made this choice for your family.
Thanks, Tami! I am highly complimented by such a comment from a dear friend!