Jeni Rants Without Logic, Comments Encouraged

First, let me say a couple of things about the kids.

Gracey now has two teeth, and she is crawling all over the place. After Bradford showed her the secret tunnel (behind our piano, which he pulled out from the wall) to Kidland (behind the couch, which is set at an angle in the corner of my living room), she goes there all the time. She shakes her head no, too. Gracey, do you like dogs? *shakes head* Gracey, is Bradford goofy? *shakes head* Gracey, is anyone prettier than mommy? Ha! Kinda funny, at least for now.

Nathaniel may have learned the correct way to write an N. Everyday that I make the big boys do copywork, he gets his piece of paper and fills it with mysterious symbols and pictures. Today, I showed him several times how to write "N," and he did it without help.

Benjamin went to the dentist for the first time yesterday. He did a great job, overall. He cried when they tried to take X-rays, so they didn't end up taking any. Then he wanted her to rinse his mouth after each tooth that she polished. But he wasn't traumatized, and he was polite, so I rewarded him by getting him a Frozen Cherry Coke!

Bradford fixed a small fan yesterday. He's so proud of himself. First, he said, he unscrewed the back, and when he pounded it twice to get the screws out, the fan started up. After explaining that he should NEVER work on something that is plugged in, I thanked him for his help and thanked God that he's still with us.

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And now I'm free to rant about the topic of my choice. It won't be fashioned in a logical manner, because I'm too lazy.

Last night some friends came for dinner and fellowship. It's actually supposed to be a book study, but we don't always get to reading the book. Last night was one of those nights. We mostly talked about schooling: public, private, home, secular, christian, etc. In the course of conversation, it came up that a resolution came up at our denomination's General Assembly to denounce public education. That measure was overwhelmingly defeated. :( That it was defeated was not surprising, but that it was overwhelmingly defeated shows a gross misunderstanding of the Bible's commands to give our children a Christian education.

One camp wants their children to be salt and light in a dark world. They are concerned about what will happen if all Christian influence were pulled from the system. What about trying to reshape society, they'll argue. We are to be winning the world to Christ. And probably lots more arguments, some valid and some not. The other camp says, no, we are explicitly commanded to give our children a Christian education, and that cannot happen in an officially humanistic and secular institution. We should denounce the schools and do everything in our power to get our Covenant children out of them. Let me say here for clarity that I don't know the EXACT points that were made at the General Assembly, but that issue was only the jumping off point for our own discussion.

A few random thoughts on education:

If-- knowing that you are to give your children a Christian education, equipping them to spread the Gospel of Christ--you believe that "free" public education is the best way to accomplish that, then go for it.

Since when did we start sending our kids to schools to reshape society rather than learn? Thank you, Mr. Mann and Mr. Dewey. You did a good job at turning out good, mindless, uneducated citizens.

And who is better equipped to be salt and light in a dark world--a student who has been carefully trained and taught from infancy by godly parents, or a student who has been raised on a steady diet of what is dished out in the public school system?

Despite the fact that when you send your children to public schools, they

1. won't be taught to read well (too much money at stake for writers of remedial materials)
2. will be taught revisionist history (including, but not limited to the idea that the Founding Fathers were agnostic, deist, or atheist--yes, 3 out of about 200!)
3. will learn bad science (evolution-which we accept on faith, radical environmentalism, etc)
4. will learn exactly how to make babies and be encouraged to practice--safely
5. will be at the mercy of teachers, many of whom are God-haters and have an agenda to push (poor dears, some are also innocent victims of the system and have no idea they are pushing someone else's agenda)
6. won't be pushed to their potential (after all, we must protect everyone's self-esteem)
7. will not learn how to spot a falacious argument, and therefore be ill-equipped to deal with crazy college professors
8. will not be taught the basics of their faith (and if you think 1/2 hour in SS will do it, may God be gracious to you and open your eyes before it is too late)
9. won't be exhorted to glorify God in everything (and that is our chief end, after all)

you want to send them on the off-chance that they'll be salt and light and reshape society?!?!?! Last time I checked, we TRAIN our soldiers before sending them into war. And we never send children to fight!

Maybe there are some children who are mature and discerning enough to enter public education as salt and light (It is fun to imagine how Kilby might very respectfully trip up a high school teacher with her knowledge of the Bible, logic, and philosophy), but however precocious, NO 5-YEAR OLD IS READY TO WITHSTAND THE ATTACKS OF SATAN, even when those attacks come unknowingly through a very nice teacher.

Doug Wilson's take on this subject runs something like this. If you won't send your kid to the Jehovah's Witness VBS for one week to be salt and light, why would you send them for 30 hours a week, 36 weeks to a public school. Is humanism a more acceptable heresy?

Random answers to questions/objections that are commonly raised regarding homeschooling:

How do you learn how to deal with real life, such as in the workplace, without the practice in dog-eat-dog tactics learned in high school? Where do I start with a question like that? But this was asked of me in all seriousness, by someone I love dearly. Sadness. This dear fellow Christian has no idea how much her mind is poisoned with unbiblical thinking. And who will teach her?

Mark beautifully pointed out that as a very large portion of violent crimes are domestic, we really need more training, instruction, and practice in relating to our families.

Home-schooled children may become elitist, thinking they are better than others just because they have a better education. Huh? God forbid that homeschoolers become arrogant. But is that is a good reason for sending them where they won't learn half as much in twice the time? And what will we do with the rich kids going to the A-rated schools when they turn down their noses on those going to inner-city schools?

What do you do about socialization? I can't believe this is still asked of us. Haven't we homeschoolers proven by now that by and large, as a general rule, home-schooled students have better social skills. A good example of this is Alex DiPrima. He hardly knew me when we were at an impromptu worship service during one of last year's hurricanes. He sat down beside Bradford and me, and during the service he patiently bore with Bradford's wiggles-even rubbed his back at one point. He's 13 or 14 years old. Every single time he sees me, he speaks to me. He's never rude to little ones, he's helpful with his younger siblings, and has fun with his friends. Once I saw his mother correct him for being in the house for twenty minutes without greeting his hostess. His response blew me away. "You're right, mom. I'm sorry Mrs. B. How are you tonight?" No sulking, no defending. Or maybe I should tell you about Peter. He's 13, too, and until his grandpa died, he had to take care of him for 4 hours everyday, helping him with everything-- 8pm to 12am. He's hard-working, respectful, and humble. He plays with little kids for hours on end, amusing them and teaching them fun things. My boys love when Peter comes to spend the day. These examples are not the exception. 12-year old Kathleen who talked and talked with me about books, a then 13-year old Kilby who amused me for hours with her insights, 8-year old Jessica who thinks more of others than herself, the list goes on... And it seems that just about the time most children are turning into hideous teenage monsters who think only of themselves, the home-schooled students really begin to delight the people around them.

What about high school sciences? My kids are 7, 5, 3, and under 1! We are called on to give answers for things that won't affect us for many, many years. But most homeschoolers have thought of this, and do already have a plan. Anyone have a short, snappy answer for this one? Please comment. Here are some of my ideas: "So just because you performed an experiment on a black table, you feel you received a superior education?" or "Have you asked the people who are sending their children to the neighborhood elementary school what they are going to do about the false teachings in high school science?" or hand them the Rainbow Resource catalog so they can see for themselves the options available. or explain that a good education can be accomplished without science or "Do you remember the definition of a crest, and if you don't remember that it is 'the upward displacement of a transverse wave' instead of a kind of toothpaste, is your life less meaningful?" You want your doctor to know how your body works, but you probably don't care if your plumber does. What you'd like to see in both is honesty, dependability, and knowledge of his craft (none of which is taught in public school).

How do you teach _____(music, art, band, PE, foreign language)? When asked by people without malicious intent, I think they should be graciously and succinctly answered. Again, if anyone has such an answer already formulated, please comment. And of course, these questions are often asked by people who have no musical or artistic training, who took a second language but don't remember a bit of it, and/or who no longer exercise or engage in any kind of physical activity. That being the case, I still want to be gracious, without being arrogant or long-winded. So I guess saying "Ben is learning Greek, French, and Spanish right now" is out of the question.

I don't get the whole time thing. It seems like homeschoolers are never really doing school. Which is true. Most of us don't "do" school. We live it. We figure there are 24 hours a day, and taking out 10-12 for sleep, that still leaves plenty of time for learning. As little time as possible is spent on busywork-type learning--there are more important things to discover, such as if that rat in the back yard is dead or alive and sick; or how many eggs did that Zebra Longwing just lay on my Corky-Stemmed Passion Vine? Math is done in the kitchen, catechism at lunch, foreign language in the car, and phonics in the tub. Of course there is no end to the reading that goes on in a typical homeschool house. And later, when my children are older, more book work will be required of them. But for now they need time to explore and create, and I'm happy to give it to them.

For those reading this who are not homeschoolers, here's your chance to ask the question you'e always wanted answered.

And homeschoolers, what did I miss?

God bless us all as we give our children a Christian education.