The Real World

Often homeschooling parents hear from well-meaning family or friends that sooner or later they’ll have to release their children into the real world. The presupposition of such a statement is that what goes on in the homeschool is something other than the real world. I often counter statements like this with something like, “The world of God’s law-word is the only real world. The world after the fall of man is a fantasy world where men attempt to mimic God, determining for themselves right and wrong.” In that fantasy world, the only payment they can expect is death. That said, there does come a time within the homeschool setting where parents need to launch their children into circumstances and situations where they will be tried and tested to determine how well they will hold up when their faith is countered and/or ridiculed. Having a home base to return to and work through the experience, with the help and guidance of godly parents, is valuable indeed.

My youngest is engaging in such activity at present. This is her third semester taking a few classes at the local junior college. All the years of training in doctrine, apologetics, history, and more are being tested as she sits through classes which posit rebellion in the name of relativism and pluralism. She comes home from her classes with much fodder for conversation and discussion. Years ago I chronicled some of her older brother’s experiences when he first encountered the anti-Christian biases of secular colleges, and shared them in my book Lessons Learned from Years of Homeschooling.

Now twelve years later, my youngest has many more tools in her arsenal to respond to the relativism and statism of the college scene. How glad I am she had the benefit of a full week this summer of pertinent lectures and discussion at the West Coast Worldview Conference jointly sponsored by Reformed Heritage Church and the Chalcedon Foundation. Her ability to discern the lies and deceptions presented in her college class lectures and textbooks has been greatly aided by learning from men like Mark Rushdoony, Joseph Morecraft, Gary DeMar, John Eidsmoe, and Ben Miller. I’ve had the chance to listen to many of the lectures in MP3 format while I do my regular workouts. I believe many will benefit from hearing the lectures that were presented at this conference. You can get MP3s of the lectures presented and find out more about next summer’s conference.

Additionally, the two classes she’s taking through Cornerstone Christian School Online are providing “real time” assistance as she wades through her Administration of Justice class. It seems that Greg Uttinger’s lectures address the very concepts that arise in class discussions. You can find out more about the school’s current offerings at the Cornerstone website.

If you would like to share other resources that would benefit homeschooling families, email me at lessons.learned@yahoo.com.