Priorities

As the new school year begins, it is tempting for home educators to rely too much on lesson plans, curriculum, and music lessons, sports, and other extra curricula activities. It is easy to forget that the strength of home education lies in the one-on-one interaction between a parent and child. Schedules and deadlines are a necessary aspect of good organization, but should never take the place of the necessary life lessons that spring up on a daily (if not hourly) basis.

As someone who has been there and back for twenty-seven seasons, I assure you that running on automatic can have negative consequences for teacher and student alike. Parents need to be flexible with their plans and curriculum because problems can arise if one is not willing to change course and amend it as needed. Sticking with something that is not working just because you began with it is counterproductive. Besides, being inflexible can cause you to miss teaching moments. That is why I counsel new homeschool teachers not to fall in love with their own plans – be prepared to alter and adjust them as circumstances change. In addition, it is a great idea to find someone who has travelled the road before to act as a sounding board for problems or issues that arise.

Learning should generate excitement and enthusiasm. If it does not, try to find out what the problem is. Do not assume that “all kids hate school” and that “you just have to tough it out.” That produces burnout and frustration. After all, the goal of a Christian education is not primarily a diploma, college entry, or even a good job. The goal is an individual trained in making the Kingdom of God a number one priority and providing the knowledge and understanding that will make the student an effective servant in that Kingdom.

I am ready, willing, and able to assist as you have need. Email me at lessons.learned@yahoo.com.

Is Statist Medicine a Good Idea?

As homeschooling parents/teachers, we need to supply our children/students with good, sound arguments in defense of liberty.

The following is excerpted from the essay "Statist Medicine" written in the 1980s by R.J. Rushdoony, who saw all-too-well the rise and effects of the statism in our time.

"There is no reason to suppose that a socialized and federalized medicine will be any more benevolent than the Internal Revenue Service. The I.R.S., after all, was created with at least equal idealistic motives. Anyone who can think of the I.R.S. as the people's friend today does indeed have mental problems! Socialized medicine will be no better than the I.R.S., and potentially far worse. Any and everything which puts us into contact with a powerful state and its bureaucracy is dangerous, and socialized medicine will place us in a very close relationship to the power-state: at pregnancy and childbirth, in ill health and accidents, for a variety of required medical examinations and much more. Also, as euthanasia becomes an accepted practice like abortion, the more the state knows about you, the less safe you are."*

*The complete essay is found in the book Roots of Reconstruction.

Back to School Time

Thought I would share an email I received from one of the homeschooling moms I mentor who is going through a guided study with me of Rushdoony's Institutes of Biblical Law:

I am enjoying the learning so much. This study combined with some other reading and great ipod sermons is really helping me get a grasp on things I never understood before. I wouldn't even know where to begin, but it is so amazing that once you start understanding Scripture as God intended it to be, everything just starts to click.

In fact today I was reading a parable to the kids. I gave them an explanation of what it meant (an explanation that has come out of all my recent learning) and when I finished my 8 year old son looked at me and said, "Mom, what you just said made a lot of sense."

I am just so thankful that the Lord is helping me to transmit this to my kids. Thanks for all you do. I look forward to digging into this next section.

Visit www.ctti.org to get more information about the Chalcedon Teacher Training Institute.

Beware of Fast-Tracked Vaccinations!

A Family Affair

Mark and Twyla Anderson of Oxbow, North Dakota, were in Bedminster, New Jersey this past July watching their children Amy (17) and Nathan (18) gain public attention as the winning golfer and caddy respectively at the 61st U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

Five years into their twenty-two-year marriage, Mark and Twyla decided to homeschool their children after witnessing the God-honoring family dynamics and communication skills of his brother’s family. Thus, Nathan and Amy, who will start their first year in college on full scholarships at the University of North Dakota, have always been homeschooled.

Winning a USGA national championship is a big deal, but Amy’s victory was even more remarkable. The golf world of 2009 is filled with junior players whose families spend thousands of dollars a year in golf association memberships, lessons, tournaments, travel, personal coaches, sports psychologists, and equipment—all to achieve national ranking in the hope of receiving college scholarships and eventually sponsorship so that their child can turn pro. The Anderson family always made it a point to live within their means. As a result, Amy hardly ever ventured out of her home state, so she had little national experience. Her two-day qualifying total earned her low-round honors, and the junior golf world was caught by surprise as she systematically advanced through six rounds of match play with the final match going 36 holes. People were scratching their heads asking, “Who is this girl?”

Mark acknowledged that the family had no idea what God had in store for them at this national championship. As they saw it, this was just another opportunity to compete and leave the results in God’s hands. As Amy continued to advance in the tournament, Mark said the passage in 1 Corinthians 1:27 about God using the foolish things of the world to confound the wise kept running through his mind. He felt that the work ethic and standard for excellence he and his wife had instilled in their children were being given a world stage.

At the time of my interview with the Andersons, they were in St. Louis, Missouri so Amy could compete in the USGA Women’s Amateur Championship. She had gained automatic entry as a result of wining the Girls’ Junior Championship. Nathan (an excellent golfer in his own right) caddied for his sister through two rounds of qualifying, but she was eliminated in her first match.

Like thousands of Christian homeschooling families around the country, the Andersons have answered God’s call to steward their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With an entrepreneurial spirit instilled by their dad, a pursuit for excellence derived from their mom, and the camaraderie between Nathan and Amy as brother and sister and good friends, I am sure this is not the last the world has seen or heard of of them.

To God be the glory!