Never Underestimate Homeschoolers

Next time folks tell you that homeschoolers operate at a deficit because they don't attend public schools, introduce them to Courtney Oliver, a young lady who just might make them rethink their opinions. Enjoy!

Sharp Knives

This is the time of year when parents begin to make decisions about curriculum for the next school year. Although much of my curriculum is already set, I take pleasure in reading through every catalog that arrives to see what is offered and how it is presented. The offerings are much more plentiful than when I began homeschooling in 1982. The sophistication and professionalism of homeschooling materials are at an all-time high.

As I was looking through one catalogue this morning, I thought of those new to homeschooling who were wondering what to purchase and where to start. The multitude of choices can be overwhelming. My recommendation is to find a family well into their homeschooling journey, see what resources they are using, and get their feedback. Also, an internet search under "Christian homeschooling" will produce many leads to publishers who are willing to send samples of curriculum or provide online demos to watch. However, there is a step that needs to be taken alongside these activities: parents need to learn their children.

That's right, learn their children. Parents need to study and learn their child's learning style, keeping in mind his strengths and weaknesses. This is all the more reason for parents to be the ones who are actively raising their children and spending the lion's share of time with them from the outset, for it takes time to learn a child. In order to select a curriculum that will compliment strengths and improve weaknesses, the homeschooling teacher needs to select materials that accomplish two things: aid in the learning process of the student and fit the teaching style of the parent.

I don't care how many people have told me that "such and such" curriculum was the best for math. In deciding whether or not to use it, I always pictured my particular child and me sitting down at the table and proceeding through the textbook. If I didn't like the presentation or found the exercises to be tedious, I didn't choose that particular "best seller." Instead, I continued to look around and find something that would suit us. And, if that meant that we didn't have a math curriculum selected at the beginning of a school year, I didn't stress. Better to have the right curriculum than endure something that wasn't the right fit. Sometimes, I went an entirely different route, using video instruction without the use of a textbook at all.

The last thing that should prevail in a homeschool setting is an attitude of "just getting by." The priority shouldn't be with finishing the textbook on time, or rushing to meet some arbitrary deadline. When the student grasps the material, it is time to move on. Homeschooling grades should reflect real learning. As a martial arts instructor once commented, "It is better to have two sharp knives than twenty dull ones." If one student takes three years to learn something others his age learn in one, so be it. In fact, my experience tells me that many who breeze through subjects are often better at getting grades than learning the actual subject matter. (My own status of honor student while in school didn't always reflect a true understanding of the content covered.) With this mindset, I have not only been able to help sharpen my children's ability to learn, I've also gotten rid of a number of my own dull knives in the process.

Online Resource Worth Checking Out

I'm often asked to share what sorts of materials or curriculum I use as a homeschooling parent. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to share resources that have proved beneficial to me as a teacher and to my children as students. Most recently, I have made use of the online portion of a Christian school in the Sacramento, California area, Cornerstone Christian School. What attracted me to this online education was the fact that Greg Uttinger, someone I have worked with and known for a number of years, was the teacher for their high school Government, Economics, and Systematic Theology classes. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance for my high school daughter to be able to sit under his teaching and learn from him. Many of R.J. Rushdoony's books and materials along with those of other excellent authors are part of the syllabus for each of these classes.

Greg is a gifted teacher who has a wealth of knowledge that he brings to the classroom. His approach is down-to-earth in an engaging way. Cornerstone Christian School is wisely expanding the reach and breadth of Greg's ministry to Christian families via their internet ministry. Their vision and purpose is very much aligned with that of the Chalcedon Foundation . One would be hard-pressed to find a more compatible curriculum available online anywhere else.

A sample of Greg's teaching style:

I see this resource as being beneficial to homeschooling families with high school students, new mothers seeking to prepare themselves for teaching their own children, teachers at Christian schools who may want or need additional preparation for courses they teach, and for Christian families in general.

Perspective

Recently while traveling to the east coast, I was struck once again at how different the world looks from 32,000 feet. Sunshine presided over a fluffy array of cottony-white clouds, while down below the weather was cloudy, dismal, and cold. If only we could have such a "God's eye view" of life while walking on the ground!

The same is true about parenting and homeschooling. If I had approached things with a more expansive perspective while my children were growing up, I may well have saved us some unnecessary grief. Now that I have twenty-nine years under my belt, it is much easier for me not to major in the minors and focus on those things that are truly important.

Some seemingly insignificant things I wish I had done differently:
• Allow my son to ride his bike to baseball practice when I was not able, or didn't want, to drive him
• Not worry so much about schedules and deadlines that were arbitrary and of no lasting value or merit
• Allow the kids to get much dirtier in play than I did
• Spend more time with our extended family
• Go to the beach more and have more family vacations
• Seek out more mentoring relationships for my children

It is much easier for me to say this now that I have only one child living at home and I've had a chance to see how various things have played out in the lives of my older children. That said, I still have many opportunities in my day-to-day life to realize that my perspective on things is one of many possible ones and that it is incumbent upon me to take time to truly consider other points of view.

Don't think I'm going soft in the head. My commitment to Biblical law and its application to all areas of life is greater than it ever was. But in looking back, I realize that I placed way too much importance on what I thought rather than truly considering how to apply God's word correctly to given situations. At the time, I'm sure I would have denied that charge. But as my sanctification progresses, I realize that more often than not, I concentrated on the letter rather than the spirit of God's Word, trying to work things out in my own strength rather than in the strength of the Lord.

Sanctification gives perspective. With more and more sin removed, one is able to see the bright light of the Son of God permeating throughout the whole of life. I praise God that He has seen fit to help me attain enough altitude to perceive situations and circumstances from a more "heavenly" perspective.

POWER OUTAGES

California has been barraged with storms for the past couple of days. On Friday, during the brunt of the storm, with winds howling at ferocious speeds, my home lost electric power for about five hours. There are others in my area who as of this writing (two days later) are still without power. However, to put this into perspective, a friend who used to live in Cuba informed me that the average outage in Cuba is twelve hours with some people being without power for forty hours at a time. And, this without the provocation of a storm.

It never ceases to amaze me all the things you cannot do without electricity. Being a person who tries to maximize her time, I immediately looked for things to do since I couldn't be on my computer. But I couldn’t cook, iron, wash clothes, vacuum, watch a DVD, or even get the car out of the garage, because the power wasn't flowing. Even homeschooling was difficult because, with such an overcast day, it was difficult to get enough light with candles to do much for long. How glad I was that most of my responsibilities that required the aid of electricity were already accomplished and that, by the time night rolled around, our lights and heater were once again functioning.

How often do we in the course of life try to accomplish tasks without the Power from Him who owns the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory? How often, during the course of educating our children and helping them plan for their future adult lives do we wander aimlessly trying to figure out exactly where to put our time and efforts? Like all good life lessons, this "annoying storm" helped me realize that the dominion words of the Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," are only possible because we pray to the source of all the energy, wisdom, and provision we need to faithfully place every area of our lives and thoughts under the rule of our Savior and His perfect law-word.

We derive great benefits from electricity, but tend to take it for granted and only truly appreciate when it is not available to us. We also derive great benefits from the grace of God without adequately acknowledging and thanking Him for His daily provision.