There are days when you couldn’t be more sure that you’re doing the right thing; when you know, because you’re homeschooling, your children are getting what they need to become the people God created them to be. There are days when you get the pleasure of watching the bond grow between your children, days when you get to witness the “light bulb” moments when they take the initiative in their own learning and life course, and days when you see them melt under the power of a good book.
But sadly there are those days, when you have to be strong against the rushing tide, a tide that will happily tell you that what you’re doing is crazy. It’s funny to me that what most non-homeschoolers voice concern about is the “lack of socialization”, as if your children will learn good social skills from the kids at school. One would reason then, if their theory is correct, that people who lived for all the many centuries before government-run schools existed must have been totally void of social skills. And people like George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Beatrix Potter, Ansel Adams, Andrew Wyeth, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Patton to name a few, not having the benefit of being properly socialized, would not amount to much and have nothing to contribute to the world.
Remember on those days, that the opinions of those who are inexperienced in what you’re doing, that know little about it, and have no first hand experience, are only “opinions”. (After all, you may have an opinion about how to do brain surgery, but having never performed it, the doctor is unlikely to take your recommendation seriously.) Ask your critics these questions:
- Can a child benefit, in any way, from one-on-one instruction?
- Does quality time spent with loving parents impact a child favorably?
- Who is likely to be a better influence on a child, a loving parent or a classroom of kids their own age?
- Are there no outlets for social interaction other than in a traditional classroom setting?
School is supposed to be about education, not socializing, right? Funny how our critics don’t usually bring up the academics.
There are days, when you need to reflect on all those good things that you know to be true. There are days, when you need to silence the critics still bubbling around in your mind. Today is the day!
“Point your kids in the right direction – when they’re old they won’t be lost.”
Proverbs 22:6, The Message
Mindful Ramblings 