Right about the same time earlier this year we decided that we would embark on the reproductive adventure of embryo adoption, we also made another big decision. Many of the people who know us best probably knew we were going to homeschool before we knew we were going to. But anyhow, for those who are only infrequently checking in—a reasonable choice since we only infrequently write—this is our second big adventure of this fall: Tomorrow morning Valor officially begins homeschooling.
There’s actually a brand new campus of Classical Conversations starting in New Bern this year, and Valor is part of its inaugural roster. I say “campus” because, while most of the education takes place at home (Abby is the teacher), on Thursday mornings Valor will join six other students in a classroom led by a “tutor.” (Abby is also a tutor, of a class of slightly older kids. Consequently, while Abby has lots she wants to share about this whole decision to follow a classical model of education, she’s very busy tonight cutting out construction paper hearts and making other last minute preparations for her class tomorrow.)
So I get the first shot at it. Here is one of my initial motivations, as a homeschooling dad:
We’ve chosen to opt out of the collective. Modern education theory since the mid-20th century has essentially embraced the theories of John Dewey, who was a humanist and socialist. Rather than a progression of grammar, logic, and rhetoric (classical education as it had existed for centuries), Dewey’s theory was that the main purpose of education was socialization. I couldn’t put this any better than an excellent homeschooling post I read on Trivium Pursuit earlier today:
The government schools do a good job of socializing children. They teach the social skill of looking to the government for everything. “Socialized education” makes good little socialists. Peer dependence and government dependence are complementary disorders. But a government that can give us everything can also take it all away, and eventually it will have to. Do we want our children to be socialized to allow the government to run their lives, or do we want our children to believe in freedom and personal responsibility? Homeschool socialization prepares our children for the real world, not for that artificial world being created by the government.
MSNBC anchor Melissa Harris-Perry is one modern-day parrot of Dewey’s education philosophy. Every time I watch this clip I cringe, because she is obviously very fiercely opposed to what I perceive to be my duty and responsibility as a father. It should chill anyone who is a parent:
Melissa, meet Valor and Grant Perseverance Gjertsen. They are not ever going to be part of your collective.
As I sat in the parent orientation last night, I was reflecting on the fact that it was Dr. Ron Paul’s 78th birthday. I can trace my passion for homeschooling, at least in part, to November 14, 2012, when this statesman gave his farewell address to Congress, including these two sentences:
I have no idea whether Valor will be a statesman or a scientist, an artist or an engineer, a missionary or a musician. God will direct, and we will give Him the glory. But I’m so thankful that God has already directed us as his parents to evade the statist indoctrination of the central planners. By God’s grace, Valor is going to be a revolutionary.
POSTSCRIPT: Although Abby agrees with the sentiments expressed in this post, she is preparing to write a post with some completely different motivations for homeschooling. That’s the beauty of it—I think I could write at least 10 other reasons why we’re doing it. Stay tuned!
So excited for you both. I figured you would be natural home schoolers and am so glad there is an organization to support you. You go onward Christian Soldiers. 😉
John – just keep in mind that the tendency to conform to social norms is a universal condition of man – not something imposed by the government. I homeschooled for 7 years and loved it (we did CC, too!) . I now have all three school-aged kids in public school. The irony is that I felt much more pressure to conform to a social norm when I homeschooled – just a slightly different version of normal. I have seen many homeschooled kids grow up to be outstanding thinkers, problem solvers, and culture changers. I have also seen many homeschooled children who are trained to be compliant and “good” and walk away from their faith as young adults. I have a teenaged son in public school who makes me very proud – he is a leader and a thinker and is wrestling through some of life’s big questions. I hope very much that he, too, will be a revolutionary. So my caution is to be careful not to villainize public schools or to assume that they are all one big entity. My daughter’s teacher prayed for her this year. As I stand at the bus stop I have been able to be a better friend to my neighbors. There is grace to be found everywhere!
Wonderful thoughts John. You hit the nail square on the head with Dewey and the socialist roots of state authored education, as well as the alarming philosophy that children do not belong to their parents. This is what steers public school. While there may be good Christian teachers at the local level, their hands are tied by policy makers higher up. There are many people in the church that are teachers and other workers in public education who believe they are called by God to work where they do, and indeed they have to believe that, because the pay does not merit the work that they do. The sad thing to me is that by being involved in public education, they are unwittingly approving of the policy makers’ agenda, as well as facilitating a broken system with their efforts and energy. Common Core and other revisionist radical curriculum will prove to be yet another step away from God, and recognizing His kind providence in gifting us this nation. It will continue to be another step in the devaluation of human life by placing a greater dependence on the state. Sadly, we see many “Christian” schools adopting this same curriculum. There will be greater attacks on the homeschool community by the state in the years to come, because the endgame is to have every child as a ward of the state, and to have parents happily complying by placing their children on Caesar’s knee for 150,000 hours of their childhood.
John and Abby:
I think it’s wonderful that you’ll homeschool Valor and Percy. As a parent, you have the right to do what’s best for your boys and I know you will.
Not having been homeschooled myself, I have to say that I got a lot out of being in a classroom with others, plus enjoying the bond of school colors and mascot and learning with my classmates – building that sense of COMMUNITY. I had many teachers in elementary, junior high (now middle school) and high school that still influence me. I went to a VERY large high school (had close to 1000 in my graduating class), and there was a real variety of courses to take. It certainly made assimilating at college much easier. My college friends who came from smaller schools seemed to have more difficulty navigating the larger “pond”.
My point of all of this is, there ARE really good, intangiable things within the public (or private school system), that go along with education. I know that many home school families “band together” for activities to build that sense of community. Don’t forget to build that for your boys. A world view from narrow to broad (family, home, street, community, city, state, nation, world) will benefit the boys now and in the long run.
Good luck! Please keep us informed on Valor’s progress!
Sally in Indianapolis
I find this very interesting, because I am a humanist and a socialist, and I also wish to homeschool my hypothetical children because I think public schools don’t encourage the qualities embedded in these philosophies *enough*. I’m British, and the philosophy in public education over here is much the same as over there.
I want my children to have a greater understanding of politics, and all the different types of people that make up the world, and to be warriors against inequalities of all sorts, and to believe in, and understand, freedom, and from what I see the school system doesn’t teach enough about these things. I imagine a lot of this will be shared across both our philosophies 🙂
I think it’s good for me to read your blog, because I forget sometimes that there are reasonable people who hold different philosophical and political beliefs (seriously, I’ve been known to blurt stuff out in really embarassing ways – one time I’d been getting along really well with this girl and I said cheerfully that I thought the local Lib Dem candidate was a slimeball, and then it turned out that he was her dad…).
I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job of educating your boys, either way 🙂 along with little future-baby-Gjertsen, naturally.
As a mom on the other end of the homeschooling journey, I can truly say it has been our most treasured gift. It has been hard, messy, and tearful at times, but the blessings are overwhelming as I see all that it has given us as the boys step into adulthood. I will be praying for you all and I am happy to provide encouragement if needed.