Our Decision to Homeschool is Tested

Yesterday I went back 30 years to the time when we felt the Lord leading us to homeschool. If you read that article you know that our first child was still in the womb when that event occurred. So what happened in the intervening years between her birth and the start of her formal education? That's Part 2 of the story. . .


By the time our first-born child, Karen, was 5-years-old and ready to begin school we were also the parents of another daughter, Lisa, the blogger who writes A Look In. She is the child we affectionately call Lulu because of her childhood antics. Lisa was 2 1/2 years old when Karen embarked upon her educational endeavors.

We had also moved within the previous year from the Midwest to the South because Pastor Dad had been called to pastor there. Our new congregation had recently merged their Christian school with another in the vicinity. The year that Karen was to start kindergarten was a year that the school was in need of a new kindergarten teacher. The principle approached me with a job offer. They needed a qualified teacher and he knew we had a child ready to start school. In order to meet the needs of both parties they would employ me and part of my salary would go toward Karen's education.

It sounded good on the surface. But there were a few things to be considered before we made our decision.

First, what about Lulu? I had to find daycare for her. It turned out that the school had a center so we would all be going to the same campus each morning.

Then there were our legal and pastoral obligations. When we first arrived in our adopted state homeschooling was illegal. This would not have been an obstacle in our former state of residence but we weren't sure how to proceed now. We also weren't sure if our new church would support our controversial decision. They didn't know us very well at the time and we didn't know them that well either.

Again, the Lord intervened. By the time Karen reached the mandatory school age the laws had changed. It was no longer illegal to homeschool even though the new laws were very strict and oppressive. This is why I say that we weren't pioneers in the strictest sense but followed along soon afterward. The true trailblazers battled state lawmakers at risk of their own peril. We encountered struggles with the state due to the stringent regulations but we never had to fear being arrested due to breaking truancy laws.

In weighing our options we discovered the following:

1. The teaching position would result in very little actual money being added to the family coffers because most of the salary would be eaten up in the barter system between my teaching in exchange for one child's education and another child's daycare. But homeschooling would result in no money being added to the family coffers. (Pro teaching: Some money is better than none.)
2. The teaching position would require that Lulu receive daycare from others. But homeschooling would result in Lulu receiving daycare at home from her own mother. (Pro homeschooling: I did not like the idea of not seeing Lisa except at the end of the day when I was tired and preoccupied with preparations for the next day's classes.)
3. The teaching position would mean that Karen would be in her mother's classroom during her kindergarten year. But homeschooling would mean that each child would remain in my "classroom" every year. (Pro homeschooling: Instead of my children passing through their parent-taught classroom one year of their education journey they would be directly tutored by me each year that we chose to homeschool.)
4. The teaching position would require that the wife and children would maintain the school schedule even if Pastor Dad's preaching appointments allowed him to travel. But homeschooling would provide the flexibility of taking school "on the road" whenever necessary. (Pro homeschool: The family unit would remain together as much as possible and travel would incorporate field trip and enrichment opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable, including visiting our families back home.)
5. The teaching position would allow our children to receive an education based upon our Christian world view. And homeschooling would allow our children to receive an education based upon our Christian world view. (Neutral, but leaning more toward pro homeschool: Any issues could be discussed in context immediately.)
6. The teaching position would allow our children to be tested yearly in a sympathetic environment. But homeschooling would require that the state test our children approximately every other year as per state law. (Pro teaching: Dropping the children off at the door of the local public school was an adversarial relationship because the state designed it to be so, including the intrusive questioning of the children about "non educational" issues without a parent or guardian present. This requirement was later changed but not before we had endured several such predicaments.)
7. The teaching position would require that I go on unpaid maternity leave in the event that other children should be added to the family. But homeschooling would allow new additions to the family without a loss of teaching income. (Pro homeschool: Two more children were later added to our quiver and homeschooling went on as scheduled.)
8. The teaching position would require that our children study the curriculum that the school required. But homeschooling would allow us to tailor a course of study for each child based upon learning styles, family needs, and time constraints. (Pro homeschool: At first, there were limited resources from public and private schools that could be adapted. Later, the popularity of homeschooling resulted in the development of a whole industry to meet the demands of the homeschooling market.)

After weighing the pros and cons it was obvious that homeschooling was the right decision for us. I wish I could say that we homeschooled just out of pure obedience to the Lord, but the fact that we researched our options proves otherwise. Or maybe it just proves that God allowed us to see some of the reasons why He led us in a certain direction. I don't think He needs to give me a reason for every thing He requires me to do but I am glad when removes the scales from my eyes. I'm also glad He protected us during those early years when a well-intentioned answer from a small child could easily have brought trouble to our door.

This will inevitably lead to the question as to whether I think everyone should homeschool. I can't answer that definitely. I may be a lot like the Apostle Peter in many ways, but in this instance I will not go so far as to say, "And what will this man do, Lord?" Pastor Dad and I will only be accountable to God for doing the things we know He told us to do. There are very specific guidelines that the Lord put in scripture that every parent is accountable to fulfill but I am not willing to say that every person must homeschool to meet their obligations. Perhaps we'll discuss those specific parenting guidelines in a future article and I will tell you how homeschooling has helped us meet those requirements.