This is what I get for being transparent

A few weeks ago, I posted an entry about my frustrations of late. Some of it had to do with homeschooling, but mostly? It was about heart and character issues - mainly mine.

Here is a response I received from a family member (who I'll not name, because I love this person dearly and appreciate the honesty which was displayed).

I have a solution for your dilemma, it's called PUBLIC SCHOOL. That's where children learn to cope with the stresses of everyday activities, such as getting up early, having a structured environment with other children of all socioeconomic levels, learning respect for themselves, their peers and their parents, and all the other ups and downs of going to school and being in a daily routine of the realities of life. Parents need to stop protecting their children and let them be faced with the real world. What happens when they are ready to go out in the world and they are afraid to cope? Or, what happens if their parents should befall a horrific early death? Who will homeschool them then? Don't get mad, just give a good long thought to what I am conveying...

This is the reason I typically do not discuss publicly or talk about homeschooling. Instead of finding ways to be supportive, my family looks for every possible way to get me to place my kids in PUBLIC SCHOOL where they are going to magically be transformed into children who "learn to cope with the everyday stresses" of life.

To this I say: I am protecting my children because I love them. I'm not keeping anything of the reality of the world from them, but I am measuring it out in small doses instead of letting them be overwhelmed. The world should not be defining life for my kids. Psalm 127 says that we are to prepare our children - they are like arrows in a quiver - I am preparing them to speak with the enemy at the gates and not be ashamed. They will be equipped to face reality without letting men overrun them or tell them what they should be thinking.

I do not believe that public school is a magic pill that a child can take in order to be better able to cope with the everyday stresses of life. This is a fallacy long purported by those who tout public school and I'd like to formally call it out right now.

If public school is so wonderful, why are more more children than ever taking prescription drugs? Surely it's not because they aren't capable of dealing with the everyday stresses of life that come with getting up early, interacting with children from every socioeconomic level, or being in the daily routines of life?

I have waited almost 4 weeks to post this because I didn't want to come across as "the angry homeschooler". I'm not angry at this person any longer, honestly. But I am passionate about my children and my choice to homeschool. I love my children and want only what I believe is the best for them.

And I'm even crazy enough to believe that most parents want the same for their own children, whether home-schooled or schooled publicly. In parenting, I think the end result we all desire for our kids is that they grow up to be happy, healthy and productive adults.

And that's all I'm going to say about that. Other than to leave y'all with a list of famous people who homeschooled -- many of you homeschoolers may have seen this, but for any of you that haven't, it's quite an eye-opener.


Famous People Who Homeschooled

Educators

Frank Vandiver (President - Texas A&M)
Fred Terman (President - Stanford)
William Samuel Johnson (President Columbia)
John Witherspoon (President of Princeton)

Generals

Stonewall Jackson
Robert E. Lee
Douglas MacArthur
George Patton

Inventors

Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Cyrus McCormick
Orville Wright & Wilbur Wright

Artists

Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley

Presidents

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Scientists

George Washington Carver
Pierre Curie
Albert Einstein
Booker T. Washington
Blaise Pascal

Statesmen

Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry
William Penn
Henry Clay

United States Supreme Court Judges

John Jay
John Marshall
John Rutledge

Composers

Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc

Writers

Hans Christian Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O'Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis
George Bernard Shaw

Religious leaders

Joan of Arc
Brigham Young
John & Charles Wesley
Jonathan Edwards
John Owen
William Cary
Dwight L. Moody
John Newton

I wonder what my children will grow up to be?



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