Why Latter-day Saints (or any Christian) Should Consider Homeschool

The most recent assignment for my writing class was to write a persuasive essay.  Something that would persuade people to think the way you do about any controversial topic.  So far, this has been the most FRUSTRATING assignment. 

Is it the topic?  No.  I love the topic I chose… it’s homeschool. 

But seriously… 2-3 pages double spaced?!  That’s ridiculous!  Too long?  Heavens no!  It’s far too short!  How in the world do they expect me to fit in all the reasons that a family should consider homeschool within a mere 2 or 3 pages?  I could go on and on…. and on.  For real. 

I had all these ideas floating around in my head about which avenue I should take for this paper.  It got me all excited.  And then… I started to write.  After only the first two paragraphs I realized that I would have to eliminate a huge chunk of my thoughts.  So, while this paper doesn’t express my passion for this topic or anywhere near my complete thoughts on the subject, it is a tiny sampling of what I feel. 

 

“I am opposed to free education as much as I am opposed to taking away property from one man and giving it to another… Would I encourage free schools by taxation? No!” Brigham Young had very strong opinions about education. His views on the subject were very clear and inspired by the Lord. He was not on board with the idea of sending children to public schools where they might be taught the ways of the world. President John Taylor said that Latter-day Saint children should be taught by Latter-day Saints. The thought of Latter-day Saint children being taught by teachers of varying faiths, or perhaps no faith at all, appalled him. All Latter-day Saint families should consider homeschooling as an option.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are well known for praying over almost every aspect of life. When a young woman wants to know whether she should marry a certain person of interest, she prays. If there’s a question about whether a young man should do a year of college before leaving for a mission, he prays. A prayer is said almost any time there is a decision of significance to make. However, most people do not think to pray about the education of their children. There’s usually a perfectly acceptable public school right down the street, or an even greater charter school that everyone is talking about. Society says that’s just what is done; children reach a certain age and they go off to school. That’s how education happens. Many parents are unaware that there are other options.

Children are able to learn far more in their own homes under the loving care of parents who are looking out for their well-being. Secular learning, along with the spiritual teachings a parent can provide, is sure to go much further than that of a teacher only able to teach the worldly view of all things. President Eyring says, “It is clear that our first priority should go to spiritual learning. For us, reading the scriptures would come before reading history books. Prayer would come before memorizing those Spanish verbs. A temple recommend would be worth more to us than standing first in our graduating class. But it is also clear that spiritual learning would not replace our drive for secular learning.” Secular learning has its place. Heavenly Father has asked us to know the events in world history. There is much to be learned from the sciences, math, and foreign languages. Knowledge of all things secular is a wonderful thing, but only if the emphasis is placed on the most important learning to be done first. Spiritual education should take precedence, and it starts in the home. President Eyring goes on to say that spiritual knowledge can motivate students to work even harder to learn the secular side of things. The more an individual learns about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel, the more knowledge he will desire to gain in secular matters.

There is a downside to homeschooling: People. Many people just don’t understand why a parent would make such a detrimental choice as to homeschool their children. Educators often take it as an insult that someone would choose to keep their children away from a government-run educational facility such as a public or charter school. What these people fail to realize is that it has nothing to do with the educators themselves; there are great teachers in every school. The problem is that they are only allowed to teach what the state and federal governments mandate.

There is no right way to educate children. They are here on the earth to learn just as every adult is here to do. Education is highly individual, and the only way to know if homeschooling is the right option for any family is to study it out and pray about it. Heavenly Father will guide each family to the path that is right for them. Just remember that there are options. Is it worth sending a child to the public school, where there is sure to be no spiritual gain, simply because it’s what everyone else is doing?

Works Cited:

Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses, vol. 18 p. 357, General Conference 1877

Smith, Joseph Fielding. Church History and Modern Revelation. 4 volumes. (1946-1949), 2: 98-99

Eyring, Henry B. “Education For Real Life.” Ensign Magazine, October 2002

 

 

Big Delores, How Do I Love Thee

I so wish I had a picture of Big Delores.  Unfortunately, she is gone with Anthony this weekend for the Ragnar race.  I miss her!  Him too.  But right now I’ll focus on her.  :) 

About three months ago, my parents asked if we could swap cars.  They would give us their old white van in exchange for our little silver Impala.  This was a no-brainer for us.  We were absolutely on board!  With all the running around that I do getting kids to and from various activities, we needed something that wasn’t quite as thirsty as Big Delores.  She’s kind of a hog… gas hog, that is.  Anthony always took the Impala to work because there was no way I was going to fit our army of a family in that thing.  So, he ended up getting GREAT gas mileage in that thing and rarely had to fill up because work is only a mere three miles away.  Meanwhile, I was running poor Delores ragged booking it from here to there and back again. 

Anyway, long story short, we took them up on the offer.  Insurance went up $50 a month, but gas has gone way down.  I still don’t understand the insurance thing.  We got rid of a sports car and added a minivan for crying out loud!  Whatever. 

We decided to name the van Timmy.  He’s a very timid little thing in comparison to Big D.  Hence the name… He’s great for running around but the kids and I still get excited when we get to hop in our beloved Big Delores.  She’s the only way we can fit everyone in when Anthony is with us. 

At the beginning of our writing course this semester, we had to write a love letter.  The love letter was not to be written to someONE but rather to someTHING that we love.  I chose Big Delores.  I was just beginning to realize how much I was missing her after having driven Timmy for a couple of weeks.  So, here it is…

Dear Big Delores (Suburban), It seems like only yesterday that I brought you home. The search for just the right vehicle to fit a family of seven, going on eight, seemed never ending. Then we saw you. Your beautiful black paint was a welcome sight after having driven old Wanda B. Red for a while before finding out that we would be adding another member to our ‘gang’.

You never got to meet Wanda. She was a Durango. A sweet gal, but she didn’t go well with our University of Utah gear being that she was a brilliant version of BYU’s blue. She sure wanted to be red though, which is why she got the name Wanda B. Red. When I spotted you, I just knew that you were the one to replace her. Sure, you had a slight drawback. You had two bucket seats in the middle row where we needed a bench to fit the new baby. Luckily, a tan bench, to match the rest of your interior, was located shortly after the baby was born.

When I’m behind your wheel I can’t help but feel a sense of safety. Come to think of it, I feel safe even in the passenger seat. Some of the vehicles humming along next to us on the freeway seem so vulnerable, like tiny bugs about to get squished. You, my love, are not them, and I love you for it. I feel like an army sergeant on the road, barking orders at all the little worker ants. “Get out of my way! Here comes Big Delores!” Of course there are much larger vehicles out there, and in no way am I implying that you are fat. I like to refer to you as “medium husky”.

Big Delores, you just make me happy. I love that you allowed me to name you after the girl in the movie Hope Floats. You’ve got a great sense of humor about me telling people that you have your own gang. You have to admit, not only are you large enough to have your own gang, you literally carry my gang around everywhere. Don’t worry; I’ve got your back!

You’re getting up there in years and miles now which makes me sad. The slight, repetitive rev of your engine when we are at a standstill leads me to believe that you might be giving out on me soon. Please know that you mean more to me than I can possibly explain in words (or afford to replace in dollars). I will love you forever. No vehicle will ever be able to replace you in my heart.

Love,

Brooke













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I believe…

Anthony and I are studying Religion (Lives of the Prophets) along with English.  We are taking a basic writing class.  And I don’t know why but it is kicking our BUTTS!  Grades are fine…ish, it’s just a lot more work this semester than we are used to. 

The first assignment for writing was to write a love letter.  But not just any love letter; it had to be a letter to someTHING that we love, not someONE.  I plan to share that once I have access to it again (long story), but for now I am sharing my second assignment.  We had to write an essay about something that we strongly believe in.  This paper was easy for me because I have a very strong opinion about the value of homeschooling.  I believe that homeschooling is education in its most realistic form. 

For the record, I originally wrote close to 6 pages before realizing I had some major cutting down to do.  The essay could only be 1-2 pages.  What the heck?!  I could have gone on forever. 

Anthony’s paper was centered around fathers being heroes to their children.  (I’ll share that once I get permission.  He has to be awake in order for me to get that.  ;))

Below is a copy of my essay:

 

I believe homeschooling is education in its most realistic form. It is the most appropriate way to educate. The public school system seems so artificial. Having to learn the same thing as everyone else at approximately the same ages sends the message that what a child is interested in isn’t important, and that you can only learn certain things at certain times. Being told there is only one right way to do just about everything sends the message that we shouldn’t try to be creative. Certainly the government knows better what, when, and how a child should be learning a particular concept. In addition, standardized testing is not an accurate measurement of intelligence or progress.

I am the product of the public school system, and I think I turned out alright. Homeschool isn’t for every family or every kid. Public, charter, or private school are all options as well. However, there was a dam built in the flow of my creative juices as a result of the way the schools and government have set things up for the education of children.

It has taken a lot of effort to get the juices flowing again. As a small child I remember my imagination running wild. The things I could come up with on my own were worthy of a best selling picture book. Vivid colors, imaginative characters, and playful thoughts and scenarios danced around in my mind like a pile of autumn leaves frolicking into the air, gently pushed upward by a light, cool breeze. Exposed pebbles in my corroding driveway were ‘buttons’ that would magically transport my friends and me to new and exciting places like Bubble Gum World. But I knew that when I entered the classroom things had to be just so.

Everyone used the same color of tissue paper for a flower art project, the same design for an imagined replica of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships, and the same topic for learning acrostic poems. My classmates and I were limited by certain criteria set by either the teacher or the government. Eventually, the natural curiosity and imaginative thoughts inside of me were drowned by the knowledge that it didn’t matter how I wanted to do my project. If I wanted a good grade, I would have to follow the format and subject given to me.

The most frequently asked question I get as a homeschooling mom of six kids is, “What about socialization? How are you going to socialize your kids?” I always tell the asker that we just live life. Life is a social event. My kids are involved at church, in church activities, recreational activities, and organized homeschool events. They play with each other, cousins, neighbor kids, and they go to the grocery store and the park. Everyday social interaction equals socialized children.

Schools were not created to provide a place for social interaction. They were created to help educate those children whose families could not afford to buy the proper materials or hire private tutors for their education. At some point, it just became simpler to send all, or at least most, kids to the school for free education. Soon after that it became the law.

Homeschooling is a lifestyle. The world is our classroom and we are able to choose what to learn, when to learn, and how to learn. It offers the very best of life and can help children discover their creative genius.