First Things First:
Majoring in the Majors with Homeschooling
by Marc Carrier
www.valuesdrivenfamily.com

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My wife and I recently engaged in a very interesting dialogue—discussing why it is that people homeschool. We asked ourselves, why did we decide to homeschool? We also asked our oldest children why they thought we homeschooled. The simple answer of why we originally elected this option, and why our children thought we homeschooled, was sheltering from the worldly. This is a noble goal and a reasonable consideration for choosing this path. However, I would argue that it isn’t the right reason.

Our conversation brought to mind a review done by a homeschooling publication that included a caveat (subtle warning, really) concerning our book that said we were not “homeschool only.” The reviewer clearly misinterpreted our philosophy and position on homeschooling because of a reigning philosophy that homeschooling is (in and of itself), the end, rather than a means to an end.

In our writings we focus on discipleship—and in the reviewed book, we said that it was "good" to use public school if parents continued to fulfill their responsibility of imparting God’s Word to their children, and did their best to counterbalance negative or cultural influences. We argued that doing the same with private Christian school is “better,” and discipling children at home via homeschooling is “best.” Unfortunately, the reviewer thought we were saying public school was good—when, really, we were saying that parents taking a leadership role discipling their children was good--and that can be done in the context of public education. I would even go as far as to argue that homeschooling with a secular focus, without incorporating the Word, is BAD. See the perspective difference?

Making homeschooling itself into a holy grail, of sorts—the pinnacle of achievement and accomplishment—is a myth. Homeschooling does not guarantee that our children will grow up serving the Lord or even be people of character. It is not "the end." Homeschooling is simply a means to the end. It’s what we do with this vehicle as a means for discipleship that dictates our success.

Now, let me be blunt. The Bible never even so much as mentions the concept of school. Are we honestly to make something that the Bible is silent on our lead item, our raison d’etre? Should this really be our focus? I would question the wisdom of that decision.

So you may be wondering, why does this guy homeschool if it’s not for the purposes of sheltering? In a nutshell, the Bible is not silent on the subject of parents imparting God’s Word to their children. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 it talks about how this is done: through real-life discipleship. Homeschooling is truly the best (and arguably, the only) means for accomplishing this goal. This type of discipleship is the right reason for Christian parents to homeschool.

With this in mind, it befuddles me why so many homeschooling parents work so hard to emulate the public school environment at the neglect of simple biblical discipleship. You'll find text books, lectures, workbooks and worksheets—everything that you would find in public school, and none of which is even remotely alluded to in Scripture. These tools aren’t bad. However, this majoring in the minors—focusing on the things the Bible is silent on to the neglect of the things the Bible is explicit on--is a bit perplexing to me. I think we really need to keep our priorities in order if we are to use homeschooling for what it is: simply, the best tool available to us parents to fulfill our biblical mandate of discipling our children. We just need to keep our priorities in order.

Copyright © 2008, Marc Carrier

Marc Carrier is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with many years of corporate experience in managing multi-million dollar projects. More recently, Marc has helped to equip families for greater success and life enjoyment by applying successful project management principles to the home.

Marc has co-authored The Values-Driven Life: Accelerated Growth for the Christian Soul. He has also written, with his wife, Cynthia, The Values-Driven Family: A Proactive Plan for Successful Biblical Parenting and Values-Driven Discipleship: Biblical Instruction and Character Training Manual.

The focus of Marc and Cindy's "Values-Driven" ministry is to encourage and equip Christian families to make the most of every opportunity: that is, to serve God, participate in fulfilling the Great Commission, and raise children who love and serve the Lord. For more information about their resources, for fresh inspiration on your family journey, or to find practical helps-including dozens of FREE DOWNLOADS-visit http://www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com.