Home-schooling
Homeschooling? I thought Luther
was in favor of schools and even encouraged public education.
“My idea is to have the boys attend such a school for one or two hours during the day, and spend the remainder of the time working at home, learning a trade, or doing whatever is expected of them. In this way, study and work will go hand in hand while the boys are young and able to do both. Otherwise, they spend at least ten times as much time anyway with their pea shooters, ballplaying, racing, and tussling. In like manner, a girl can surely find time enough to attend school for an hour a day, and still take care of her duties at home. She spends much more time than that anyway in sleeping, dancing, and playing.”
The modern educational system is broken. The very idea of sending our young, impressionable children, to such institutions to be raised by strangers, for seven hours a day or more, is absolutely foolish. Not only is it foolish but it was not what Luther was promoting or what the Bible asks parents to do.
This is especially true for public schools. These are filthy, godless, atheist institutions, with very few redeeming qualities. "When you send your children to a Roman school - don't be surprised when they come back to you as Roman citizens."
Unfortunately, many Christian schools today, are not much better. Many Christian schools today use the same books, strategies, and philosophies as the public schools. They have become secular schools with a little Jesus sprinkled on top. This includes many of our colleges as well.
Many children learn to hate education because of school. It is a place where you sit, line up, shut up, and do as your told, all day long, only learning what has been determined for you. This is especially true for boys who do not learn in the same way girls learn or have the same topics of interests as the girls. In short, it kills creativity and imagination.
Oftentimes, students get
"left behind" or
"fall through the cracks"
because they are not maturing at the same rate as the other students. Sometimes they may need the teacher to go a little slower for them to fully understand the material, but the teacher is unable to slow down because he cannot hold up the entire class.
Eventually these children become discouraged and give up. They tell themselves that they cannot do it and that they are not as smart as everyone else.
And to make it even harder for them, they will be bombarded daily by distractions. Everything from their friend's jokes,
to passing notes,
playing on their
cell-phones,
avoiding the local bully,
flirting with the
opposite sex,
and folding the perfect
paper airplane.
When they aren't being distracted, they have to deal with Peer pressure and the urge to fit in. It isn't fun to be the guy that no one likes. Everyone wants to be part of the group and join in the fun. His peers will open his eyes to the world of drinking, drugs, porn, and sex.
And it isn't just the students that he needs to tiptoe around. He needs to walk on eggshells around the teacher (or teachers) that seem to have a deep-rooted hate for him. He doesn't understand why she dislikes him, but it is clear to him that she does, because she is always angry and short with him, while praising others in the class.
Because there are so many children from so many backgrounds in our schools, conservative teachers are often afraid to teach on certain topics that might be controversial, not wanting to upset some child. While the more liberal teachers are emboldened to preach their liberal ideologies because they want to change the world.
Many schools mandate the teaching of Sexual Education to their students. Not only is this creepy, having strangers teach and discuss such an intimate topic with children, but it also puts sexual thoughts and desires into the minds of children who likely wouldn't have thought about such things, except for the fact that it was brought to their attention. Sex-Ed was designed to encourage promiscuity, fornication, and abortion.
Many schools and churches, led by timid men, submissively followed the government's many mandates for masks and jabs, threatening parents to keep quiet and do as they command.
It made no difference to the government or to the school authorities that they are forcing children to accept an experimental drug with unknown side-effects.
And if you raise too much of a ruckus over what is being taught, or what kind of pornography is in the library, or don't do exactly as the school says, guess who is coming to your door to check on your children. The government is more than ready to make sure your children are "safe" in their own home.
Perhaps they should devote that same time, energy, and money to protecting our children in their schools.
(And yes, something other than taking law-abiding citizen's guns away would solve the problem. They could start by bringing bibles back into the schools and teaching basic Christian doctrine, as Luther encouraged the German princes to do.)
Unfortunately, these tragedies have become all too common, and it can be directly linked to the fact that parents are not raising their children in the Word of God.
The unspoken truth is that it is nearly impossible to raise children while they attend school. In order to raise children, you need to be around those children.
Even the few hours a day after work, that could be spent with your children, much of that time the child is left doing his homework, in soccer practice, watching TV, or talking on the phone. Whatever time you do have with them cannot compare to the amount of time they are among their friends, strangers, and entertainment. Children are simply not being raised today, even if you think they are.
Take a look around. We are surrounded by naughty, bratty children. Kids who throw temper tantrums, roll their eyes, talk back to those in authority, lie, steal, cheat, and disobey. This does not need to be the case. Children and teens don't need to go through a rebellious stage. The problem is that they were not raised from a young age, because Dad was working over here, and Mom was working over there. No one was raising their children.
It is not surprising that such a high percentage of our confirmands leave our churches or that many of our parents blame the church and school for why their adult children walk away from the faith. These parents were told to send their children to these schools for a good Christ-centered education, but instead, these children were raised by the secular world which has a natural hate for God and a distrust for their parents.
There is not a single command in all of Scripture to send your children to a school, but plenty of passages commanding parents to raise those children.
Not only does God give the responsibility of raising children to their parents, but there are many benefits to those who take on this responsibility.
As a parent, you get to choose the subjects and curriculum for your children, rather than letting teachers and politicians decide what your children should learn.
No Common Core, Revisionist History, Feminist agenda, BLM hate, LGBT propaganda, Hollywood tripe, or Democrat / Socialist platforms etc.
Instead, your children learn your values, beliefs, and political views instead of the views and beliefs of the teachers who oftentimes are driven by their own political views (yes, even in our Lutheran Schools), and their own fears of getting in trouble for speaking truth.
In a time of such moral decay as we see today, gathering at every corner, we must be vigilant in teaching that which is good. We cannot afford to be silent on these controversial issues like so many teachers of our schools.
"Not to speak is to speak." Bonhoeffer
That sounds great, but what about socialization? I don't want my children to grow up weird, unable to interact with others.
When you homeschool, your children will actually be better socialized than schooled children, because they will spend more time among all age groups (older siblings, younger siblings, parents, grandparents, friends of all ages, etc.) Whereas schooled children spend the vast majority of their time among children of the same age.
The only thing that makes homeschoolers weird in today's society is their "can do" attitude and their excessive manners. They are usually respectful and helpful to a fault.
It is true homeschoolers often times don't fit in, but we consider that a good thing. And no matter how weird our children get, just remember that nothing is weirder than the average liberal.
What other benefits are derived from homeschooling?
Your children can sleep in longer. Sleep is very important. It is something these young growing bodies and brains absolutely need. How many kids sleep at their desks because they have to get up early so that they don't miss the bus? Homeschooled students don't waste their time commuting, packing lunches, or getting ready for school, they are already at school.
The kids can spend their day studying in the privacy and comfort of their own homes where there are far fewer distractions. Just turn on some Bach or Handel and they're ready to learn.
Homeschooled children, in general, do better academically. Largely because they value education, because they see that their parents value education.
By its very definition, homeschooling has more parental involvement and therefore more encouragement for the children to study harder and go further.
Homeschooled children are allowed to follow their interests, and therefore they read and study more, not even aware that what they are doing is hated by school children all across America.
As the child grows older, his interests change, and he studies other subjects.
Amazingly, those subjects that he had less interest in at a younger age, he is now able to master with ease because he is ready for those subjects.
Homeschooling cultivates a love for learning, to be done all year-round, throughout the Indvidual's life. It teaches self-motivation and self-reliance like nothing else.
When you homeschool, the child is able to go at his own speed, spending time on the lesson until he fully understands the material.
He isn't waiting on the other children to catch up, nor are they waiting for him to understand the lesson.
When you homeschool, you have far more freedom. Is it really healthy or humane for children to spend most of their waking day and most of their lives confined to a room and glued to a desk?
God gave us arms and legs to move around, eyes and ears to enjoy our environment, a whole world to study and explore, and we lock our children behind sterile walls?
There is far more to life than what can be found in a classroom. The world is our laboratory and our brains the microscope.
We search the earth for problems, and we take action to form solutions. We never know what new path we might travel, and what new subjects we might learn.
Homeschooled children are taught, not only bookwork, but life skills.
In this regard, they acquire knowledge and abilities far beyond that of their schooled counterparts.
When was the last time a teacher took her students outside to plant a garden?
When was the last time a school taught their young men to use chainsaws and drop trees?
Or their girls how to bake and cook?
Homeschooled kids are allowed to work and learn on what they enjoy.
Learning skills from the people who love them most.
Skills that are helpful for the family.
Skills that they will fondly remember all their lives, long after their mother and father pass away.
And that is one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling. It inevitably builds stronger families, because everyone spends so much time together. You truly get to know one another. Your children really do become best friends.
Mom and Dad are loved and respected, because the children have been loved and respected by their parents, all their lives.
It is extremely hard to dislike your parents when they were the ones who taught you everything you know.
Why would anyone give this responsibility away?
As a church, we need to encourage the men to be gainfully employed so that they can support their wives and children.
We need to encourage our women to stay home and be true helpmeets to their husbands and raise / homeschool their own children.