The Public School Teacher as Homeschool Mom

The recent "guidance" from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education may have you wondering about a subject that is taboo among public school teachers: homeschooling your own children. It's a tough topic, partly because so many people are ignorant of state laws regarding homeschooling. Besides thinking homeschooling is illegal, many people think it's neglectful. You'll have some assumptions to overcome.

One assumption people will make is that if you teach in a public school, you should be loyal to the system and all that it stands for. Meaning, keep your child in school. Another is that you won't be able to manage homeschooling and holding down your job--one or the other will suffer. Still another is that your child will automatically fall behind. I've heard it many times: the one-time homeschooled child re-enrolls in public school, and teachers whisper about placement testing to find out "which areas have the most gaps." But homeschooling doesn't have to leave gaps. It fills many that the public school cannot.

It is true that many parents who withdraw their children from public school in order to homeschool them are unprepared to do so. They may sign their child up for online classes, or they may try following a more traditional curriculum. Either way, it takes time and dedication to make it work, and some families just aren't up for the task.

But parents should not let the difficulty of the journey keep them from making a positive change in their child's education. God calls some parents to remove their children from public school. If you're one, know that public opinion ultimately does not matter. Homeschooling is legal, affordable, and fulfilling. And there are people and organizations there to help you.

This topic isn't purely academic to me. I was homeschooled K-12 by my mom, inspirational author Susan Page Davis. I know whereof I speak. Now, even though I teach in the public school system, I made the tough choice to homeschool one of my kids. My middle child is enrolled in the public school where I teach, while my husband and I homeschool our firstborn using Google Docs as a planning interface. I create lessons that align with the state standards, linking to relevant Internet content and tapping into Reagan's God-given interest in art and science. It's not perfect, but she's thriving--something she was not doing in public school.

Every homeschool family has a personal reason (or reasons) for choosing home as school. No matter your beliefs, home is the best place to teach values. Now that the White House is reaching in and illegally bullying students and staff of America's public schools, I expect homeschooling to attract a new wave of followers. If you're among them, here are a few parting thoughts.

1. The Left does not like homeschoolers. If you do it, do it well. Document everything. Have your child create a learning portfolio. Know your state's laws.
2. Join a homeschool co-op. Other parents can help supplement your teaching, and you and your kids will make lifelong, like-minded friends.
3. Teach your child the Word of God, and prayerfully trust God to bring that child into the flock.
4. Tap into select activities of the public school system, from music or PE class to extra-curriculars and even testing.
5. Embrace liberty. It comes from God because of His love.

Homeschooling is not for everyone. Do your research before taking the plunge. For starters, Reader's Digest recently posted 13 Things Homeschoolers Wish They Could Tell You. And here, read David French's reasons why it's time to declare independence from public schools.

Public Schools, Transgender Kids, and a Breakneck Run Toward Totalitarianism

"Have a nice weekend," Obama says to the world. "And here's my latest totalitarian manifesto for your reading pleasure."

What the Department of Justice and the Department of Education call "guidance," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls "blackmail" and Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas "social engineering."

David French of National Review puts it bluntly: "You may not have realized it yet, but the Obama administration just destroyed the traditional American public school." The battle has come home. If you are a parent, it now affects your child. If you are a public school teacher, it now affects your workplace, your calling, your livelihood.

This isn't about what the Bible says about sex. (For biblical perspective on the transgender bathroom issue, I wouldn't steer you to the usual passages about sex just at this moment. Instead, check out Romans 9:20, and in the King James at that: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?") Instead, this is about what the United States Constitution says about government interference in the daily lives of American citizens.

Even before legalized gay marriage, the Obama administration was passing off the word "sex" in Title IX for the word "sexual orientation." Now schools are told, under threat of being defunded, to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their sexual orientation. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Students and staff alike will have a new lexicon to learn.

The letter, while not legally binding, has Texas considering cutting ties with government-funded schooling altogether. And how will Christian parents respond? Will there be a mass exodus from public schools? As Christian parents, what is the right response?

The Christian citizen should not react by saying, "I believe homosexuality and sex changes are sinful, so this is an outrage." We're talking about a fallen world, a human-made government, and a government school system. Expecting that system or that government or that world to follow the laws of the Bible would be naive (or worse). America does have a Constitution, however. It's there to protect the citizen from tyranny by government.

I commend to you the words of Ronald Reagan: "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Obama may be on his way out, but voters have bleak options at the polls this election cycle. The likely nominees of both major parties appear all too willing to issue Obama-like fiats guiding individual Americans toward more help from the Government. Is it time to lose hope?

God would not have us despair. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." That's not just for when things are going well and the economy is good and there's a conservative President and Congress and Supreme Court doing things our way. It's for when we need hope the most. Paul certainly knew persecution for faith--he'd doled it out to others, and, after his conversion, endured it.

Teachers, let's continue in hope. And let's be praying.

A Stance on Creationism and Evolution in the Public Schools

Many Christian teachers are required to teach evolutionary theory as fact in their classrooms. In some states, laws outline how cosmology and biology may and may not be taught. A simple Google search will reveal some of the more recent battles state legislatures have fought over evolution in schools.

See, for example, NPR's summary here or the Pew Research Center's take here.

Many Christians are tired of the topic. Is it really that important? Can't I be a Christian without believing the Biblical account of Creation?

The trouble is, the Creation account is everywhere in the Bible, and it's considered part of the Gospel (Rev. 14:6-7):

"And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and springs of waters.'"

It's not something you can pry out of the Word of God. It's part of the final message to a dying earth: Believe in the Creator.

So how about teaching Creationism in the public schools?

The way I see it, we have to be realistic about the world in which we live. The public schools belong to the state and not the church. Just as I cannot expect my unsaved neighbor to obey God's laws in his home, I cannot expect a fallen government (and they are all fallen governments on this earth) to enact God-centered laws for their schools. There are several implications of this perspective.

First, if I'm a voter, I vote.

Second, if I'm a parent, I consider prayerfully whether to place my child in public school or to home school him or her or seek some other school. If choosing public school, I interview my child's teachers and dialog often with my child about my beliefs, knowing I can't force my child to believe the same way I do. I can only lead and pray. Every parent has to work through the school choice question for himself.

Third, if I'm a public school teacher, it means I look carefully at the expectations placed on me in my job. Will I be required to teach evolution? If so, how must I teach it according to state laws?

I would like to hear from other Christian teachers about this tough topic. The matter of Evolution vs. Creationism is no small matter to Christians. We may never convince others to agree with us, but that doesn't mean we should roll over and play dead. The God of the universe asks us to persevere. What does this mean to you? How has Creation affected your thinking about your profession?

School Choice

After doing a little browsing today, I decided to post a link to Focus on the Family's article for parents on school choice. It presents a balanced look at several schooling options. Why does a public school teacher need to be informed about school choices like homeschooling, charter schools, and private schools? Because parents are trying to make the best decisions for their children, and a child who is enrolled in your class one day might be withdrawn to homeschool the next. The reverse is also true. A child who has attended private school or who has been homeschooled for five years may suddenly be enrolled in your public school class for a variety of reasons. Christian teachers need to be tolerant and supportive of parents as they pursue options for their child's educational success.

Homeschooled Kid

Today I shared with my students a few of the times I as a homeschooled teen stuck out like a sore thumb. First there was the time I visited my best friend's Christian school and read A Tale of Two Cities while she and her classmates did math homework in study hall. A boy near me asked if it was a cliffhanger. No; I was reading Dickens as if it were a cliffhanger, though. Then there was the time I was at the public library doing research on the bubonic plague. Sharing the card catalog (yes, those old-fashioned wooden drawers with cards in them) was a public-school boy who was also conducting research. "Is that for an essay?" he asked. "No," I replied. "I'm writing a story." It was a novel, actually, but I didn't want to sound pretentious. And when I was on the Christian school's softball team one year (at the same best friend's pleading), I rode the bus with kids my age who tried to be friendly by asking what kind of music I liked. "Country?" No. "Well, what, then?" "Opera," I said.

It would be an uphill climb for me to be able to relate to public school kids and eventually teach them! But I believe in God's perfect plan, and my homeschool-kid background has definitely helped shape me into who I am. According to educationnews.org, the number of homeschoolers is on the rise. It behooves public school teachers to respect the education choices of parents, whether it be to pursue online schooling for their child or to enroll the child in a charter school (which is also a public school) or something else entirely. For Christians, a major argument in favor of school choice is for parents to have more say in how their children are taught about moral and religious matters. No matter where they are and who's teaching them, they're getting an education.