To homeschoolers

Now that I've finished high school and gained street cred at any homeschool conference merely by my new status as "homeschool graduate," I thought I'd hop on my soapbox and toss my two cents to the crowd.

Don’t be afraid to geek out. That's one of my favorite things about homeschooling - the ability to dive head-first into areas that spark your interest. I'll never agree with the "unschooling" philosophy, but it's just common sense that we learn the most in the subjects that we're most interested in. It's ok to get sidetracked every once in a while. Half of what I learned in high school came from Wikipedia rabbit trails when I was researching something else.

Don't stress over how the quality of your education compares to that of the mainstream school system. The fact that you're conscientious about it is a good indication that you're on the right track. It's the people who don't care that are the ones to be worried about.

Oh lesson planning, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I hope this one goes without saying. When I hit high school, I was pretty much on my own. (come to think of it, that could explain many, many things) Every August, I took a week to sit down and plan out my school year. Best thing I ever did. It was my road map, and at any point in the year, I knew where I was supposed to be. Before you think I'm such a wonderful student, let me be the first to admit that I never followed my detailed schedules continually. But the weeks I did pay attention, I would get everything - or nearly everything, at least - accomplished. I'd rather not talk about the other weeks. But in a point related to the one above, if you're able to stay consistent with your schedule, you'll most likely end up ahead of even the best private schools. Even they waste a lot of time on busywork, assemblies, fire drills, etc.

To get really nitty gritty, buy up all the good historical fiction you can lay your hands on. Not the Janet Oake Western-Christian-Romance variety. I'm talking obscure old children's books from the late 19th through the mid 20th century. There's something about that time era where the authors were able to take any period of history and make it absolutely fascinating. Even in the non-fiction books of the time, the subject matter was often written in the form of a story which made it really engaging. Anyways, this genre made history come alive for me - I love how it humanizes the historical figures we come across by making them well-rounded characters, not just frowning portraits in a textbook.

Turn on the tv every once in a while. It wasn't till I started watching a modern show or two (this is dating to 8th grade/early high school, by the way) that I realized that carrying around a stack of books with you everywhere is not normal behavior. I'm not even kidding. I remember one mortifying incident when I was walking into church with my usual pile of books, and they all fell, and afterwards, I just couldn't understand why my dad limited me to three from that point on. Yes, these things can slip through the cracks. Which brings me to my last point......

The most important thing I've learned in homeschooling is finding the balance between exposure to the world and protection from it. I think homeschoolers have a dangerous tendency toward the latter. The purpose of child rearing is to train them to be godly, critically-thinking, responsible adults. Sheltering is not training. I've seen my share of wimpy boys and insipid girls, and it isn't pretty. Remember what happened when the Europeans arrived in the Americas? The natives began rapidly dying out because they had never been exposed to the diseases their new neighbors carried with them. Their bodies couldn't cope with it. Contact with the secular world is not a matter of when, but how. Kids need to see the whys and the hows, to be trained to critically examine each new idea they come in contact with. Doing this correctly will enable them, by God's grace, to face the world and overcome.

In my own experience, I'm glad my parents understood this. When I told my dad I wanted to spend a year reading all the books he had told me not to read, not only did he not bat an eye, he thought it sounded fun. And that year, facing those viewpoints opposite my own, I came to understand them and the reasons I disagree better than I would have from any third party critique. My dad knew  he had provided a solid foundation by teaching me skills like logic and a firm grasp of Biblical theology, so he was excited when he saw that I was ready to put those skills to work. So crack open that textbook crawling with evolutionary dogma. Heck, why not study the Qur'an while you're at it?

Well, that turned out to be more than a few cents....more like a dollar or something.....but you knew I couldn't leave homeschooling behind without spouting off a little.

College, here I come.