VIEWPOINT with Chuck Crismier
BECOMING HOMESCHOOLERS
hahaha okay we'll keep hoping alright let's pray last lord we we and not afraid and not afraid and not afraid okay alright from Hawaii we actually we do have a listeners in Hawaii so good yeah you're ready here we go this is viewpoint with attorney and author Chuck Chris Meyer viewpoint is a one hour talk show confronting the issues of America's heart and home and now with today's edition of viewpoint here is Chuck Chris Meyer as of February 2020 a total of at least nine million Americans had gone through homeschooling at least once and there's an annual homeschooling growth rate of about two to eight percent depending on who you're talking to there are numerous reasons why families opt for homeschooling such as the lack of their children's progress in traditional schooling the difference in religious and educational philosophies lack of satisfaction with the traditional education methods and yes indeed the struggles and trials and tribulations that go on in public schools increasingly these days with all the dangers that accompany it but here's something interesting homeschoolers were seen to have an average standardized test score of 87 percent how does that compare with public schools well compared to this the score of those going to public schools was only 50 50th percentile in certain subjects now a study was related to the data obtained from the 2007 2008 school year by the homeschool legal defense association there was a 39 percent point excess in the case of homeschoolers as compared to others in other words they were better off 39 percent better off than public schoolers the homeschool graduation statistics are 10 percent higher than that of students from public schools and reports from the National Home Education Research Institute in 2015 showed that irrespective of the parents educational level and financial level homeschoolers can score well in fact homeschooling is gradually seen to be increasingly increasing amongst minority communities also high schoolers constitute the majority of those being homeschooled today precisely because of the dangers that homeschoolers are experiencing excuse me that the public schoolers are experiencing in their public schools so my dear friends we're talking today about becoming homeschoolers is it best for you to give your kids a great education a strong family and a life they'll thank you for forever our special guest today Monica Swanson with her book becoming homeschoolers Monica it's going to have you all the way from Hawaii welcome aboard thank you so good to be here well we are talking about something that my wife and I have considerable experience with we were in southern California in the early 1980s when we began homeschooling in fact I'm trying to think yeah it was around 1980 at that time homeschooling was frowned upon in fact it was frowned upon legally and when you decided to homeschool you were making a courageous decision well things aren't the same today in fact all across the country we're finding that homeschooling has grown rather significantly and there are good reasons for it so you are joining us today with four boys that you either have homeschooled or are continuing to homeschool this very day is that right that's right got one more still coming up okay so that the first three have graduated from from high school as a home as homeschoolers is that correct that's correct and to have as of about a week ago graduated from college huh working our way out there well that's great so you you're the voice of experience now the reality is my wife and I are also the voice of experience because our three daughters were all homeschooled they were always in homeschool however our oldest daughter began in a Christian school and I was the on the board of that school and it was a very good school had a great reputation and we're not disappointed that we had our daughter in that Christian school but not everybody in that school was Christian then our daughter went to another Christian school when she went into high school and that also had a great reputation but within a few months our oldest daughter begged us to take her out of that school why because she saw a gross inconsistency between the faith the Christian faith that we walked and that which was prevalent in that school among the students and even among the teachers have you seen that kind of problem absolutely and I hear from families all the time who are walking through that right now because they hope to protect their kids from some of the things that they know go on in the public school system so they put them in a private school and they find that the problems don't go away because there's all kinds of reasons that families choose to put their kids in a private school and it's not always the same as what you might be choosing it for well in fact what's happening is the same thing that's happening in colleges Christian colleges I was on the board of my alma mater for several years and one of the things that we discovered was that the administration was bringing in students from the Middle East and why would they doing that not because they were Christians but because it brought in a lot of money a lot of money to help with programs and the net result of it was that all of these students from Saudi Arabia had no Christian value system in fact they didn't believe in truth and so they were they were cheating on the exams it was so bad it was literally destroying all of the integrity of the school and they had to get rid of them the other problem is and this is what I've experienced at every school level that is Christian school level and that is churches and others who want to start these schools have the idea that they're going to use them as evangelistic tools so they bring in that's the rationalization so they bring in a lot of other people who are not professing Christians they want to build up the financial flow with more students so they can have more programs and they claim that it's for evangelism what's the net result of it it dilutes the Christian influence and subject your children in the name of Christ to lots of things that are contrary to Christ to me that's a problem yes yes and though it's a problem at the college level and that's a whole nother conversation I would say all the more risk putting younger kids who have not yet solidified their foundation their political world view so my older boys did go on to a Christian college and they saw everything you're talking about without a doubt however they were ready yeah they had been they had been grounded in their faith they knew how to defend their faith while they watched their friends who hadn't had that experience yeah go go through deconstruction as we call it today being challenged in their faith and you know oftentimes throwing out their faith my boys were able to really grow their roots deep and know what they believe because we spent those years and they're growing up years and those are the training years those are the most important years and I'm thinking you know I've been involved at every level of Christian education which includes preschool it includes elementary and junior high school it includes high school and it includes college every level and has seen exactly the same problems everywhere and we really need to give our children the maximum opportunity from your viewpoint that he's homeschooled let's talk about it once upon a time children couldn't pray and read their Bibles in school divorces were practically unknown as was child abuse in our once great America virginity and chastity were popular virtues and homosexuality was an abomination so what happened in just one generation hi I'm Chuck Chris my and I urge you to join me daily on viewpoint where we discuss the most challenging issues touching our hearts and homes could America's morals slide relate to the Fourth Commandant listen to viewpoint on this radio station or any time at save us dot o-r-g Welcome back to viewpoint friends we're talking today with Monica Swanson from Hawaii she has raised four sons homeschooling them and now two of them graduated from college and she's continuing to to move forward with the other two I have ten grandchildren four of them were homeschooled four of them were homeschooled and three of the four well two of the four had some learning disability situations they really did so they were homeschooled though and as a result of that here is the final report here it is as of last Friday one the older one is now in his third year of residency as a doctor at the height of his practice it's just amazing wow he is exceeded beyond just about every one of his peers it's amazing amazing the second one has been a nurse for six years the third and the fourth ones just graduated from engineering school last Friday wow every one of them was homeschooled congratulate what do you think Mark Monica do you think that is some evidence that you can homeschool and still be successful no coincidence is there absolutely I see that my my boys both graduated from college and had job offers before they graduated my son majored in engineering mechanical engineering last week and was offered an incredible job the week before he graduated so yeah I'm right there with you and wow we ought to get those sons together well the thing I like to tell people is I you know going through my own homeschool journey I didn't know what I was doing I was learning as I was going I was gathering information and felt inadequate I felt all the things every other parent does and yet I look at them now and I'm like it was plenty I did it I did just fine and mostly instilling that love of learning in them and so I just like to encourage other people with our story not to say my kids are extra special or extra smart but saying when you give them what they need the most then they blossom and they find their way and God leads them and everything works out you know what mark Monica I think there's this idea in America that training our children is a duty that we can delegate and that is true especially with regard to the spiritual training we think that we can delegate that we can delegate it to the youth pastor we could delegate it to the pastor we could delegate it to somebody else to the Christian school and so on but that's not how I read the Bible I read the Bible that the primary responsibility for training up our children in the nurturing admins to the Lord and in his ways is exclusively limited to the parent and beyond that anything else is extra but the parent is the number one responsibility what say you that's right yes I mean I I so often refer back to Deuteronomy chapter 6 oh yeah God gave Moses the commands to give the people and and it was all on the family it was and it was an all-day everyday activity of talking to your kids about God's commands as you rise up as you walk along the street as you lie down that's not delegating that's that's doing it right there in the family on a daily basis and that was my inspiration exactly well you know those four grandchildren also had a heavy involvement in our home because my oldest daughter has been my right hand person my producer my secretary my everything and so we were given the opportunity to have what should we say extended parental authority and you know one of the things that that our grandchildren always know is when they would say well I would ask them to do something or not to do something and say but I don't want to and so my answer was always then change your want to's then change your want to's and you know what even this day when they're in there from 25 to 30 if I were to ask them say something about well what if you don't want to you know what they would say then change your want to's you know and that's that's a spiritual message and so there's so much that can be learned I trained them you know to do work the the guys do to work out in the yard and they learned so many spiritual principles there because we could share time together and we could apply the scriptures just like Deuteronomy six talks about that's right yeah grandparents are so important and I just encourage any grandparent listening to be inspired by that because I do think that culturally we've moved away from that to a large extent as as families have kind of separated and I just think grandparents can play such an important role and parents need to appreciate that and lean into that and and receive that when you've got that offer there well more than 17 years have passed since you began your homeschooling journey and I know there have to be in just like everything else in life sometimes up sometimes down sometimes nearly to the ground and then you get up again and you press on isn't that the way life is it is it absolutely is and we shouldn't expect anything different and that's part of the journey of walking with the Lord through all these things all right but you have the Adarsity Adacity to say a life they'll thank you for later that's right well there aren't everyone that thanks for that but I think the majority do why I do too because we're giving kids just this this beautiful freedom to discover their passions and their interest their freedom to become who God individually created them to be we're giving them a safe place in this world that really isn't safe anymore I mean safe as far as school violence goes and bullying and all those things that come to parents minds but even more so safe spiritually and morally and all the things that we're exposing kids to when we put them into a school setting where they spend the majority of their years growing up more time than they had spent at home if you put them into a school all of their years growing up so it's a gift it is such a gift and even the kids that don't think they're gonna thank you later they I'm pretty sure eventually they will yeah well you know in our we've had a house church for 30 years and in the first 15 years 15 to 20 years of that house church we literally raised maybe six or seven complete families and every one of them was homeschooling every one of them and they were diverse all over about a 90 mile diameter area yet they would come together for worship and instruction and they were all homeschoolers incredible yeah yeah okay now you say that there are 20 good reasons to homeschool your kids that sounds like a lot of promotion to me so but I agree with you I agree with you and before we get into those I want to make your book available to our listeners today becoming homeschoolers friends becoming homeschoolers it's a $20 book yours for $18 on our website save us.org save us.org you can give us a call at 1-800-Save USA 1-800-Save USA or write to us at Save America ministries Pio bonk 7 0 8 7 9 Richmond Virginia 2 3 2 5 5 writing a check at $5 for postage and hailey now if you really believe that Jesus Christ is coming again and that his coming is becoming increasingly sooner than you ever would have thought it seems to me Monica that that would be even the more so a reason why you would want to homeschool your kids what do you think absolutely I couldn't agree more one of my friends when I was asking taking a little poll unofficial poll saying why do you homeschool and one of my friends said I just really like my kids I actually want to be with them and and I think yeah the days are short we don't know what tomorrow brings and and we want to know most important thing we can know about our parenting is that our kids come to know the Lord personally and no better way to do that than to raise them in an environment where you get to bring him and his word into every aspect and it's not just bringing them to receive Jesus Christ as their as their Savior but to train them up in you know like Daniel in the Old Testament who purposed to set his heart and his life like the three Hebrew young men that refused to back down they refused to bow down I mean our kids are going to be facing this kind of thing right now what you didn't know Monica is that my 11th book is at type setting as we speak it's called when persecution comes preparing hearts for perilous times and this is what parents Christian parents need to be doing day after day line-upon line precept upon precept or they're not going to be able to stand in the evil day do you think I couldn't agree more absolutely and one of my favorite parts of homes going is the opportunity to read stories both from the Bible that also missionary stories right and really filling our kids hearts and minds with with examples because I always say if heaven forbid they face that one day I want them to have a store house and their memory of others who have gone before them who have faced as bad or worse circumstances and and made it through or went to see the Lord with with absolute peace and they will never get that in public school and they're not likely to get that in Christian schools because the Christian schools unfortunately are pandering largely to the unbelievers because they don't want to offend them and lose the money that's right you said it well whoa well somebody's got to agree with me here you're so agreeable Monica all right there are 20 reasons why you say that they'll thank you later can you can we run through some of those well we certainly can and really I had to cut myself off I think there's more than 20 easily well I'm sure and then the next chapter is 10 things homeschoolers get to avoid right a way of extending the same topic but you know there's there's a things a lot of people first think of you'd like academic and they get into college will they get everything that they need and so I cover that on that list of 20 things which you've already mentioned colleges are starting to seek out homeschoolers more and more because they recognize that they make such great students so you know and they're not out there rebelling against the kids the teachers at the authority they're not rioting no they're not and they get good FIT scores and all that stuff but even more from my experience I'm gonna say for the moms out there listening maybe you know who just have that heart for I want my kids to be best friends and my kids are I want my kids that like me and have a relationship with me as adults which all of mine do the relationships the faith the things that we just hope so much for but are hard to achieve when you're sending your kids off in different directions all day every day and so homeschooling offers across the board from academics to faith to family relationships the things that we want most for our kids it just takes that sacrifice of choosing to say yes I'm willing to sacrifice I've got to finish that thought because as much as many people think of it as sacrifice initially you discover eventually that it is the greatest gift in my life and I'm so thankful it is not felt like a sacrifice well it's a holy purpose isn't it yes yeah it's a holy purpose I mean isn't that why you are a parent yes you're you're you know a public school teacher is said to be in local parenis in the place of the parent well the reality is a Christian parent is in local deus in other words in the place of God yes yes that's why this is so critical that's why this is so critical absolutely and and if we were to ever put somebody in the place of the parent I think we would want to be able to handpick and select who that would be if if we needed someone and I don't think we would be choosing the people that were that are there waiting for our kids in the public schools no way no way becoming homeschoolers friends this is a very encouraging book it's a visionary book it's a book of hope a book of purpose that's what it is and I hope you'll get a copy of it 18 dollars we'll put this twenty dollar book in your hands it's on our website save us dot orgies save us dot org you can call us at 1 800 SAVE USA 1 800 SAVE USA or right to us at SAVE America ministries PO Box 7 0 8 7 9 Richmond Virginia 2 3 2 5 5 writing a check at $5 for postage and handing let's suppose that your grandparent out there or a great grandparent don't you think that you have enough influence to be able to perhaps get a copy of this book to encourage your son your daughter and his kids her kids you see we're all in this together that's the beauty of it we're a family we're in this together and so I hope you'll consider that and we'll be back with Monica in just a few minutes to really talk about these twenty items we don't want to get some twenty items the reason to homes there is so much more about Chuck Chris Meyer and save America ministries on our website save us dot org for example under the marriage section God has marriage on his mind Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage first off a fact sheet on the state of the Maribel Union a fact sheet on the state of ministry marriage and morals save us dot org marriage divorce and remarriage what does the Bible really teach about this find all of this at save us dot org also a letter to pastors the Jose a project save us dot org and many more resources to strengthen your marriage it's all on Chuck's website save us dot org again you can listen to Chuck's viewpoint broadcast live and archive save America ministries website at save us dot org welcome back to view point I'm Chuck Chris Meyer you know our viewpoint does determine destiny our viewpoint concerning the education of our children or grandchildren is determining their destiny there are no neutral viewpoints and when our special yesterday mentioned the word of I think she used the word sacrifice well you know there's a sense in which that's what we're called to do and to be as Christians we're told to give our lives sacrificially and as parents that's what we're called to do to raise up to train up the next generation to follow the Lord with a whole heart you see you can't talk about evangelism out there in Africa or India unless you first take care of your responsibilities at home that's what we're not willing to do we want to delegate that and think somehow we're doing a wonderful thing by going out and doing a some sort of a week or two mission venture out there somewhere and we're not taking care of the home front we're just not taking and this is the critical moment friends taking care of the home front now here is here are those 20 things I would have run through these real quickly and then we'll move forward homeschool students consistently outperform other students on standardized tests homeschool students are increasingly being recruited by colleges homeschooling is efficient it allows kids to learn time management homeschooling families could offer gift of a challenge students a specialized education homeschool kids can more freely pursue their passions and interests homeschool students are prepared for the real world homeschooling fosters strong relationships between kids and parents homeschooled kids build strong bonds with their siblings homeschooling allows families to travel and do school around the unique schedules homeschooling kids have an easier time getting internships which could lead to getting better jobs homeschooling families can integrate character lessons into the whole day every day homeschooled kids can learn everything through a biblical worldview homeschoolers don't have to do homework homeschooling supports kids mental health homeschooled kids can get more sleep and can adjust their schedule to their needs homeschooled kids have ample time to play use their imaginations and experience true adventures homeschooled kids have more time to spend with grandparents or other special people in their lives homeschooled kids are free to be themselves without pressure to conform homeschooled kids are physically healthier homeschooled students grow up to be amazing adults and they'll thank you for it well friends that's uh that's the the the beautiful 20 there but then Monica you said there are things that homeschoolers get to avoid yes run through those for us amen which which may be ranking even higher on on many parents minds I agree in fact I think a study has shown that number one homeschoolers avoid school violence is one of the top concerns on on parents minds right now and rightly so yes homeschoolers avoid negative socialization and and I just love the chance to address socialization throughout this book because I just think it's such a such an outdated concept people have is that homeschoolers aren't socialized well actually you know let's talk about that for a minute do you want your kids to socialize with children or do you want your kids to become socialized as adults right I want to give you an illustration let me give you an illustration okay go ahead for eight years I was a volunteer pastor while I was practicing law in one of the fastest growing churches in Southern California and my wife and I led a group of about 150 200 adults they called it a Sunday school class we called a faith builders it was the most amazing group of people and nobody even 30 years later will ever forget it the experience was so great well during that time we were urged to put our three daughters who were then teenagers into the youth program so we did in order to please pastoral expectations well guess what within a month or two they begged us to take them out so that they could be part of faith builders now why did they do that because they wanted real life yeah they were tired of playing children stuff right games in the name of Christ they wanted genuine fellowship and they stayed there for the rest of their sojourn yeah yeah such a good example and such a good reminder for people to really consider what they're saying it's like we've our culture just is so you know trained to think that socialization looks like a bunch of same age kids in a room together none of which you've selected you know nothing about the families they come from the the influences in their lives what and especially today we can mention what they're bringing in their backpack that the device I mean my goodness it's that alone is a reason to keep your kids away from that kind of and the drugs and alcohol thing yeah yeah well that's here I'll just run through this list real quick because number three is home schoolers avoid unnecessary exposure to drugs and alcohol and number four home scores avoid most bullying research shows most bullying occurs at school or in school related number five home scores avoid the teaching of evolutionism as a fact number six home scores avoid gender indoctrination number seven home scores avoid learning about racial issues from a bias viewpoint and all these indoctrination and issues are really dependent on the teacher I think to go any direction right number eight home scores avoid pressure to date before they're ready number nine home scores avoid the comparison trap number ten home scores avoid feeling stuck which I my son is the one who really spoken to that just talking about that awful feeling in his gut when he imagined having to sit in a classroom all day and do the same things as everybody else all day long and like he's trapped I mean that son is my third who is doing college online right now because he's a professional surfer who travels the world surfing and really making a pretty good income for a 20-year-old that wait a minute and he learned all of that under your tutelage right there we go yeah my husband my husband is definitely the sports dad but but he had the opportunity because he was homeschooled to really pursue that and to train and and compete and travel and now my 13-year-old son is doing the same we're about to leave us you and I speak to go travel to the mainland for golf tournaments and he's super passionate about golf so you know a lot of opportunities and yeah your husband is a doctor that's right what is he a doctor of doctoring kids or what is he a doctor I know he's such a he's an amazing man that's able to juggle a lot he's a hospitalist so he does in patient medicine takes care of a lot of really sick people but when he has time he is all in as a dad which has made a huge difference all right so that brings up another question seeing that he has such demands as a doctor who was the primary homeschooler yes I have to say that mom okay with dad support but yeah I've done most of the educational stuff and he like I said is a great sports dad well the same was true with my wife and I you know I was a very busy lawyer and involved in education in as I've already shared it's in many different ways but my my wife was the hands-on person right and then there were other aspects that I dealt with on a personal and still do in in in many different once a parent always apparent right yeah yeah don't ever forget that friends once a parent always a parent yes I'm learning that now with my adult children okay again becoming homeschoolers it's not that we're trying to sell a book friends it's about a ministry schooling your children is a ministry it's the number one ministry that we have yeah it really is and we need to have the vision for it and it takes a certain amount of sacrifice are we willing to give ourselves to that and what will the Lord say when he returns and he's going to judge the earth and all of us and what we've done with our lives what's it going to say about how we dealt with our kids it's just an interesting question what's it's not intended to put a heavy load on you but what's he going to say about how we trained our kids what we did since that's our primary responsibility so something to think about becoming homeschoolers eighteen dollars will put the twenty dollar book in your hands it's on our website save us dot org you save us dot org you call us at 1 800 save us a 1 800 save us a or write to us at save America ministries the oh box seven oh eight seven nine Richmond Virginia two three two five five writing a check at five dollars for postage daily Monica you have a podcast dealing with this don't you I do I have a podcast dealing with all kinds of things but yes I love to talk about homeschooling okay what's your podcast about the podcast is it was initially called the boy mom podcast because my first book was called boy mom and then over time because I wanted to be able to talk about you know a variety of things it is now the Monica Swanson podcast and really talking a lot about intentional family life about faith about parenting and all the things that I love okay and how would can people connect with that podcast yes it's on all the different you know places all the places you can listen to a podcast just look for the Monica Swanson podcast and I have some incredible interviews great guests and probably people favorite is when I have my boys on oh yeah yeah yeah so mama alone isn't the one pumping all of this is the kids are saying hey you need to hear from us that's that's always the greatest blessing you know I I always quote third John verse four that says I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth and I've just been so blessed to hear my sons grow up and and just want to be involved in ministry want to share their faith everywhere they can want to use their surfing as a light in the dark surf world and then to also just cheer me on and talk about homeschooling and how they are truly grateful for their experience is probably the greatest gift I can know do you see honestly do you see your kids your four sons coming out and really wanting to be a light to the world in the name of Christ absolutely yes yes they they're all actively involved in ministry my oldest son you know really juggle a lot because he just wants to put so much of his time I just am I'm waiting for him to get the call to the mission field because I could see him doing that but definitely loves to share about Jesus everywhere he goes all right when we get back 11 reasons families don't try homeschooling or don't stick with it listen up we'll be right back this is viewpoint have you ever considered what the early church was like many people are developing a heart longing for a greater fulfillment in our practices as Christians a recent study showed 53,000 people a week are leaving the back door of America's churches in frustration what is going on why has there not been even a one percent gain among followers of Christ in the last 25 years could it be that God is seeking to restore first-century Christianity for the 21st century Jesus said I'll build my church is Christ by his spirit stirring to prepare the church for the 21st century the early church prayed together and broke bread from house to house they were family and it was said by all who observed behold how they love one another incredible but the same can be found right now go to save us dot org and click sell church we can revive first century Christianity for the 21st century it's about people not programs it's about a body not a building that's save us dot org click sell church do you expect your kids to hold up with other children their age until they turn 40 just asking you see friends what we're talking about here is the issue of socialization which is always number one people say oh I don't want my kids to be weird I don't want them to be like that I I wanted to have all kinds of socialization with kids their age is that what you want them to grow up to be like you wanted to grow up to be like those that are their age just look at what's happening with those that are their age out there you see it's not just about those that are age we live in a real world how about adults how about the rest of the world oh you see what happens when children associate only with those their own age just look at the television screen today friends just look at the riots all over the country they're following they're compelled to do what they see their other friends doing and they're not following righteousness holiness anything redemptive they're just conforming is that what you want them to do Monica this issue of socialization is a pretty big deal isn't it it's a huge deal absolutely it is and and in all of my writing even before this book it's just so on my heart to remind parents that that it is just a law of nature a spiritual law that we become like the company we keep and when we think where our kids are going to be a good influence on others it typically ends up happening in the reverse where our kids are going to be conformed to those that they're around and so we just there's hardly anything more important in our parenting than being really careful about the influences in our kids lives both in-person friendships as well as online and technology and games and all the rest well our kids are so that they're wanting to be influencers but not the way God intended to be influencers I'm thinking of Laurie Loughlin Laurie Loughlin was well known as an actress in fact she was known as a Christian actress she was known as a person who considered her faith very very important but she considered something else more important that was somehow getting her kids into USC and getting them recognized and so she sacrificed well actually sacrificed in a way that was considered unlawful and ended up in prison both Shana husband ended up in prison compromising the very witness that they wanted to have regarding their kids and their kids were both influencers well it has been so sad I grieve over that situation because she missed the mark the very thing that she wanted she forfeited in order to get the world's acclimation and we just have to avoid that don't we we do we do and I always remind myself when I hear stories like that you know but by the grace of God go I because she probably didn't start off with these intentions right there is such a slippery slope once you start buying into that notion of wanting to be liked by the world wanting to be an influencer popular you know something I guard myself against just because I am on social media and I'm doing all these things that I'm like no my goal is to honor the Lord and always walk in integrity there you go it's a sad story reason number two why people don't homeschool I don't have the patience what about that do any of us have the patience either do I but certainly patience is like a muscle I say if you don't have it then you need to work because it's one of the you know fruits of the spirit that we all should be aiming up so not not in it you know I say in these there's there's some really legitimate reasons why some people hesitate or think they can't homeschool but I'm also going to give some big sister love I call it and call your bluff on some of these things because for you don't tell me that the fact that you butt heads with your kid is a reason not to homeschool like I'd say that's a parenting issue more than a homeschool there it is that's a parenting issue there it is it might be a God issue too yeah I don't have the education necessary to homeschool my kids well you don't have to be trained as a school teacher in fact it might be better if you work trained as a school teacher you're right you're right and and research shows that that parents without much education have still produced great educated kids through homeschooling absolutely I know I know of several families like that they did not have that kind of an education now I was a public school teacher for nine years before I practiced law and my wife did get that school training but in reality those things really didn't help us particularly with regard to homeschooling because homeschooling is a whole different ball game it is it is and I also like to remind people that there are so many incredible resources out there that when you do hit that point which I did with my sons where I couldn't I didn't I wasn't ready to teach calculus or physics but well good for you there's some great resources out there that I could point them to and it's not like parents have to actually do all of the teaching just because you're homeschooling that that would be a myth that needs to be busted how about I don't have the support of my spouse hmm that's a tough one yes it is my heart goes out because I tell the story that initially my husband was not on board though he was open to giving it a trial run and so that's something that's worth a lot of prayer good conversations and at least inviting your spouse into you know doing a little more research perhaps reading my book or other there you go great information out there on homeschooling talking to somebody because it's worth having the conversation don't give up too quick just because initially they aren't for it how about a working mom I have to work she says well maybe she does and maybe she does again a little big sister love there says do you is this a need to or want to or is it I want to work because I have to keep up a certain lifestyle that my wife quit teaching in order to homeschool our kids yes I mean I know people who have downsized or sold a car or skipped a summer vacation or any number of things move to a different location because it is so worth it to bring up your kids in a way that you you know can ensure that you are the one overseeing their education so if you do have to work though there are still ways and there are full websites and resources out there dedicated to working moms maybe single moms who want to work at homeschool it is possible where there's a well there's a way there you go where there's a will there is a way there's an appropriate place for that statement isn't there and again when you're when you're making a choice to honor the lord he's he's going to walk with you through that and you might you might you may not keep your same job it might look like making some drastic changes but there will be opportunities if that is your heart's desire how about feeling called to homeschool and then maybe your kids say well you know I don't think I want to do that I want to be in public school I want to do this I want to be with my friends I want to do this I want to do that what say you sure well I say you know have the good conversations with your kids you want them to feel heard and loved but ultimately you're the parent their their kids god didn't call you to let them lead you but you are to lead your kids and so you are to make the decision that you know is right for them in love and trust that they're going to understand one day and may not be in the moment though two of the things that stand out to me as to excuses why people say they don't want to homeschool one is I want my kids to be lights in their school in other words I want them to I'm sending them into the public school to be an evangelist really is that the purpose of schooling no it's not but it sounds really good right like it sounds so holy and spiritual yeah but but we need to remember that that when Jesus said go into the world and make disciples he was not talking to children he was talking to adults really one verse yeah it's really and the one verse I point to is from Matthew 19 where we know that Jesus said let the little children come to me so what our children called to do they're called to come to Jesus and that happens in our homes with us then we can raise them up to be equipped to be evangelist now did my kids talk about Jesus at the skate park at the beach encourage them to look for opportunities to tell their unsafe friends about Jesus in their youth yes we did but that was not their job in other words you didn't hide them away in your house and lock the doors and say we're homeschooling now till you're 17 years old or whatever yeah no they get out of the house you have them involved in other activities and so they're socialized they're exposed but the main training center is in your home hundred percent yes all right now here's another big one I send my kids to school for academics but teach them about God at home and in church number one they don't teach them about God at home and in church because they're delegating that also just like they're delegating their education and the reality is is just an excuse that's right yes and bottom line most important thing everyone has to acknowledge there is no such thing as a neutral education really you mean viewpoint does determine destiny yes yes when you send your kids to school and think they're getting just the academics they are not there is spiritual training involved in every part of their education exactly so you've got to acknowledge that so when you mention the issue of evolution that's a pretty big deal because no matter what school you go to that's what they're going to teach and they're not going to teach it as a theory they're going to teach it as a fact so I was asked to speak for several years to the world religions and global ethics classes at Virginia Commonwealth University and when I spoke there I talked to them about among other things evolution and showed them how even the greatest promulgators of evolution didn't really believe in it they believed in it only as an alternative to creation because they said we can't tolerate allowing a divine foot in the door so therefore we have to teach evolution so I kept getting this response when I said you're being taught evolution as a fact please understand that you are being taught evolution as a fact it's not a fact right right so in incredibly I always got the response oh no no we're not taught as a fact one day a man a young man in the back of the room stood up and he said you're all liars we are taught evolution as a fact please be honest about it that's right so therein lies the problem if you're taught evolution as a fact you are actually your children are actually being taught that there's no creator and if there's no creator he didn't create and he didn't create you in his image and therefore by definition you are allowing your children to be inculcated into a false doctrine that is actually going to ultimately exalt satan as the lord of their lives no matter what you may rationalize no matter what you may think you lose the creator and you've lost everything else that's right that's right is that true that is so true and if you are doing your due diligence having the conversations at home then at the very least you're confusing them because why are you sending me somewhere for an education if they're at least some of what they're teaching our lives so you've got a kid now starting off on a foundation of us just confusion this is the reason why so many young people when they go off to college never return to christ that's right they just don't yeah here is another fact for the last ten years george barna and others have said that the among professing christian young people friends only 20 percent of them believe that jesus christ is the only way the only truth in the only life only 20 percent of christian young people why is that because they've been completely inculturated by a godless culture that says there are many ways so 80 percent of professing christian young people today do not believe that jesus christ is the only way the only truth in life in other words they're not really christians they're just not even though you're sending them to church in youth groups and so on you're not training them in the nurture and appendish of the war it's a serious business all right very serious what do you think monica we're hitting it hard