Sunday, August 2, 2009

New Season for the Campbells

I am very excited because next Monday, August 10th, we will begin a new phase in our family life. Next Monday is Ella's first day of Kindergarten and my first year as her teacher. As most of you know by now, we have planned to homeschool our children and I will be blogging this week to share some of the reasons why we have chosen this path. I hope you will gain a new understanding if you are not familiar with homeschooling and if you are a friend or relative then I hope we can count on your for your prayers and support. I will also blog about the curriculum we have chosen and share some of the fun things that Ella will be learning this year.

I came across an article on Crosswalk.com and I feel that it is a good introduction to my week of homeschool posts. I've only posted the latter half of the article. Click the link below to view the full article.

From
"You Can't Seriously Be Thinking About Homeschooling!"
by Jenefer Igarashi

"While many parents are content to hand over the responsibilities of education, influence and inadvertent character and values training to the government for seven hours a day, I am not. The choice to homeschool my family was not necessarily easy, but crucial for us. The fact that there is a whole history that consistently demonstrates and proves the successful methods of homeschooling is a comfort to me. And frankly, the 200-year government-run, public learning experiment has not impressed me at all. Ironically, despite the low statistics and depressing national test scores, as well as the rampant playground torments, school shootings, and prejudiced curricula filled with values and philosophies in direct conflict with my own, it is I who gets the bewildered looks from other parents when they learn I am a homschooling mommy.

On an ending note, I must emphatically add that I do not "condemn" all public schools or view them as an enemy. Nor would I ever dream of judging – in any way at all – parents, who, after consideration, prayer and/or much thought, choose public, private, charter, or any other educational way or system. We all want what is best for our families, and being vastly different, it would be tremendously egotistical to believe that our way is the best for all families. Rather, "Who are you to judge another man? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand – Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Read Romans 14.

Continue to research; and my respect to all parents who refuse to be blindly led or forced into any system, based upon peer pressure, social trends, or simply because it is the direction the stampeding masses are charging into.

Our little ones are too precious for us to let go without first being confident of the hands, hearts, and minds of those they will come under.

May God bless you and your efforts as you search for what is best for your own dear family."

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