Pensees: More on Homeschooling

Very interesting conversation. Thanks for that discussion.
I am perfectly fine with hospitals for birthing; I do not plan on raising goats,sheep, cows, or any other beast in my back yard (I don’t think the city would let me anyway); and have no problem with the church/pastoral authority.
I do go back and forth on the homeschool issue though for the particular reasons being discussed. I do lean more towards it however, because unfortunately the public schools here are failing and I do not agree with the philosophies being taught to children in the Christian schools in our area. Thankfully I still have a couple of years to figure it all out or maybe we will get our own classical school started in that time frame.
My husband was also homeschooled for much of his school years and I believe that he was raised with the right mind set towards it.

We don’t homeschool, although we’re open to it; I haven’t given birth (but we used legitimate adoption agencies :D); my father is my pastor (I don’t buck him too much); I think goats are really cute, and would have them in a heartbeat (as long as they never needed a vet or hurt anyone else). Besides, then we wouldn’t have to mow the lawn. Hospitals are fine for sick people, so we try to avoid them. :-)

Hey Bob, you have prompted another discussion!

Well, we are four years away from being finished with homeschooling. We have been using the ABeka videos throughout (grudgingly, no my part). The cost has been astronomical, but the quality has been excellent.

In our experience with homeschoolers in our area, two trends emerge: those who homeschool because the school system is too unstructured and those who homeschool because the school system is too structured. We call the latter the “nuts and berries” crowd. They tend more towards the ‘unschooling’ end of the spectrum. I would have to say that the product is pretty unschooled.

My sister has been homeschooling for a number of years, using what I think you would describe as a classical approach. I am not all that enamoured with it, but that could be just me. My view is that we need to be educated for the world that is, not the world that we wish existed. But others disagree.

Last point: we started our first two in a little Christian school here in town. We liked the people for the most part, but they were basically following the public curriculum and philosophy in a sort of “Christianized” way. The result was pretty disappointing. After three years, we pulled them out, started with ABeka, and have been at it ever since. We did it because we felt we had no choice. The oldest one graduated from BJU last spring and is now working on his masters (as a GA - paying his own way, PTL). The next two are down there as well, and two more at home.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

beth, that was hilarious. =}

So, Joy, where do YOU stand on classical goat education and hospitalization??? HMMM?

You know, Beth, homeschooling isn’t for everybody. Maybe you should, um, try something else.

I thinking of the children. ;)

I’d address your concerns, but 1) I think I hear Pastor Bixby coming, and 2) the kids are bleating, I mean calling for me to read the next chapter of “The Resurgence of Neo-Conservative Organic Lifestyles in a Southern Commune”. Gripping stuff.