AN UPTICK IN HOMESCHOOLING

            With the ongoing angst regarding the COVID, many parents are considering home-schooling their children.  This tried and tested method of educating children has been around forever.  Some parents find it intimidating - - allocating the time and the energy needed to excel in this arena can be challenging to say the least.   However, once undertaken, quite a few parents have found home-schooling to be both satisfying and rewarding, for both parents and students.  In a year when many find themselves nervous about the virus, not a few moms and dads are opting for schooling their children in the safety and privacy of their own home.  In these uncertain times such an approach seems to have much merit.  

            Many public and private schools do a wonderful job of educating our children.  They offer a varied curri-culum in a diverse setting which in and of itself can help produce a well-balanced child.  In addition to the abc’s of a wide-range of subjects (far beyond just reading, writing and arithmetic), they also provide integration and sociability.  This latter behavior:  how to get along with others, is vital in the development of a well-rounded personality.  “Smother-love" has its drawbacks.  Putting a child in a bubble seldom brings about a fully-developed psyche.  Children need interaction. 

            If we could offer a deeper meaning to the concept of home-schooling, it would serve us well.  This version of home-schooling remains alive and well even when a child is enrolled in a local public or private school.  This type of education demands a hands-on approach by a child's parents.  It requires parents who are diligent mentors.  It also necessitates that the domain of our instruction encompass far more than just a general knowledge of diverse topics. 

            The kind of home-schooling that works best is when parents incorporate the Word of God into the educa-tional plan of their children.  It is a call for dads to bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph.6:4). It compels fathers and granddads to provide sound teaching from the Bible to the benefit of their young ones (Prov.3:1ff and 4:1ff).  It includes moms and grandmas who labor lovingly to implant faith in the hearts of their youngsters (Prov.1:8-9 and 2Tim.1:5).  Far too often parents abdicate their primary responsibility to be their child’s foremost mentor.  They relinquish their role to the so-called “experts”, be they a high school science instructor or a Sunday-school teacher.  Some may argue that “it takes a village” to raise a child, but what is most needed is a mommy and daddy who are well-versed in the Scriptures and are fully committed to training their children with the wisdom from above (Js.3:17).  Some may say this is the secret to great parenting, but it's really not a secret - - the Word of God shouts it repeatedly! 

                                                                                   Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ