July 7, 2021 – Private, Public, or Home Education: Does It Matter?

Hey, Mama!

Gena Suarez, Publisher of TOS

Be Not Deceived

Another school year approaches, and the old deceiver likes to whisper in your ear, “Give up. You can’t do this. Just send them to public school.” You look at the piles of dishes, mountains of laundry, and wonder, would it be easier? 

We’ve all thought it, Mama. But—stand fast. Stand firm. You’ve got this, and God’s got you. His hand is on your head and also your homeschool. Need a reminder why you’re keeping them home? Read these articles from The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine: 

The Troubling History of Public Education by Ruth Sundeen

5 Reasons We Left Public School by Angela Rudd

Godless Architects: The Troubling History of Public Education by Kenzi Knapp

And remember, Mama . . .

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Ephesians 6:11-12 

This goes for our homeschools, too. The enemy does not want you keeping your kids home where they belong, where they can learn in freedom, not banned from praying aloud with other students. He doesn’t want them being educated where they can learn true, real history as it happened, not the revisionist history the public schools dole out more and more these days; or where they can learn the Constitution and what it means rather than receiving almost zero hours of constitutional studies. He’d rather they be “woke”, and “enlightened.” But your great God and Savior wants them being discipled: where they are free to read the Bible and apply it.

“A student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40

You have been given a gift. Homeschooling is a gift to you from the Lord. It may not be allowed forever. So take this opportunity you have so graciously received, and use it to its fullest while you still can. And by the way, Mama, teach your children to rise up and do likewise when they become parents, too. The Lord will take care of the rest. As for now, His hand is on your head today.

~gena

P.S. As you prepare for the new school year, check out Deborah Wuehler’s article Public, Private, or Home Education . . . What Are My Options?

Building a stronger academic foundation, Calvert empowers children to reach their greatest potential. Begin the path to success with Calvert today. https://bit.ly/3iFcVaq

Raising Real Men

Hal & Melanie Young, RaisingRealMen.com

Why We Homeschool

When we were newlyweds, homeschooling was still uncommon, and some states were even prosecuting homeschool parents for truancy. Our local paper did a feature on homeschooling which was pictured as “school at home” – two kids in school desks, being taught by a Mom standing at a chalkboard!

We were still interested, though. We’d gone to both public and private schools ourselves and done well, but homeschooling sounded amazing. We could give our kids a Christ-centered education, like you’d hope from a Christian school but without the peer pressure and boredom we’d experienced (and a lot less expense).

Then we got to compare two families in action! Our pastor and his wife were homeschooling their three kids, but one of the elders and his wife had their two daughters in the public school. All the kids seemed to be well-behaved and growing in the Lord. So, did it matter which we did?

Soon we realized the public-school mom was a volunteer at the school, always on campus, in and out of her daughters’ classrooms, and near at hand if they had a question or problem. Their dad often dropped by the school himself, and every evening he went over their schoolwork with them – every lesson, correcting contradictions with God’s Word.

We realized all these kids were turning out okay because their parents were so involved. Our friends were spending as much time on their kids’ public-school education as the others were spending homeschooling.

It seemed that rather than working to undo part of their schooling, we could give our kids a God-honoring education from the start – in the same amount of time! You may be able to help your kids survive any kind of education, but we’ve seen that homeschooling is a natural way to live out Deuteronomy 6:6-7, where we’re told to teach God’s Word to our children throughout our daily life, and the opportunities to build the kind of relationship that makes them listen are multiplied – benefits we’ve seen over twenty-seven years of home education!

Your friends,

Hal & Melanie

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Jodi Riddle

Pillar of Faith
Jodi Riddle – Be Stablished in the Faith

The Bible really does have all our answers. Does the type of education you have really matter? Does faith have anything to do with it?

Take a look Colossians 2:6-8. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

In the crazy world we live in today, our children’s faith is being tested in so many ways. We must remain in control of what they are being taught and not allow them to be influenced by what the world is trying to make them believe. Teaching them how to have a personal relationship with the Lord and live according to His Word is only going to be taught in the home.

It does matter. Your faith in Him will have the biggest educational impact on your children and will in turn, strengthen their faith and enable them to be a wonderful testimony of not only your family but the Lord as well.

Jodi started her journey with TOS in April 2016 and serves as the Operations Manager. She and her husband, Duane, have been married over 30 years and have spent over 20 years in the ministry. Along with being a pastor’s wife, she homeschooled her 3 (now grown) sons for 18 years and also taught in the private and public-school settings. Jodi enjoys teaching, playing the piano, and making cards. Her heart’s desire is to serve others and use her gifts to glorify the Lord.