Homeschooled from the Beginning

My mom had no idea that she would homeschool. Not while she was in public high school in the fifties, not while she was majoring in music at Kings’ College, not even when she married my father.

But God knew. God used His Word to speak to my mom and dad. They felt that it was the God-given responsibility of the parents to teach their children at home. Besides that, they knew public schools–and even Christian schools–were worsening, and they didn’t want the bad influence to rub off on their child, or future children.

My parents, wanting to homeschool their firstborn, John, didn’t even know if it was legal or know of anyone else who was doing it (the year was 1974 or 5 when they first thought about it). John began to read when he was four years old, soon able to sound out the beginning words of the Bible, a very good place to start. Mom and Dad talked with a friend about schooling from home, and the friend had heard of a Christian school, the subjects of which could be taken by correspondence.

For the first eight years or so of schooling their first few children, my parents taught at home with the help of Christian Liberty Academy. Then they decided they could do it on their own with their own schedule. They didn’t think that once their children understood how to do certain types of math problems they should have to fill in the answer to every single problem in a book. My older siblings tried not to go into public before three in the afternoon, since homeschooling was still quite new at the time.

I am the youngest in the family, the baby, the eighth child. I loved to read since the time I learned (at about age 5), and I soon learned to love to write and draw, as well. Playing piano was another enjoyable hobby, which my mother began to teach me at age 4 or 5. Perhaps as time went on, my parents were a bit too lax in their teaching of me and I was too annoyed with algebra and science, but I still learned.

My oldest sister helped teach my two closest brothers and me when she was almost through with her own school. We had two years of Spanish, my oldest sister learning with us and coaching us. Though I don’t remember much of the language, now, I am still thankful that I remember some things.

My older siblings were more responsible and more knowledgeable, so I felt a little dumb, but the fact is that I was scoring well above average in English on the year-end tests we all went to, and above average in other areas, as well. I was about average in math, which was surprising, since I detested it so much.

I graduated near the end of 2001 when I was seventeen and a half, and I began going to a Christian college. Funds have somewhat hampered me from pursuing a degree at college, but I really only want to be a homemaker and a writer. An English degree might be helpful, but I believe it is possible for me to have a book published even without that. I may someday be able to take more creative writing classes, but for now I am content to only take piano lessons and continue with writing on my own.

Above all, I am thankful to my parents—and to God—that I was homeschooled.

Is socialization a problem? Only if you’re as shy as I am. But we went to many get-togethers with other homeschoolers, so blaming homeschooling for lack of social skills is as silly as believing the earth is flat. I know many homeschoolers who are as outgoing as anyone in public schools. Even the shy ones can usually handle themselves quite well with others.

Do I wish to homeschool my own children if I ever get married and have kids? Definitely. I’m not saying teaching at home would be easy for me, but I think it is one of the greatest gifts a parent could give to their child. And one of the greatest and most important responsibilities.