One of the Best, ," Why We Homeschool" letters ever written.
Coming up hard and fast on a new school year, rather than a newsletter, I wanted to share something with you.
I read this a long time ago on my message boards and printed it out then to keep in my devotional. It came up again recently, this sort of message gets remembered and recycled, and I asked permission to use it here. My virtual friend Tracy in Ky from the Well Trained Mind Forums, kindly gave me permission to use it.
Thank you Tracy!
(In a humorous homeschooling side-note, her email to me stated that she had forgotten it herself and would post it on her own refrigerator. I loved that.)
"I am training my children in the way they should go. I am teaching them when I rise up and when I lay down and when I walk. I am teaching them that everything they do must be honorable to God and to His glory. I am training them to think biblically and to memorize scripture and to analyze culture in the light of scripture. I am teaching them that they must prefer God, and that taking the gospel to the nations is glorifying to God. I am teaching them that the glory of God is the point of the universe.
I teach them that they must master grammar because language is the medium through which God gave us His word. If they are to correctly understand the Word of God, they must understand grammar. The Word of God is comprised of words and phrases and clauses and nouns and verbs and indirect objects and past tense verbs and present tense verbs and modifiers. They must master this so that they know what God has said. Further, in order to take the gospel to others we must be able to articulate it in the language we are speaking. Grammar exists for God.
I teach them that they must become good spellers so that they can communicate the gospel clearly when writing. Spelling exists for God.
I teach them Greek so that they can read God's word in the language He communicated it so that they do not have to rely on other people to tell them what it says. I want them to read it for themselves in the original language, understanding all the subtle and not-so-subtle nuances in syntax and grammar and word meaning and logic so that they know what it says for themselves, because they have seen it for themselves in the language given by God. Therefore they can worship over God s Word and communicate clearly and with confidence to others what God has said. Greek exists for God.
I teach them history as God's working out of his plan in the universe, to His glory and for His purposes, thereby teaching them about their awesome God who frustrates the plans of the nations and sets up kings and deposes kings and wages war and determines history. My children are being taught that God rules sovereignly over history that nothing in history happens apart from the sovereign rule and purpose of God. As they see their God more clearly, they love Him more dearly and become jealous to see His name proclaimed among the nations. History exists for God.
I teach them logic as God's design for correct thinking and reasoning, so they can think clearly and reason well. If they are trained in correct thinking and reasoning then they can see better the beauty of the mind of their God as it is revealed in scripture. And then, as they take the gospel to others, they will not be misled by false doctrine. They will see through the humanistic mechanisms of our culture. They will understand better how to explain the truth of God in the face of the depraved and distorted thinking that so characterizes the world we live in. By teaching them logic, I am teaching them to protect themselves AND to better reason with those who are deceived. Logic exists for the glory of God. "
"My goal in homeschooling, as tedious as homeschooling can
sometimes be, is the
glory of God as I fulfill the role He has given me. So in a
fascinating way,
the goal/point/end of the universe is the same goal/point/end of
my life--to
glorify God. I glorify Him by doing what He has put me here to do.
My aim is that my children spend eternity in heaven with Christ, glorifying Him forever. So I strive to do everything I can to help them see Him more clearly and love Him more passionately. This is very glorifying to God: He is glorified and shown to be magnificent as we make Him the center of all we do. He is worthy of being the center of all we do.
So everything I do--whether it is grammar or phonics or logic or cooking or sweeping or holding my tongue--has a weight to it: the weight of eternity-- the weight of the glory of God. That helps propel me forward and gives significance to every single thing I do. And that makes me very happy deep within. I am blessed in that doing what God has given me to do *does* make me happy. Even on the bad days and hard days, the significance of what I am doing is big enough and outside of me enough to keep me from despair or throwing my hands up: sorrowful yet always rejoicing maybe?
My aim is that my children spend eternity in heaven with Christ, glorifying Him forever. So I strive to do everything I can to help them see Him more clearly and love Him more passionately. This is very glorifying to God: He is glorified and shown to be magnificent as we make Him the center of all we do. He is worthy of being the center of all we do.
So everything I do--whether it is grammar or phonics or logic or cooking or sweeping or holding my tongue--has a weight to it: the weight of eternity-- the weight of the glory of God. That helps propel me forward and gives significance to every single thing I do. And that makes me very happy deep within. I am blessed in that doing what God has given me to do *does* make me happy. Even on the bad days and hard days, the significance of what I am doing is big enough and outside of me enough to keep me from despair or throwing my hands up: sorrowful yet always rejoicing maybe?
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