The Graduate
Tomorrow our brother, Calvin, will be graduating from high school. He has worked hard, and the day has finally come.
When our mom and dad got married in 1981, they said that they would never send their children to public school. A few years later, they heard of this radical new idea called home schooling. Far from being radical and novel, however, the movement was actually a reinvention of the fact and reality that throughout the pages of history, parents have been the primary educational agents in the lives of their children.
While I could continue to elaborate on my family’s homeschooling journey, I want to focus on one colossal benefit that homeschooling has wrought in our family life. Because we have been educated at home, our formal schooling has become interwoven with every other aspect of our lives. Thus, schoolwork, housework, free time, play time, our interests, others’ interests, young people, old people— all of these (and more)— have been wrapped into the warp and woof of our lives. This is true, in a way, for every person, but it has been strengthened in our homeschooling experience. Whereas others might easily compartmentalize school, home, work, play, homework— these have become blurred and intermingled for my family.
Most of all, our lives of been knit together. In our formative years, each of us children have not been plopped in different classes divided by age groups, and we have not spent hours every day away from home and parental involvement. Rather, we have spent the vast majority of our formative years with one another, under the nurture and instruction of our parents. Therefore, as I go forth from my parents’ home, I have found this to be a great blessing. I have learned to be a life-time learner. I have learned to integrate diverse people, ideas, and pursuits into a cohesive pattern, letting these people and things sharpen and shape my personality and mission.
Flexibility is another great benefit of homeschooling. Therefore, my brother is graduating in October. Since early on, my parents found it easiest to school year-round, dispersing school-breaks throughout the year rather than having a long summer holiday. Thus, Calvin’s senior year ended at the end of this summer, and tomorrow worked out as a feasible day to hold a public ceremony and celebration.
Sail into the Sunset
Sail into the Sunset copyright Jonathan Wislon, courtesy of TrekEarth.com
3 Comments
October 17, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Stephen,
Please tell your brother one of your admiring blog fans said congratulations and best wishes!
This is a great home schooling testimony. I hope my children (now ages 7 and 4) will say these things someday. We enjoy home schooling, especially for the “non-compartmentalized” nature of our instruction which embraces all of life, and for the way we are able to bond as a family. Tomorrow we’ll be leaving for a short camping trip, and this will be as much a “school” experience as a family vacation. Everywhere we turn there is reason to mention God’s amazing work, Scriptures that come to mind, wisdom about life, or lessons from history. I wouldn’t trade this for the $40,000 salary my wife could easily add to our family budget. It may mean we never buy a house, or we have to drive 10-year old cars, or worse. But I’d rather be a homeless home schooler than live in a mansion and educate my children any other way!
God bless,
Derek
October 27, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Congrats to my buddy Calvin! So excited to see him walk out the Lord’s plan for his life.
October 28, 2008 at 10:48 am
And another family member graduates!! Congratulations from our family to yours. God bless you, Calvin. May He work in you and through you in truly awesome ways in the coming days.
~The Sobies