The Teaching Myth

Anyone who homeschools has heard some form of the statement, "I couldn't do that, I'm no teacher." Even in the Christian community I have listened to parents downplay the responsibility of raising their own children when it comes to schooling. Now in California, if the ruling stands, you really can't do it unless your a teacher.

Has anyone looked at our 'certified' teachers as a whole? In Canada, teachers make a substantial income, their union is strong and active; they complain publically about their workload crawling into their personal home time and they speak out against the government regularly. There are few among this crowd that would qualify as a role model for my child - oh, wait...do I still get to decide who is a role model for her? Do I and my husband, as her parents, have any idea what is best for her? Can we discern what reading materials, social settings, friends and authorities are positive for her growth into a young woman?

Apparently there are those among us who would say 'no!' - because, you see, neither I nor my husband are trained as teachers. We've never even considered putting out the money to attend university; putting in years of time listening to other teachers outline the 'how-to' of:

1. listening to my daughter's interests, desires, fears;
2. sharing God's word with her and learning how it applies to her;
3. pointing her in the way God would have her go;
4. celebrating each victory of becoming a godly young woman;
5. acknowledging her curiosities;
6. encouraging her imagination;
7. growing with her;
8. loving her;
9. forming a life long relationship with her;
10. shaping her into a real person who is capable if discerning the world before her by weighing it with scriptural knowledge.

That is schooling. If anyone can point me in the direction of a teacher's college that certifies parents in those and any of the other fine points of homeschooling - please let me know!

Okay...that all sounds a bit harsh and sarcastic. However, I do believe that the majority of homeschooled children turn out to be viable people - they are taught to discern good information from bad; they have a strong sense of themselves (confidence); they put more into society than take from it. The majority of parents who take on the responsibility to homeschool their children take a dramatically more caring interest in the final result than any public school teacher could or would.

This will be a popular topic for this site as I am so convinced it is the only way to raise children for the glory of the Lord.