Why Homeschool Matters to Me

The secret is out: I was homeschooled for 12 glorious years and it was well worth it.

Here is the message I gave to homeschool families gathered at the State Capitol a few days ago. Watch it and let me know what you think!

Yes, I was homeschooled.
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Some of you will say “ah hah! Now we know what is wrong with her! She was homeschooled!!!” You’re funny. Believe me, I’ve heard it all.

Everything from, “Wait, are you Amish?? Were you the Valedictorian of your class? How big was your basketball team? Did you have any friends?? Who was your favorite teacher!!”

All jesting aside, I get the jokes: homeschooling is an anomaly and in a world that focuses on individuals desperate to fit in, it feels like a very strange road to choose to stand out.

​Oh but what a beautiful road it is for those who are called to take it.

WHY ME HOMESCHOOLED???

My parents did what they felt called by God to do: homeschool. For them it was a matter of obedience, not a matter of convenience. They chose the “new fangled” thing long before it was popular.

My parents were always open to me choosing to attend a traditional public school. Their standard statement was “We will take it a year at a time.”

I was never interested in really submersing myself in that public-school world. Oh sure, it had tantalizing moments like going to my cousins’ athletic games for the nearby high school and seeing the buzzing student section or the idea of going to Prom and getting dressed up or the appeal of always having “back to school new-clothes shopping.”

​But for me, homeschooling was something I was content with sticking to until the end. And I did. 

ALL THE QUESTIONS
If only people asked public school kids these same questions!!!

Yes, I had friends.

Yes, we did school out of the house. 

Yes, I had tests. Yes, I got lots of things wrong (ask my dad about all the tearful math lessons when I succumbed to one more wrong answer from good ol’ Saxon Math that my brain just didn’t compute).

Yes, my immediate fellow students were my siblings. Yes, my primary teachers were my parents. Yes, I didn’t have to do school all day and I got to get out earlier than other students or start the year late or get out a few months early.

But for me it was more than just the convenience. In fact, ease of education wasn’t the core value at all. 
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WHY IT MATTERED

NOTE: as I say the following, brand this into your head, “Amy is saying this about her story. It does not mean it’s the case for everyone.”

In the hour we are living in, educational choice is being explored, broken pieces of public education are being revealed, and education options are being scrutinized up one side and down the other. More and more families are considering homeschool.

And yet I realize that most homeschool families have no clue on the danger that is before them if more families don’t engage in civics.

The need for homeschool freedom has never been more real but the threat to squelch homeschool freedoms in my progressive leaning state is within reach.

We all need to be aware of this and extra clear on why home education is valuable for those called to embrace it. For me, homeschool choice matters:

• Homeschool helped lay a firm foundation under my feet: I learned to love who I am, to see myself in juxtaposition against a Heavenly Father, not the image in the mirror.
  
  I got up close and personal with history, building relationships with those who had lived longer than me, and came to cherish our conversations and lessons learned. I was taught to value wisdom.
  
  I was set up for success for the long term in my walk with God. It was more than just “let us go to youth group and hope truth sticks” but instead it was setting my life up so that seeking God became a habit, something I personally saw the value in pursuing.

 

• Homeschool gave me an ability to expand life with varying age groups. Friendships were built with senior neighbors, grandparents, friends’ parents, and little ones. We learned how to do life - as life really is: not living in a bubble of people your own age, but learning to value and cherish every age.

 

• Homeschool set me up to value family. Home education puts you in a format that you are forced to come to know, respect and cherish the lives of the people under the same roof as you. You come to know parents as people who value you and you can respect. And siblings were not the enemy (all the time :)) but friends to adore and help. Especially as you mature and learn together, you come to recognize your differences, sharpen your character skills, and you make some of the best memories.

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• Homeschool helped me to appreciate freedom. My dad served in Vietnam, both Grandpas were in World War II. I was fortunate to grow up in a big family that deeply loved and respected those who serve in the local community and abroad to protect and defend.
  
  Mom was always cutting out articles that highlighted freedom or intriguing ideas. We used watching and discussing world news as education. We analyzed topics and always saw it up close against the backdrop of family who had served, understanding freedom is not free. There was something about this “rooting” that made my commitment and loyalty deep to this nation and the blood that has been spilt to make it possible. My experience in homeschool solidified my love of America.

For me homeschool worked. 
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WHY IT MATTERS FOR OUR FUTURE
For me I was put in an place that I was allowed to love myself, allowed to love my desire for independence, was given space to explore and spread my wings alongside a safety net that accepted me and pushed me. For me, homeschool was the healthy foundational thing to do.
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My parents did what was right for me - because that’s what God knew I needed. It isn’t like this for everyone. But parents deserve that right to do what they think is best for their child.

Progressive ideology is so funny: they are big about touting the headlines they know our emotions want but they are bad about following out those “appealing promises.”

• Children should have independence to choose their sex, they say. But our questions back to them should be: Really, how does that work? Who will be there to pick up the pieces? How do you know progressives that this is really a struggle they are dealing with or something they are doing because in the moment it’s ‘trending’?
• Children should be able to choose what to do with their bodies, they say. But our questions to them should be, really, how does that work, Progressives? You can shuttle a girl to an abortion clinic but who will be there to pick up the psychological pieces or deal with the emotional struggle?
• Everyone should be able to do sports, they say. We ask, Okay, Progressives. that sounds good but what if some kids don’t want to? What if that is not a priority for a parent? Maybe they would be better off doing robotics or choir or some additional activity? How are we making all of those departments on equal playing fields? Why do we elevate and glorify sports more than other activities?
• Everyone should graduate on time, they say. We must ask, Wow that sounds good. But Progressives why are you moving students from grade to grade when they aren’t ready? When they cannot read? When they are struggling? Where is the space for them to be individual and learn at their own pace. We understand it’s all about the numbers for you but stop - will you determine what is best for the child?
• Parents’ involvement is welcomed in the classroom, they say. We must continue to ask, Really? Do you really believe that? Or are you wanting our help only for certain items on the list and you would like us to leave you alone on everything else? If you really mean what you say, why don’t school boards celebrate our questions, why aren’t school administrators eager to explain things to us?

A parent or guardian must be the one to determine what is best for a child. They must have options to choose. 
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HOW LONG WILL FREEDOM BE AROUND?

The question right now in my state of Michigan is how long will this state be a wonderful place to homeschool?

Thankfully, most homeschool families have not had to be engaged because so many leaders back in the 80’s and 90’s set up a great foundation so that their freedoms would be cherished. But now with progressive leadership at every corner, most families do not realize that they are in the sights of the parents. I go into the details here.

Homeschool regulations and clamp downs has been the craving desire of progressives for a long time. Like the salivating cougar who can see the red meat on the other side of the glass, they now see a way to get to homeschoolers.

There is no checks and balances. The House and Senate do not have stop gaps like they have had in the past.

• Progressives control the House.
• Progressives control the Senate.
• Progressives ideology sits in the Governor’s seat.

A bill could be put forth tomorrow that flies through committees, gets voted through the House Floor, gets agreed on by the Senate and lands on the Governor’s desk before you have a chance to lock your windows.

They want you. They have always wanted you. And government regulation and curriculum requirements and increased testing and standards for teachers is around the corner. And it will happen if we are not careful.

Homeschool freedom is a treasure for those who are called to embrace it. And the freedom must remain. The development of a nation depends on its existence. 
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PARENTS SHOULD CHOOSE

Progressives want us to believe we are all the same, we all have to fit in a cookie cutter. I don’t know whether to be livid at them or to pity them. That is not who God made us to be.

There are no two children alike. There are no two spouses who agree on everything. There is no perfect system. But there is a perfect God who created us just as we are, for this moment, with our unique skills.

I had two homeschool friends growing up that graduated early because they chose to power through their schooling so they could move on. That is spectacular. Public schools would have wanted to “hold them back” - don’t rush ahead too far! Stay where you are! Let others catch up! Don’t let them feel bad by being behind!” For their family it was what was right.

That’s the thing with homeschooling: you figure out that it’s not the “human standards” that matter ultimately.

I think the ideal is for parents to choose what is best for their child:

• Maybe it is public school where their child can thrive
• Maybe it is Christian or classical school
• Maybe it is online which fits best for them
• Maybe it is homeschool

Parents should always have the choice to do what is best for their child. We need more and more healthy students who can thrive to their limits so that they are ready to lead our generation into the next season.

​Parents must have the option and the freedom to school as they choose best. Always. And government does not need to have the reins on this “system.”
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For me it was homeschooling and I am glad my parents chose that route. It made all the difference to me.