May 10, 2013

Why We Home School: Part III

Why We Home School:  Faith

God and Christianity are pretty much forbidden in public schools.  Kids can't be seen praying, or be heard talking to their friends about their faith, or be seen reading Bibles.  Their school work can't reflect their Christian beliefs.  They can't hold extracurricular Bible studies or prayer groups.  Teachers can't teach anything remotely Christian.  But it's perfectly fine for public schools to teach our children about homosexuality, promiscuity, and require them to participate in activities that are part of the culture of OTHER religions.  Much of what is taught in public schools completely defies the beliefs, values, and morals our family holds.

California led the way with the passing of a bill that mandates LGBT history be taught in all grade levels.  Since when does sexual orientation and activity determine the importance of historical events?  The Civil War isn't important because Abraham Lincoln was a heterosexual.  Martin Luther King Jr.'s sexual orientation is never mentioned as part of a school's study during black history month.  Why is it necessary to teach kids that an event is important only because the person at the forefront of it was a homosexual?

It doesn't stop at California, though.  This year, Chicago public schools are set to begin teaching LGBT-inclusive sexual health instruction at each grade level, including Kindergarten!!!  The homosexual aspect aside, it is not the job of public schools to teach my children about sex and to choose at what age they will learn it.  That's my job.  And it certainly isn't the job of the public schools to determine what my children learn about homosexuality, insofar as it relates to it being "good" or "bad".  That, too, is my job.

Beyond the issues of sex ed and homosexuality, there is the teaching of evolution as fact, and the teaching that all religions are equal and none is more "right" than any other, as well as many other, more subtle things kids learn in public schools that contradict everything our family believes and hopes to instill in our children.

Our faith is important to us.  More important than anything else.  Homeschooling allows us to weave all of our beliefs and values into every aspect of education.  While we do introduce them to opposing beliefs systems and issues, we do it when we choose to, and when we feel our boys are ready to learn it - when we feel they are emotionally, mentally, and spiritually mature enough to take in the information, weight it against what they know to be God's truth, and understand it.

Coming up... Why We Home School:  Fun!

Previous post... Why We Home School:  Family

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