Are You OK With That Question #1

Are you OK with a non-Christian secular view being taught and promoted in public schools?

This first question in my "Are you OK With That?" series is one that didn't even cross my mind before sending my kids into public school. I had simply accepted the fact long ago that the school would teach the basic academics and my husband and I would be instilling in my children the love of Christ and what it means to be a Christ follower.

Trying to separate these two areas in a person's life is pretty much impossible simply because who I am in Christ affects all areas of my life, at home and outside my home. If I'm teaching my children what we believe to be truth according to our faith at home and then they are being taught an entirely opposite agenda at school, how do we as Christian parents combat that? That's a big conflict we're asking kids to face every day when they enter the doors of public school.

Recently I listened to a talk by Andrew Pudewa titled "Conquering Corrupt Culture By Raising Christian Communicators" and I had a huge "Ah ha!" moment. I was finally able to put my finger on what exactly the conflict was. According to Pudewa, it's the non-gospel of "relativism" being taught in schools: the belief that there are no absolutes when it comes to truth; that people can define their own truth. In other words, every student can have their own "truth" and we have to agree that everyone's truth is equally valid. How can we have two contradictory truths and have them both be true?

Think about it this way - every discussion with the teacher, every interaction with peers, every textbook that is approved is based on this fundamental idea that truth doesn't really exist, it's all just a matter of opinion. 

Pudewa goes on to give some rather startling statistics based on the book Already Gone. According to the book,of the "self-professed, Bible-raising church-going Christian families, 60 to 80% of their kids within one year of leaving home will stop attending church and will leave their faith".

Interestingly enough the statistics are opposite of those who home school their children. 80% of these children are still practicing their faith and sometimes even involved in missions work of some kind.

What do you think is the difference between the two? It's the programming of the public schools.

Well meaning parents think (like I did), "I'll put them in public school but then teach them the truth at home." But did you know that if a child goes to public school from kindergarten through grade 12 they will have had 14,400 hours of this "relativism message" being taught?

That's 14,400 hours, in my opinion, of the wrong message. How could I possibly undo that message with just a few hours of Wednesday night activities and Sunday church service? We can't.

My husband and I were handing over our children and thousands of hours of their time (and our time) for programming we didn't even believe in. Oddly enough, we didn't even see it at first. 

When I first withdrew my son from school, my number #1 reason was because I was tired of the battle. After spending countless hours volunteering at the school, in meetings with the school teachers and administrators, in PTA meetings and such that it finally dawned on me - why am I wasting so much time and energy when I could have him home with me and spend quality one-on-one time with just him? What a revelation!  And, getting all those hours back to include teaching him to understand and appreciate our faith in Jesus Christ was a bonus!

Now, teaching our faith to my children is my #1 reason for having them at home with me. I want my children to do all things for the glory of God. Whether they're learning math, science, history or any other subject, it's all created by Him for Him. 

Our history books include Biblical stories. Bible stories are no longer disconnected from history but they are part of history. (You'll never find Bible stories in public school textbooks.)

Our science books include the book of Genesis and explains how the world was formed and the different theories on how the world was formed. The "Big Bang" being taught as a theory, not an absolute truth (it's being taught in many schools as truth).

So, the question still remains, "Are you OK with a non-Christian secular view being taught and promoted?"

I would be remiss to not ask you one other question as well: "Are you OK with giving thousands of hours of your child's life (and your time) to the public school for their programming?"

I found that answering these questions with a resounding, "No" was easy for me but finding the solution of what to do next was more challenging.

That's why I've started putting together a Database of Resources for other families that might be looking for better education solutions. There are SO many out there! Take a look and begin to discover the joy and freedom in making a choice - don't just accept that public school is all there is. You have a choice on how you spend your time and your child's time. You only raise them once and you'll never get those hours back. How do you want to spend them?

I welcome your comments and feedback. If you have questions about resources, specific curriculum, or if you just want to know how to get started in homeschooling, please let me know.

I hope you'll take the time to answer these tough questions and then plan a course that is best for you and your family.

Blessings,
Christi

Are You OK With That?

Towards the end of the "My Story" page, I pose several questions that I think every family should answer; actually NEEDS to answer before even considering public school.

I think you will find that once you carefully and prayerfully consider each one, you'll become disheartened, disappointed, dissatisfied, and sometimes even disgusted with the state of public education in the United States. 

So let's take a look at the questions:

• Are you OK with a non-Christian secular view being promoted and taught?
  
  Kids who attend public school from kindergarten through 12th grade will have logged thousands of hours of public school programming. No amount of church on Sundays and Wednesdays or parental influence can compete and counteract those numbers.
  
• Are you OK with Common Core?
  
  Common Core contends that every child should learn the same material at the same time during the same grade level across the board. Are all kids the same? I should think not! What happened to individualized learning styles and interests?
  
  Just check out these 8 Problems with Common Core as stated by the Washington post article.
  
• Are you OK with state standardized tests?
  
  Watch this short video from a teacher titled "I'm Sorry Students" (posted March 4, 2016). Then decide if you're OK with these tests. 
  
  
  
  
  
  Check out the words of a veteran teacher of 33 years in the article 11 Problems Created By the Standardized Testing Obsession by the Washington post. 
• Are you OK with worksheets, packets and hours of homework?
  
  I had my kids doing these packets and I, unfortunately, was one of the ones assigning the work. What are they doing all day at school if I then need to spend an additional 2 to 3 hours every night doing homework with my child? If you're doing that amount of work every evening with your child, guess what? You are already 'schooling at home'! Interesting, huh?
• Are you OK with transgender bathrooms and other politically driven decisions infecting and being dictated by the schools?
  
  This decision was recently dictated by the superintendent of schools in Fort Worth ISD to all the teachers, staff, principals, students and parents without discussion, debate or vote. 

It was so ingrained in me that once my kids were 5, they would be going to the local public school. I only considered "which" school, never realizing the real question I should have been asking was "if" I should send them at all. I wonder how many other families out there have made the same mistake.

I will be taking a further look at each one of these questions in my "Are You OK With That?" series of posts. If you have kids in public school or will have kids getting ready for school, I highly encourage you to answer these questions for yourself. 

If you want to get a head start with an in depth look regarding these and other issues facing public schools today, I highly recommend the book "They're Your Kids: An Inspirational Journey from Self Doubter to Home School Advocate" by Mrs. Sam Sorbo. 

The first half of the book looks at what's wrong with our current public school system (and the list is a lot longer than I've posted here). The second half then "guides you through implementing a better educational approach for your family, one that is tried and true." (excerpt from Amazon description).

Do the research for yourself. Do a quick search on these topics and others then ask yourself (and your family), "Are you OK with that?"

Celebrate 'Leeper Day'

Celebrate Leeper Day? When I saw this heading on a Facebook post, I thought to myself, "What in the world is Leeper Day and why should I be celebrating it?" Well, it only took me a couple minutes (and a couple clicks) to find out why!

June 9, 1994 - In the Leeper v. Arlington ISD court case, the Texas Supreme Court legalized homeschooling in the state of Texas!

Wow! Who knew that a court case from 1994 that I knew nothing about would have such an impact on my family today?

June 9th is a Day to Celebrate:

• The freedom to educate at home without testing, age requirements, registering or compulsory attendance.
  
  
• Choice in curriculum - choose what works best for you, your children and your family.
  
  
• The flexibility to set your own "school" calendar.
  
  
• The relationships we're building with our children through homeschooling.
  
  
• The families that have gone before us to pave the way to make homeschooling possible and to remember the adversities and trials they had to overcome.
  
  
• So we never take granted the freedom we have in the Lone Star State to home educate (hey, that rhymes!)

To all the homeschool families who have paved the way for us, I'd like to THANK YOU! We will be celebrating and remembering you today - June 9th.

Happy Homeschooling,
-Christi 

Writing Doesn't Have to Be a Chore (or Bore)

Writing has never been a strength of mine - both trying to write personally and then also trying to teach writing. I spent 3 years as a writing teacher to fourth graders but I, along with my students, struggled through it. I tried my best using writing webs, outlines, engaging story starters and more! Maybe part of the issue was the stress and strain of knowing that my ultimate goal was to get my room full of 24 fourth graders to pass the state standardized writing test, not so much the goal of helping them become excellent communicators (although I knew that's what I should have been striving for).

So, when we started homeschooling, I still held onto these feelings of being an inadequate writer. How was I going to impart a love of writing in my kids? Well, maybe a "love of writing" was too much to ask for. Just as long as I didn't instill feelings of writing being a chore or a bore, I'd call it a success.

Then one day I was talking to my friend, Jeannie, and she began to tell me about an amazing writing program that she and her son used from Andrew Pudewa and the Institute for the Excellence in Writing. She raved that for the first time her son was writing more and was actually enjoying it!

I figured why not give it a shot? I still remember that first day of this new writing program - the kids each set up a t.v. tray in the living room and we began watching the videos. In one of the first lessons Andrew said that in writing, we don't use pencils. Messy papers written in pen with corrections and changes and edits were the kind of papers he wanted to see. My kids promptly followed his instructions and threw their pencils on the floor! What a hoot! This is how our year of using the IEW writing program began! 

We used the program this past year and guess what? Since I was at home watching the teaching DVD's with my children, I began to do some of the assignments for myself. I was learning a whole new way of writing that totally made sense (to me and my kids).  I love the way he teaches writing by first reading quality literature and then mimicking the way something is written. For once, I actually enjoyed writing and my kids created some amazing written pieces. I was floored and hooked!

Back in May, my family and I were at a homeschool convention and who should we happen to meet in person? Andrew Pudewa himself! 

Do I consider myself an excellent writer and communicator? Nope. Am I better and more confident in writing? Yep. 
Do I enjoy teaching it? You betcha! (With Andrew Pudewa, and his program!)

My goal isn't to become a published author. My kids don't have a goal of writing a book (and I'd support them if they did) either. My goal is for my children to feel confident in what and how they're learning. To know that if one program doesn't work or isn't fitting their learning style, we can try something else. We don't have to stick with a particular curriculum for the entire year (like public schools do). Writing is no longer a chore and a bore!

One thing I want you to learn from all of this - no matter if you feel inadequate about teaching your children (we all do at some time or another!) or don't think you have the level of education you need, you CAN teach them at home. 

What matters is what your willing to do on behalf of children rather than your level of education or feelings of being inadquate.

I've started a list of resources on this blog to help you along the way. Most of the resources are in the Dallas / Fort Worth area but several are also online. If you have questions along the way, I'm here to be a resource to you and your family as well. Just ask!

Here's wishing you lots of fun learning and growing WITH your kids!

Happy Homeschooling!

-Christi

Welcome to Education Resources DFW

Welcome to Education Resources DFW! I started this blog as a resource for families in the Dallas / Fort Worth who are looking for alternative ideas to public schooling.

Not only do I list a ton of resources on the "Database of Resources" tab, I'm also here as a resource to support you on your family's educational journey. 

A public school teacher turned homeschooling mom and advocate - that's me. 

I was a public school teacher. My kids were in the public school. I could not have imagined the freedom and flexibility we found in homeschooling! My only regret is that we didn't homeschool from the start.

It might help to read about our family's educational journey on the "My Story" section of this blog.

My Calling is To:

• Help guide and educate families on the wealth of educational opportunities (other than public school) that are out there, specifically in the Dallas / Fort Worth area and specifically about homeschooling.
  
  
• To share what I've learned over the years from both being in the public school and now having been a home educator for 4+ years.
  
  
• Share my story with as many families as I can. I tolerated and even worked in a broken system for years in hopes of change. I finally came to the realization that the system will not change but families can.

You have a choice in your child's education. Don't just accept the notion that public school is all there is.

There's a whole host of support and resources out there awaiting you and your family! And, I hope I am one of them.

It's time to take back the education of our children!


Email me, leave a comment, let me know if I can help direct your family to the education option that works best for you. 

If you have additional resources you'd like to see added to the database list, please contact me.

Here's to a new direction in education for your children!

-Christi