Whether it’s a sincere concern for the welfare of children, or whether it’s the socialistic current pulling them along, the proponents of government regulation in the affairs of families is an outcry, and a very slippery slope.
I’ve had well-meaning friends, and even relatives say things such as “I can’t believe homeschoolers aren’t tested/given government-approved curriculum/etc.”.
Isn’t that evidence of how whacked our thinking is? I mean, c’mon let’s think about that!
Imagine a knock at your door…”Mrs. Flossy, we’ve had a report that you have 4 cavities…it’s obvious you have not been brushing your teeth regularly. We’ll have to have you attend TBS Anonymous (teeth-brushing slackers), where you will be taught proper methods of dental hygiene and after that you will have routine surprise visits by the Hygiene Police to make sure you’re doing it right.”
I know the rebuttle–“but brushing teeth doesn’t affect what kind of job you will have when you grow up, thus affecting society”…Actually, studies show that looks have a whole lot to do with getting hired…shouldn’t we be regulating proper diets, skin-care, etc.? I mean, they matter don’t they?
What about diet? If we want to accuse parents of “harming” their children, let’s talk about what most of us let our kids eat? Are we going to be assigned a dietary enforcement official to make sure our kids don’t grow up to have cancer?
What about dress? There are plenty of young girls walking around “advertising” their bodies to a society filled with uncontrolled men. Isn’t that unsafe? (Actually I’d be all for a modesty limit…that would be constitutional, I think. Adultery is one of the biblical crimes (and used to be a social crime) and if “lusting after a woman” is the same as adultery, I could buy the protective role of law enforcement in that area.) That’s a little off the cuff…I may change my tune if I think on that a little 🙂
The reality is that yes, some parents will not send their children to school under the guise of homeschooling, and instead let them watch tv and play games all day. That will happen. They won’t learn very much and they will probably not do well as adults.
So what. There are plenty of negligent parents and children who do attend school now who still will not do well as adults. It is unfortunate for those children, but it is just life. It was NEVER the role of gov to ensure parnts were good parents. In the case of criminal acts, yes, the government plays a protective role. But it stops there…or should.
Part of our distorted thinking is the very result of being governmentalized ourselves. How many of you reading think that the only real way for a child to learn is to sit a certain number of hours a day, and fill out a certain number of work sheets, study out of a text book, and then take a test on the given book?
If we do think this way, then our minds are naturally prone to lean toward an “enforcement” of some kind. Enforcement of a thing can only occur when there is a set standard that is the same for everyone. Learning can take place in so many ways, on so many levels…the “classroom learning” I described is simply one of them. How can we enforce that parents are “homeschooling right” until we make the judgement that there’s only one way to learn? (By the way, even the regulated system is not turning out very impressive results. Why wouldn’t parents be wanting to try something different?)
I challenge you to stay sharp in your thinking about the role of government. Their tentacles have already reached far beyond the boundaries originally in place. And for every problem, they must create a solution; and for every solution, they create another problem.
God has an answer for every social ill that the government seeks to solve…but the family and the church have to see it, believe it, and step in and take care of it!
16 comments
Wait a second, are you telling me that feeding my children crap all day and not making them run around and be kids is not okay! I thought it was YOU that had the problem!
🙂
Yet again, I must say: AMEN, AMEN, AMEN! You’re so talented with coming up with those different analogies! I could never do that.
It’s so clear that the government is not wanting to outlaw homeschooling because they’re worried about a child’s education(homeschoolers have better GPAs by far!), or because they want to ensure that children learn socialization properly(homeschoolers are the best at socialization! They get along well with people of all ages-not just their peers!). The government wants to outlaw homescooling because government schools are all about teaching Marxism, etc. They know that children are the future of our world, and so find it absolutely necessary to grab them when they are the most impressionable, and slam into their minds all the lies and myths that feminism, evolution, Marxism, etc. try to teach.
Is it any wonder Christians find it so important to homeschool their children?? Christians are commanded by God to train their children to be warriors for Christ, and they simply won’t be the warriors they must be if they’re brought up in government schools.
You’re so right about the government going FAR outside their bounds of rule! I’m almost finished with the outstanding book Christianity and the Constitution by Mr. John Eidsmoe. In this very educational book, Mr. Eidsmoe uses the letters, diary entries, speeches, etc. of our Founding Fathers to show that not only were the majority of them Christian(don’t let anyone ever try to tell you that our nation wasn’t founded on Biblical principles!), but they knew that because of man’s sinful nature, the government must be kept from becoming tyrannical. Just imgaine how sick and angry our current state of things would make the Founding Fathes! This nation is now anything but what they, in their God given wisdom, created it to be!
We need to wake up, America!
Once again, thank you for an outstanding post!
Blessings to all,
Rebekah
http://www.byhisgraceandforhisglory.blogspot.com
P.S. Check out this new DVD set by Mr. Voddie Baucham(one of the wisest men in our world right now, in my opinion!). Go to: http://www.americanvision.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1790 and http://shop.eltconference.info/product.sc?categoryId=8&productId=31 for more info. It’s entitled “Children of Caesar: The state of American education, where it’s headed, and what your family can do about it.” and is something that I firmly believe all Christians should purchase! This set contains the 2 DVDs: Whoever Controls the School Controls the World, and Getting Your House In Order. I have not yet watched it, but really look forward to doing so.
Christians will NOT win the Culture War until they remove their children from Government Schools. ~Voddie Baucham
Rebekah,
I’m encouraged that God is raising up a generation of godly young men and women like you who understand what is going on, and care, and are able to articulate it so well.
Thank you for your passion!
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!
btw, I brush my teeth faithfully and I am full of fillings and a crown. :o( BUT I still brush! lol
I have been reading a bunch of women who believe in abortion but they state that circumcision ought to be illegal because it takes away the “rights of the baby”. Umm excuse me but isn’t that a bit twisted? You can kill it but you can’t do something that will be healthier for it?
Get the government OUT of family affairs! They don’t belong there.
Thank you, Kelly, for echoing my thoughts here in blogland. Thank you for being BOLD as always! “It was never the role of government to ensure that parents were good parents.” That entire paragraph needs to be published on the front pages of our newspapers!!!
It seems that Gov. Schwarzenegger actually gets it. What a shame that I have been reading comments from CHRISTIANS on other blogs/boards that are supporting/promoting gov’t oversight of our homeschools!! If there were ever a topic that would convince me to give in and start my own blog, this would be the one!!! 😉
Mrs. Crawford,
Your kind words truly blessed and humbled me! You’re very kind and reading your sweet words of encouragement truly made my day. :)All the glory and praise belongs to my merciful Savior! I had been buying into the destructive lies and myths of feminism, but thankfully the Lord grabbed a hold of me and opened my eyes to the truth. He revealed to me that I was a detriment to His church by being a Christian who was embracing the lies of feminism, a philosophy that is completely anti-God in every respect. If it weren’t for the Lord’s work in my heart and life, I still would be wallowing in the sadness and destructiveness of feminism(which isn’t pro-woman in the least!).
I am also indebted to the Botkin girls. The Lord used their amazing book(which I very highly recommend that everyone read!!) to teach me things that I had no idea were even in God’s Word(I was a very ignorant Christian)! The Lord truly did change my life and teach me so much through that wonderful, educational, life-changing, and very convicting book!
I also want to give you(and other likeminded bloggers) a huge thank-you, as you have strengthened, encouraged, and edified me so much! You, through your great blog, have taught me so much. The people of my generation who are realizing the truths of God’s Word and the lies and sinfulness of our culture owe quite a lot to you and the other men and women who have spoken into our lives, and have strived to teach us the truth. Thank you for your time and your wonderful teaching! 🙂
May the Lord richly bless you, Ma’am!
Rebekah, age 15
http://www.byhisgraceandforhisglory.blogspot.com
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Amen, Mrs. W! It never ceases to amaze me how contradictory some people can be!(of course, I always have to examine myself as well, for I know that I’m guilty of that as well at times! :()
Many blessings,
Rebekah
Well said! It’s not uncommon to hear ppl say that there ought to be a law against some injustice caused by someone who won’t live in a moral way. But such laws can also keep good ppl from doing good things. Of course, for any kind of democracy to work, everyone needs to be self-governing. Boy, do we need a revival!
I can understand the worries of grandparents. My own sister gives in easily to her children’s whiney resistance to work, & our fears are that they simply aren’t getting much of an education. My mother once said she wished there was required testing for home schooled kids, thinking in particular of my niece & nephew. I responded that that would place a needless burden on all us home schoolers who do give our children excellent educations (we follow a vigorous classical style). She conceded the point, but it understandably disturbs her to see two of her grandchildren get the short end of the educational stick.
Thanks Kelly.
I agree that it’s not the government’s job to help those who are disadvantaged. Where are all the faith based organizations to help those in need?
Very insightful words! It is so sad to see the path our society is heading down. My parents do not agree with our choice of homeschooling our children. My mother (a former high school teacher in the late 60s)has been very persistent in wanted our oldest to take the standardized tests when they are given at our public school. She said to me, “I don’t know why you don’t believe in the system. I have complete faith in the system. If it didn’t work, someone would have changed it long ago.” How I would love to open her eyes with your posts like these. Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s willing to budge on her views of the system. What a shame.
Mrs. FLOSSY??
Ok, it only took me two days to get that joke.
Mrs. C: LOL!!!
Kate,
I know just what you mean…not with my parents, but so many people truly can’t *see* what is so obvious to others. The rules of measurement for “educated”, the indoctrination of a horrible worldview, the devastating effects of peer influence–it’s hard to imagine that someone could still be so adamant that the system yields “better results” than homeschooling.
My heart goes out to you, Kate, as I know exactly what you’re going through. It gets so frustrating, doesn’t it? My grandmother has been adamantly against the fact that my brother and I are homeschooled ever since I began kindergarten(I’m the older sibling). She’s let my mother(her daughter) have it quite often for the fact that we’re not attending “normal school”. I can’t tell you how often I’ve desired to show her the truth. But really, only God can do that-He’s the only One who can open someone’s eyes to the truth.
I’ll pray for you and your family!
Blessings,
Rebekah
WHAT?! You don’t want the government raising your kids? *;o)
Did you know that CA public schools ranked 47 in the US? Why would the court force ALL CA kids to such a terrible education. Doesn’t sound very intelligent to me!
Unfortunately schools are bad these days, with no wonder. Teachers are one of the lowest paid groups that requires a college degree. I’ve noticed many people who teach just becuase they were lazy and figured it was an easy job.
I’m all for homeschooling if it’s what you feel is best…but don’t discredit the teachers out there who go through four years of school because they want to make a difference. I am in school preparing to teach high school foreign languages because I had such bad teachers in high school. I feel called to really teach kids something instead of sitting there and getting paid. So while i understand the need for homeschooling in some aspects…the truth is not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. You can be a great parent but there is a reason I’m working three jobs to go to school to learn my subject as well as I can so I can teach that subject to your children to the best of my ability.
Just don’t forget that there are good teachers out there too…and that the government should focus on getting good ones in the system, instead of working to outlaw homeschooling, which is obviously being turned to as our schools go down the drain due to low funding.
If you can’t tell I feel strongly about this…some children where my mom teaches in a small agricultural town live in such poverty…their parents have to work over 70 hours a week just to put food on the table because most of them are immigrants being paid low wages because they want a better life for their children. School is all these kids have sometimes, and there is nobody trying to make schools better!!!