Christian Homeschooling: Misconceptions and Reinventions

Christian homeschooling is a tricky subject to discuss because of the obvious negative connotations that are associated with it from the perspective of a public school stalwart. The common view of anybody not familiar with either christian teaching or homeschooling is that the former is rife with warped viewpoints that are a detriment to a child's education, and the latter is a cloistered bevy of ulterior motives that leave the child unable to cope with the real world once they are out from the overarching wing of their parents.

There are more than enough cases to lend credence to both of these viewpoints but the idea of Christian homeschooling as a way to avoid either the "school" aspect or the "public" aspect of public school ultimately misses the point. For one, the legal bindings surrounding prayer in school is already more than reason enough for even the most liberal-minded of Christian parents to take matters into their own hands. Whether or not prayer is allowed or encouraged in school is not the only deciding factor, however, for many of these parents; after all, a child can pray silently to himself at any time of day in school.

The teaching of evolution over Intelligent Design is another reason for the choice of homeschooling for a Christian family. With homeschooling, a parent can stress the education of Solomon, Salome, and Saul over Darwin, Dawkins, and Descartes.

But what of the classic argument that children that were homeschooled are less able to fit in with the real world upon "graduation". Many studies, along with common sense, cite that children who were homeschooled end up being less able to function in society because they hadn't grown up with peers or learned the classic playground rules that carry over to adult life. Interestingly enough, proponents of Christian homeschool, and typical homeschool as well, say that children that were homeschooled in fact can function better in the real world than children raised in public schools. For one, the child has the ability to gain more education per grade, or go at their own pace. For another, the chance to take a "field trip" to anywhere from the market to the museum allows the child to see people of all ages functioning in society. In a public school, argues the homeschool crowd, children are forced to interact only with their peers and are therefore unable to relate to anybody besides their age.

While there are arguments on both sides of the fence that are very sound, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the parent of a child ultimately has the final say in the outcome of that child's education. What is good for the gander doesn't apply to every goose, and the right of a parent to sculpt his or her child's future carries far more weight than popular opinion.