Homeschooling is God’s Ideal
By Mimi Rothschild
With more parents becoming disillusioned by traditional teaching methods and the public education system, it’s no wonder that many are considering homeschooling as a viable alternative. Public school in North America is no longer doing its job academically, physically, and more importantly, it’s failing morally and spiritually. In addition, education in general has largely become the state’s business, and the state public education authorities tend to assume they are the regulators of education, even if children attend a private or a homeschool.
However, many parents who homeschool their children believe God has given them the primary responsibility for their children’s education. They take that responsibility seriously, raising their children outside of the conventional education system and within God’s standards, teaching right from wrong, biblical principles and character growth, which is absent and even rejected within public schools.
Homeschooling is the best choice for Christian children and families as the Scriptures clearly model a homeschool example. The Bible illustrates educational principles that support homeschooling as not only a viable alternative but a preferred choice to conventional schooling. To begin with, the Bible says children belong to God, but He has commissioned their parents with the authority and responsibility of raising them and teaching them according to His Word. A homeschool environment allows families to follow this commandment. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the state or government or any earthly authorities besides parents have the authority to raise and teach children.
Besides parents being the educational authorities in their children’s lives, which the homeschool environment supports, Scripture also clearly indicates there are certain conditions to be met with respect to educating children. For example, parents are meant to teach their children about God and His principles and commandments at every opportunity—not just “classroom time.” Having a homeschool is great because of the flexibility, and families are not limited to the same confines that exist in public schools. Every moment and everywhere they go can be a learning opportunity!
In addition, the Bible says parents must train their children to not only know about Christianity and believe as a Christian, but to think as a Christian. Homeschooling allows parents the opportunity to do just that, but public schools often teach in a way that negates Christian thinking. Furthermore, while parents are instructed by God’s Word to provide a biblically-based education, which having a homeschool allows them to do, they are also supposed to protect their children from the negative socialization found in the public school system. Parents who choose to homeschool their children often note the anti-Christian and anti-God atmosphere in public schools and desire to protect their homeschoolers from that.
Homeschooling is not only the best choice parents can make for educating their children; it’s the right, biblically mandated choice. Scripture supports the homeschool environment, and parents as the primary responsibility and authority for raising and educating their children according to God’s laws and overall design for the lives of His children and Christian homeschool families. Homeschooling is God’s ideal.