Here is an item copied years ago from The Fairhaven Fundamentalist:
A new mantra has crept into the stream of discourse about government's role in social services. Identified as an African proverb, it is, "It takes a whole village to raise a child."
This statement is false, if not ridiculous. It takes a family, especially a mother and father, to raise a child, and most parents don't want the whole village butting into the raising of their children because they know that, if the village usurps parental prerogatives, the village will teach children behavior the parents don't want them to learn.
The "Whole Village" mantra is not merely a rhetorical flourish or poetic license. It is the indicia of a major initiative of the social services professionals to expand their turf at the expense of parental authority and responsibility.
The key to catching most or all school children in the social-service web, whether their families want such services or not, is the categorization of children as "at risk," a magic phrase used to authorize the state to do whatever it wants with children. The more children who are designated as "at risk," the more personnel and funds the public schools can demand ...
No issue in America today is more important than education. We must not allow the public schools to teach children that parents are irrelevant and that the government will be their baby sitter, their nanny, their doctor, their nurse, their psychiatrist, and ultimately their employment agency. Our goal must be to teach all children how to read, to know about our great American heritage, and to be educated to fulfill their individual God-given potential.
... Copied [Disclaimer on source.]
(I apologize that I did not record the date of this item.)
----------------------------------------------------
Comments on previous article by Mary E. Stephens (updated Oct. 2019):
Here is another good reason to teach your kids at home. The less your children are in the "village," the less opportunity the "villagers" have to tear down your standards. These "villagers" WILL try to "educate" your children with their "values" if you give them the chance, whether it's by sending them to the public school or letting them watch T.V., play ungodly games (computer, video, board, etc.), or any other unprofitable thing.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
If you are supposed to beware, then why would you let man "spoil" your children by these very things?
Amen! Most of the points that Mary Stephens points out were running through my mind as I was reading the article. These are many other reasons why we have and still do homeschool our children. The number one reason is the LORD commands parents to teach, train, and raise their own children, not the world. Prov. 22:6 Eph. 6:4 to name a few. Another thought to ponder... watch most children in public school and watch children that are homeschooled... most homeschooled children know how to interact with people outside of their age group. Most public school children do not. Do you want your children acting like their peers once they are out or school, or acting like adults? Who they "hang around" with the most is likely who they will act like.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to read and comment, Carie. Thank you also for the encouragement.
DeleteThe often greater ability of homeschooled kids to socialize with any age group is an important point and one that many have noticed, including my own family.
Amen Mary!! I decided to homeschool my kids years before I even had them because of the sub-par education I received. (I had to take remedial classes in college even for my best subjects in HS.) Then as I got into the Word I soon found that the responsibility of educating one's own children was from God. It's not an easy job but when I hear of all that's going on the the PS system (and even some private schools) nowadays, it further confirms that homeschooling is God's will for our family. It grieves my heart when I know so many Christian parents send their kids into that cesspool that is our PS system everyday in the misguided attempt to have their children be the "salt and light" for their children's fellow classmates. This is a "missionary field" that will not be won by unprepared, untrained children who's parents are jeopardizing their own children's eternal souls. My kids will never step foot on a PS campus if I have any say in it.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's knowledge about the public school system was gained through substitute teaching. My parents decided first to put us in Christian schools, but then we moved to an area where the nearest one was so far away that it was not workable. My parents decided to homeschool then. It was about 1983. We were among the very first in our county. I don't regret it. It was so much better for me. I remember many bad situations, even in the Christian schools, and I did so much better with my social life and education separated! I thank God my parents were willing to make that sacrifice and that homeschooling became a viable option in the U.S. (We were technically illegal to start with, but my dad had his degree in Christian education.)
Delete