Have you heard that question yet? When I first decided to homeschool, and friends, family, and acquaintances found out, I was amazed at how often that question was posed. And in many cases, before I could even try to formulate an answer, I was smacked with a barrage of serious cautions, or would get a raised eyebrow or condescending smile, or have my concerned questioner simply shake their head with sympathy for my poor, doomed children. It was maddening!

Three hundred years ago, there were two choices: either walk 17 miles through the snow to the one-room schoolhouse or have your mother teach you at home. Yes, believe it or not, children all throughout history were homeschooled. Alas, the poor, misfortunate, odd little child of the 1700s. How ever did they keep from falling behind? How could they possibly learn social skills, if not from the example of a class of fellow nine-year-olds? How did they learn independence without being smothered by a peer group? Where did they learn the necessary skills, and receive self-esteem lessons that are found on the playground? Sibling rivalry at home could never measure up to the greater scale of cruelty, and sometimes deadly violence, we now have in abundance in some public schools … so how did the child of the 1700s learn those crucial life lessons? They must have all – every one of them – turned out weird. Right? History seems to adamantly disagree.

For the child of the 1700s, homeschooling was the norm. It was not some nutty, New-Age experiment just introduced to society. Homeschooling was how things had always been done – and quite successfully, too! The strong, brilliant men and women, who were trained as children at home by their mothers, grew up and built the great nation that we live in today. Their mothers were moms just like us … willing to teach. And they knew back then that social skills were learned and practiced in the home. Kindness, patience, tolerance for siblings, perseverance, and the hard work of daily chores were taught and learned alongside Mom and Dad, within the family structure.

While many parents are content to hand over the responsibilities of their children's education and (inadvertently negative) character and values training to the government for seven hours a day, I am not. The choice to homeschool our family was not necessarily easy, but was crucial for us. The fact that there is a whole history that consistently demonstrates and proves the successful methods of homeschooling comforts and encourages me. And frankly, the 200-year-old, government-run public learning experiment has not impressed me at all. But ironically, despite the bad statistics and depressing national test scores, not to mention the rampant playground torments, school shootings, and prejudiced curricula filled with values and philosophies in direct conflict with my own, it is I who get the bewildered looks from other parents when they learn I am a homeschooling mommy.

On an ending note, I must emphatically add that I do not condemn all public schools or view them as an enemy. Nor would I ever dream of judging – in any way at all – parents, who, after consideration, prayer and/or much thought, choose public, private, charter, or any other educational system. We all want what is best for our families. Because we all differ so greatly, it would be egotistical of us to believe our way is the only right way. Rather, "Who are you to judge another man? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand ... Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Read Romans 14.

Continue to research your options, and my respect to all parents who refuse to be forced into any system based upon peer pressure or social trends, or to go with those who blindly follow tradition. Our little ones are too precious to let go of without our being confident of the hands, hearts, and minds of whom they will come under. May God bless you and your efforts, as you search for what is best for your own dear family.
Copyright, 2004. All rights reserved. Jenefer Igarashi is the Senior Editor of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, where this article first appeared. 19 free gifts for homeschoolers right now. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com