Practical Considerations Concerning Home schooling

(This is a portion of an article written by Mr. Slabbert Le Cornu of South Africa about Homeschooling. The whole article is available at http://www.spindleworks.com/library/slabbert/ezera_nov.htm)

It is important to mention that home schooling does not mean that the parents must be the only teachers, but it does mean that the parents are the primary educators and instructors, who then can call for help and assistance with the subjects and skills they are not qualified to teach. But with all the means and technological possibilities that are at our disposal today, it is for the average covenant parent possible to do mostly or even all of the teaching for the primary grades.

When our parents once more take upon themselves this noble task, we will have one more possible practical advantage,...at our disposal, which could specialize in training parents how to instruct their children, and at the same time also offer special subjects and courses for the children.

Home schooling promotes greater responsibility by the parents for the development of the children. It is also not as costly, for there are no salaries to be paid, school buildings are not needed, etc. Parents can give more and better attention to individual needs, while each child can take the time it needs to learn the lesson, without keeping other children from further progress. Parents and especially mothers will be compelled to remain students, of both God's Scripture and of Nature, a task that was very much left to the Pastor and the Teacher.

The role of Mother as homemaker and educator of the children is then again appreciated and emphasized, for home schooling demands hard work, much studying and sacrifice, but the results are greatly blessed. Furthermore, a parent can only teach the law of God to their children, when this is part of their own heart and life (Deut. 6: 6); it is also true that parents can maintain better discipline and authority over their own children. The method of home schooling demands more independent studies from the child, and prepares them better for after school training. Tests in the U.S.A. have proven that home schooled chidren mature faster, socialize better and are more responsible than children from ordinary schools.

Finally we can mention that the very demanding church activities, school activities, and pressures from society, have taken their toll of family-life. From this individualism has sometimes sprung up to the point that each member of the family has its own program and agenda, and so they begin to live beside, but not with each other. Home schooling can be instrumental in bringing the covenantal life back to the family, back to its rightful place, thus better serving the Church of Christ, and the propagation of His Kingdom over all the earth (Is.59:21).