"What is your opinion of the following quote from Pastor Steve Schlissel? Assuming dad is at work all day, does he have a point about a lack of adult male involvement in homeschooling?"
"Moreover, we should let the little secret out of the bag that homeschooling is far more fitting for girls than for boys. By learning at home, girls are in their future dominion headquarters; boys are not. The truth is that homeschooling can be dangerous for boys, keeping them from challenging male role models, narrowing their field of vision, stifling their godly instinct to be aggressive, a little messy, and overtly and physically competitive."
My answer to him
is there aren’t many “challenging male role models” for them in the schools
since most of the teachers are female! I homeschooled my boys for a few years
in junior high and they loved it. I didn’t teach them homemaking during these
years. They would read for several hours. I found good books for them to read
like historical fiction, biographies of great missionaries, etc. Then they
would do math for about an hour. After they were done with this, I’d take them
to the beach to go surfing or they would play outside with each other. As they got older, they changed the oil on our cars, did the yard work, fixed things around the home, and things of this nature.
Ken worked out
of the home so he saw them quite a bit and played with them a lot. He was out in the front with them teaching them how to pitch, throw, kick and catch a ball, plus played lots of basketball with them. They also went over to their Grandpa’s
home to learn French. In the afternoon, I took them to basketball, baseball or
soccer practice or games; depending upon the time of the year. Basketball and soccer are very aggressive games.
They loved being homeschooled! They got to read books that interested them, eat whenever they were hungry, and play outside often to get their energy out. In this way, they were much more protected from pornography, foul language, dirty stories, humanistic and godless teachings, etc.
They loved being homeschooled! They got to read books that interested them, eat whenever they were hungry, and play outside often to get their energy out. In this way, they were much more protected from pornography, foul language, dirty stories, humanistic and godless teachings, etc.
Compare this to regular schooling. They sit in a classroom for long periods of time which is not good for any children, in my opinion, but especially not for boys. They were created to move and to move a lot, not be put on drugs to calm them down. In school, there are short times for recess if they are in elementary school and PE class; then they are fortunate in junior and senior high if they even get a PE class. Does anyone think this is better for a boy than homeschooling? If a boy is raised on a farm, he can help his dad with the farm. There are many ways to find ways to get good men involved in a son’s life. Even getting them involved in church and missions is good. My boys did both of these things. There are so many wonderful opportunities with homeschooling.
One woman in the chat room wrote this about homeschooling: "For our family it's not necessarily trying to figure out what's wrong with public school. We focus on the benefits of homeschool and that is enough to convince us. Bonding time with mom, opportunity to teach life skills as well as academics, equipping them to know/defend/love their faith and the Lord, bonding them as siblings, time to play and be creative, clean house/healthy meals/simple living because mom is home, control over influence, opportunities to serve outside of normal church times, ability to explore interests fully, lack of busyness. The list goes on and on. A simple life focused on loving the Lord and cherishing the years we have with our children when they're small!" {All of this sounds great to me for boys as well as for girls!}
In conclusion, yes, homeschooling is great for boys if the mothers make sure they are not training their boys to be women or feminist boys, but do what they can to get godly men involved in their lives, if the father is unavailable or not interested.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1
***Here is an article about the books many public schools are requiring their students to read. This is extremely difficult reading. I had to skim through parts of it.
