|
 We began
our home schooling journey in the spring of 1983 with modest goals
and expectations. We were going to try this bold educational
experiment for one year. Little did we know that twenty-two years
later our family would still be immersed in the lifestyle of
home education, along with the other odd cultural behaviors
attendant thereto.
Our story is similar to that of most diehard,
committed-for-life-home schoolers, except maybe for a few
environments peculiar to that class of "early home schoolers." There
were not too many of us, and when we met together, the secrecy
associated with the address list of devotees was right up there with
the formula for an atomic bomb. Also, resources were scarce and
difficult to find. In those days, publishers like Bob Jones and A
Beka would not sell curriculum to those not enrolled in their
programs. As if that were not enough, authorities were threatening
jail in some
Texas
school districts for parents so bold as to believe they were
actually qualified to teach their children at home.
Before finding home schooling, with two girls in elementary
school and two more approaching school age, Dianne and I felt uneasy
about the traditional educational track. School was not the same as
it was when we were kids. Girls were dressing out for gym and
changing classes in the fourth grade; bus rides from our rural
location were an hour or more; and, due primarily to the "authority"
of things learned in school, our ability to shape our children's
worldview was being compromised.
Our fundamental desire as Christian parents was to see our
children and grandchildren understand and accept the saving message
of the good news of Jesus Christ and to see them live their lives
according to His character. In short, the legacy we desired was one
of holiness—without losing even one—to many generations.
About this time Dianne, who is truly the "maker" of our home,
encountered a friend who declared that she was going to "home
school" her six-year-old in the fall. Dianne was shocked. Can you do
that? Is it legal? The friend invited us to a meeting of their small
support group. We went. At the meeting we were so taken aback by the
polite, articulate, and mature home schooled children that we both
decided we must find out more.
After immersing ourselves in the works of Dr. Raymond Moore
and other pioneer proponents of home schooling, we purposed to take
the plunge. Fortunately, we had little or no opposition from
extended family. We enrolled in the
Christian
Liberty
Academy
Satellite
School;
Dianne made blue uniforms for the girls; Tom made school desks for
all; and the day after Labor Day at 8 a.m. sharp, we started. This
journey has taken us through seven children taught at home, through
Christian Liberty Academy, ATI, the Principle Approach, Calvert
School, and our own home brew of curriculum. We learned to love our
children more than ever; we learned and embraced principles of
courtship; through a sterility reversal, we were blessed with three
additional children; and Tom now works from home.
Now for the current particulars: Our daughter Melissa (32)
is married and has five daughters whom she and her husband Andrew
home school. Melissa was in the second Houston-wide home school
graduation. She was one of about twelve graduates. Maggie (31) is
married and has two children. She home schools her two under the
leadership of her husband Matt, who is the director of a Christian
camp (Frontier Camp) in
East Texas. Sarah (27) has four little ones (with number five on
the way). She and her husband Drew home school their young brood.
Drew, like Tom, is an engineer, and the two are praying that they
will soon work together in the energy exploration business. Rebekah
(26) and her husband Lee have a one-year-old son and are expecting
their second child this summer. Lee works with his brother-in-law,
Matt as the retreat director at Frontier Camp. The four older girls
met their husbands and married under the principles of courtship,
but that story is for another day.
Tommy (15) and Peter (13) are in the thick of things as home
school students. They are both indispensable in the management of
the family cattle ranch. Peter will be a front line missions
geographer one day, and Tommy will finance the operation. Molly (10)
is the icing on the cake of our home school journey. As the youngest
of seven, and an aunt twelve times over, she is cool as a cucumber
and sweet as a sugar plum. Dianne's early prayer that through home
schooling the Lord would return the years that the locusts had
eaten has surely been answered.
Our home school
voyage has taken us through many and varied learning adventures. We
were present at the Austin TEA Party; we sat through the
Leeper v. Arlington trial as a civics lesson, have started two home
school support groups, and have helped launch a family-friendly
church. Tom sits on the board of the Texas Home School Coalition;
Dianne, through her gift of hospitality and her concern for young,
home school mothers, has helped and encouraged countless moms
through the years as she has shared her vision for what God can do
in our families, if we are only obedient to follow His design. |
