This episode isn’t to convince you to homeschool but instead to open up the conversation about education choices from a Biblical perspective so you launch confident, courageous, Christians into this world ready to stand for righteousness and share the good news!

Discipling our children is the best privilege and responsibility we have as parents and we can’t be naive that education involves indoctrination and developing a world view.

Is knowledge more important than their spiritual welfare or is their spiritual welfare more important than their knowledge? Or is it both?

This should spur you onto deep conversations as a married couple. We encourage you to write a list of pros and cons of these different choices.

We must be thinking Biblically and win with the choices we make by adapting our parenting to make our choice work.

1. Education Of Your Kids Is Your Responsibility

• Whether you are educating during the day or teachers at a school are, it’s still your responsibility.
• Your choice shouldn’t usurp your authority.
• Do we think it’s bad to put your kids in school?
  • We aren’t for anything that usurps your authority, but you can raise Godly kids while putting them in school, but you must be intentional in different ways when they are home.
• Whoever you allow being an authority in your kid’s lives is saying to them “Respect and learn from that authority”.
  • “This is your teacher, I approve of what they are teaching, memorize it as a good student.”  This is the message you are saying even if you don’t verbalize it.
  • So it’s vital to know about the teachers.
• If you send them to school, just know you will have to correct some things. You are putting people in their lives that have massive influence. You must develop proactive communication to know what is being communicated to them so you know what to reinforce or correct.
• The worldview of who you allow to influence your kids are playing a part in how they teach that knowledge and the context of that knowledge.
• All of the teacher’s aspects of character come from their worldview and the culture that the teacher and the students create.
• You should get to know the teachers but also understand the culture among the students your kids are entering into for so much of their day.
• Evaluate the curriculum as well, as this is where indoctrination comes in based on the author’s worldview.
• It’s also important to know what they are learning so we know what to add to that education and bring more Biblical context to it.
• So there’s an element of detoxing them of the wrong things, giving Biblical context to it, and reinforcing the good things

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2. Establish Yourself As The Principle

• Cultivate a teachable heart towards you, the parent. (See previous Ep “How To Cultivate A Teachable Heart”)
• You must be proactive vs celebrating freedom.
  • Are you proactive and diligent about their education or “They’re finally at school now I can do what I want…”
  • We must take an honest look at our own heart attitudes on why we are making the choices that we are.
  • If we have the freedom attitude, ask “Why am I rejoicing on not being around my kids?”
  • Selfishness is a real struggle, we feel it too.
• Make sure your kids know you are the God-approved authority in their lives and this includes education.
• If you don’t do this they will drift away and start thinking their teachers are smarter and more important to learn from. Especially once you get to the teenage years.
• This is a crucial key to keeping your influence into the teenage years and beyond.
• God’s grace is bigger then our mistakes, but if we are convicted to make a better decision we can’t ignore it.
• You can be diligent about their education, don’t believe the lie that you aren’t capable.
• So many women have come to Angie saying “You must be a natural teacher, I could never do that” or “You must be super patient to be able to homeschool”. 
  • Unfortunately, we as adults embrace false identities in ourselves that lead to average parenting choices.
• Just because kids come from a Christian home doesn’t mean they are Christian, just because someone is homeschooled doesn’t mean they are Christian, and just because kids are in Private Christian school doesn’t mean they are Christian either.

3. Pursue What Yields The Best Fruit 

• Are there kids you can look at coming out of the school that you say “If my kids turn out like those kids, that would be amazing?”
• It’s wise if you don’t see the fruit in one direction to look in a different direction.
• God talks about fruit regularly; he wants us to bear good fruit and for our kids to as well.
  • What are the quality of friendships they are making
  • Is who they are learning socialization from worthy of your vision?
  • Is their educational environment growing or hurting their faith?
  • How does it affect your relationship with them?
• In some places there is a war against parental involvement and that attitude is sometimes projected to kids.
• Think about how much time you have with your kids each day.

Here’s a challenge; with the time you do have, how can you make it more productive with your kids?

• There’s a dangerous “Self-Love” movement, it’s attractive so we must guard ourselves on this.
• Ask yourself why you have made the decisions you’ve made and write them down.
• If you are homeschooling, you must ask yourself why too.
  • You want to make sure the why’s are good whichever choices you’ve made.
• Safety is an important consideration in your decision making.
  • Is bullying happening?
  • Is there identity confusion happening?
  • Are people indoctrinating them in things you aren’t even made aware of?

47 million pornography videos are viewed by 7-14 year olds daily in the US and kids have the internet in the palms of their hands

4. Putting Kids Into The World To Be An Influence?

• If this is why you are putting them into school then you must have equipped them? If not you are making a dangerous move.
• If the salt shaker is empty and you are trying to shake salt to improve taste of your food is that effective?
  • We must pour salt into the salt shaker first. Kids aren’t born salty, we must pour into them, so that they are capable of pouring salt out.
  • When young they are struggling with their human nature and you are there to help them become salty.
  • Once they are, they can be a light to others and stand for righteousness.
• We have to be realistic about where they are in their spiritual maturity

The more mature they become the more you can allow them to be in the world and trust they will stand for righteousness.

5. Don’t let knowledge become an idol

• Sometimes knowledge can get in the way of faith.
• Be wary of kids becoming so focused on academics they become elitists in attitude.
• Pride in academics is unfortunate and could be costly to their faith.
• God has really good instructions for you on parenting.
• Look out in front of you at families 10 years ahead of you who have done public, private, and homeschool;
  • Which ones do you want your kids to be like? Go talk to them and ask them questions.

Scriptures In This Episode

Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

Proverbs 1:8 “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;”

Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:19 “For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

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