Myths: Homeschooling is lonely & parents aren’t equipped to teach

There are so many myths and misconceptions about homeschooling in today’s society. Many people believe that homeschooled students are lonely and lack the experiences that build social awareness and some parents believe that they aren’t equipped to lead their children’s education. These are simply not true. As CMO of Classical Conversations, a leading international home education curriculum, I have had to address these types of questions and concerns. And Classical Conversations is specifically designed to ensure these myths are not realized in the lives of our families.

Students who are homeschooled have their very own community of other homeschooled students, as well as opportunities to participate in sports, theatre and other extracurriculars. Some homeschooling programs even organize regular community events for students in the same area. That is one of the pillars of Classical Conversations; it’s a community-based curriculum that gives families the real-time support and accountability they need to succeed and organizes dedicated time for students to gather, have discussions and interact with one another.

Another common misconception about homeschooling derives from parents. Many parents believe that they aren’t equipped to lead their children’s education. Not only do we believe vehemently that God designed parents to be the best teachers for their children, we provide our parents with everything they need through Classical Conversations. Our curriculum equips parents to educate their children using timeless tools of learning within the current culture. This includes arithmetic, science, English, social studies, economics, etc. Plus, we provide the resources and support they need to succeed. That brings me to the most important benefits of homeschooling.

Benefits: Direct influence & flexibility

One of the most significant benefits of homeschooling is that parents have the freedom to be directly involved with influencing their children through the powerful tool of education on a daily basis. Parents have the opportunity to make choices about their children’s curriculum with each and every lesson. They have the authority to choose which authors they want their children to read, filter out any content that will negatively impact their student’s growth and assist in the development of their child’s thought process. Young students’ minds are very impressionable, so the grade school years are pivotal to their development. Impressionable minds imitate. Homeschooling parents are around their children much more often, meaning they have the very important responsibility and privilege of modeling an attitude, behavior and thought process that children will imitate. Ideally, an attitude, behavior and thought process that imitate Christ.

Parents have the greatest gift of raising the next generations of adults to have a Christ centered worldview within a secular world. Think about that. Parents that homeschool have the power to change the course of our nation and even the world. When homeschooling their children, parents have the unique ability to be a part of teaching their children HOW to think, not WHAT to think–the very precious opportunity to teach their children how to approach each and every interaction through the lens of a Christ-centered worldview. It’s possible for the next generation of adults to have the proper foundation to be the best members of their community, spreading the light of Christ every single day. This is what we’re called to do as parents; to train and prepare our children to stand firm in Christ amidst the influences of this world. This is yet another pillar we stand by at Classical Conversations: we offer a curriculum that allows parents the flexibility to direct and own the details that best suit their students’ development and future.

Christian parents have the joy of allowing faith and Scripture to guide their child’s education when they choose to homeschool. Our faith is the foundation of our everyday lives, and we believe there is no place more important for faith to be present than in our children’s education. If we focus on teaching them how to evaluate the world from a foundation rooted in our Creator, they will impact the world for His glory.