3 posts tagged “homeschool”
What does a homeschooling, Christian dad do with a flat tire?
In my case, I had the opportunity to explain how, on the Gospel road Home, (you know: the one full of potholes, deadends, and perils of various sorts) is designed to teach us perseverance and patience, thanksgiving and joy, even hope and contentment--all the while when we have various obstacles such as flat tires to overcome.
I then explained how the flat tire represents our Old Man, or sinful self, which needs not only to go flat, but to go away. What God does for us in His grace is change us, make us new (II Cor. 5:17), and we're like the new tire from the store.
Did you believe me? Hmmm....I'm still a flat tire, sorry. A little less than holy (well, I guess a flat tire has a hole, but you catch my drift). The only thing that is true of this story is that I had a flat, changed it and had Jules, Jake and Bones involved. They did get a lesson on changing a tire, and believe it or not, I was able to keep my composure. (Tasha was on the phone with her mom, Jess was nursing, and Jamie was in the cockpit making sure every signal light, hazard light, wiper, etc. would come on when Daddy ignited the engine...Oh, and the radio was pretty darn loud, too...)
A cool non-Californian, non-North Carolinian event occured (sorry, but such was my experience): immediately after the tire blew out, a pair of gentlemen pulled over and offered assistance! Not sure if they were Mormon, but they were extremely helpful. I knew I wanted to play hero with the kids and give a lesson on tire replacement basics, so I denied these fine citizens the opportunity. What can I say? The little lady needs to know I'm a man, and not afraid to get my hands, knees...and kids dirty! It was nonetheless a great experience, all told.
Here's some pics.
The biggest mountain peak in the entire solar system is on Mars and it is a volcano called Olympus Mons. I am sure you have heard all of the reports on the news about this history making event. Never before has there been such an eruption. In fact, the effects have been felt all the way in Idaho. The amazing part is that we have some amazing eyewitness pictures that we would like to share with you.
Here in Idaho, you "shoot first, pray later."
At least, you know that your neighbors all around you probably come armed (gun laws are so lax here, I love it. Wait, I don't have a gun...). That preceding bit about gun laws should be read in context of what Francis Schaeffer advocated, at the end of this post, BTW.
I was disappointed to read, thanks to our friend Laura C. in California, that California's court of appeals has signed a virtual death-warrant for homeschooling in California. Used to be (as in, at the beginning of this month..!!) that you could homeschool your kids by registering your school/home as a private school, and submitting that to the state (of CA). Now, there's talk of truancy, criminal charges, even the threat of social services taking your kids if you "dare to educate" at home in Nazi Germany California.
Say what?
Seriously, dude. Here's the linkage:
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006731.cfm
For those who didn't know, Germany outlawed homeschooling, and has the power to (and does exercise this power) remove your children if you home-educate.
There is a link to a petition we can sign to help "depublish" this case ("depublish" = making it apply only to the family noted in the case, and not to be used as a precedent to bash the other homeschooling families in the state and abroad...yes, I said, "abroad," since that is what the next step will be if this precedent is allowed to stand--i.e.: "Storm's coming" to your neighborhood.). Here's the link (managed by "Home School Legal Defense Assoc."):
https://www2.hslda.org/Registrations/DepublishingCaliforniaCourtDecision/
Which brings me to some parting thoughts.
First: whether you homeschool or not, please pray that this decision is depublished, and pray for the family in question. The story is that a child in this homeschooled family complained AGAINST HER OWN FAMILY that she (he?) wasn't getting "a proper education." Now I'm sure the family's in turmoil. Let's not forget to pray for them in the midst of all this.
Second: Who's kids are these, anyhow? The state's?
The issue is that the state of California, at least the appellate court system, forgot that bit in the Declaration of Independance which states:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their State Of California? Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
That being said, with a ruling as wide-sweeping and limiting of parental freedoms as this ruling explicitly threatens to be, the government has in fact suggested that the rights of parents (or any citizen) is endowed by the STATE, and can be revoked by the state any time the tyrant sees fit. Sort of the old-fashioned line by some of our more colorful family members, "I brought you into this world, I can take you out!" writ large.
The State of California has ruled that only a state-accredited teacher (with the unanimous support of the Teachers' Union, surprise, surprise) may educate the children in the state.
Pardon me? I didn't go through an "accredidation program" to become a parent in the first place, should my kids therefore become state wards? For that matter, I haven't received (nor sought) accreditation to become a husband, should my wife divorce me? I'm not an accredited Christian, or much anything else that matters in the long-haul, are these offices now "null-and-void" because I lack the state's blessing upon my endeavors?
Why does the state demand that my children be schooled by an "accredited teacher"--other than for deeper funding (the schools get more money per student attending) and ultimately control over society/future generations? Though I'm sure I sound like a ranting lunatic (I've stopped foaming at the mouth, though only for a moment), there is an agenda when the state decides to encroach upon parental rights, or any rights for that matter.
Adding to this is the secretive way they have gone about it. Mind you, I haven't turned on much TV tonight, but there seems to be a hush that this has even happened. This is under the radar, like legislators sneaking in "pork" to a bill that the unwary President is to sign into law. Read about it on Focus on the Family for more facts, but this case is exactly an under-handed event that is quietly changing the face of educational freedoms in California, and left unchecked will stand to effect the same changes across the country.
Speaking of "accredited educators," what has the accumulated wisdom of the accredited school teachers done with our kids these past decades that has been praiseworthy even in the eyes of those living in California (no offense to Jeff E. and John C., or the Smith family if you're reading)? Overall, California doesn't rank very high compared to the other states (or even countries for that matter!) when it comes to the overall educating of our kids, not to mention "character development". Can we boast that the state of California will somehow continue to provide the same "quality" of education for these children? Can we boast that the system has done well by anyone's ethical standards? Teen pregnancy poll, anyone? I can vouch that I had two children out of wedlock under the supervision of the great parenting of the Californian educational system. Not that the question is "what kind of education" the state will provide, as I am sure the higher-paying neighborhoods will find a better education than I found, but the question in my mind is:
Does California think they can parent my children better than I? Even if they could (they can't), but even if they could (they CAN'T)--is it the DUTY of California to raise my kids--or any other governmental agency's job???
By and large, as a Christian who is convinced that homeschooling is not only a parental right but the only form of education that the Bible supports for children (Deut. 6:1-7ff, Pr. 1:8, Eph. 6:4, etc.), the state of California is (yet again) usurping the role that God gave to parents (as it did when it authorized public school staff members to take our daughters to local abortuaries--sans parental consent!).
I ask the question again: who's children are they?
Yours, or the state's?
Francis Schaeffer was right in his conclusion to "A Christian Manifesto": (quoting a summary I found on Google, not Schaeffer himself)
Schaeffer's provocative conclusion is that when the state directly defies the absolute law of God, its authority becomes illegitimate. In this case, the Christian is bound to resist the state by whatever means necessary--through direct legal and political action, and possibly through massive demonstrations of civil disobedience.
Let me conclude with another line from our revolutionary forefathers, quoting from the Declaration of Independence:
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, [i.e.: pursuit of our God-given rights] it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
***Note: If you don't feel like "revolution" is the answer, you can feel free to move to Idaho--homes sell here in the low $100k's! We're still "Free" here, too...***
