Three of the biggest complaints students have about traditional classroom learning are boredom, panic and being judged according to the performance of other students. Teachers tend to cover material either too fast or way too slow. Unlike homeschoolers, kids who attend traditional school know that classes either move at a snail’s pace or lightning fast. Rarely are classes “just right”…moving at the perfect pace for every student. And being compared to know-it-all Madison in the second row? Yuck. (Sure, Madison does well on tests. But her mom is a teacher and her dad hired tutors before they left for France last summer.)

Homeschooling addresses all three of the classroom complaints heard by your fellow students everywhere: boredom, panic and those terrible “Why aren’t you doing as well as Madison?” moments.

How? Flexible learning.

This is one of homeschooling’s greatest advantages: moving exactly at the pace you need in order to properly learn a subject…or the pace you want in order to study a subject you really enjoy in-depth.

While there are any number of reasons for you or your parents to choose homeschooling, flexibility in learning is always towards the top. Whether you need a bit of extra help getting up to speed in chemistry, or whether you want to modify your curriculum to spend a bit more time on English classes because of a passion for writing, homeschooling offers the perfect solution.

The flexibility in learning you have as a homeschooler has other great advantages. Your parents can decide to put history aside for a week or two and allow you to explore other subjects. And there are so many more opportunities for flexible learners. One Bridgeway Academy family gives their daughter time off from homeschool class work every fall to visit family in China for eight weeks (take that, Madison!).

Flexibility also means pursuing your interests. Dancing, cooking, or an amazing musical ability can all become part of your school day. Transforming a love of guitar into an understanding of the impact Rock & Roll has had on society and culture makes social studies more appealing.

Haven’t you ever noticed? When things are fun, you’re more interested in them…and you do better.

Oh, and as far as Madison is concerned…she’s not doing too hot in Physics. Seems the class is moving too fast for her. But guess what?

She’s not bored anymore.

Now she’s panicked.

Do you think that flexibility in learning would make your classroom experience better?

We owe them our rights.

It is interesting to read the speculation on why parents are homeschooling.  Many articles skirt the issue of our failing school systems, illiterate or low functioning adults, and the dangers of the school system.  Many still try to play homeschooling up as a religious movement.

However, the trend is shifting and it is shifting quickly.  More and more parents are pulling their children from the school system because they are tired of the failures, tired of the lack of control, tired of the fact that as a nation we have the lowest percentage (among developed nations) of individuals who earn college degrees, we rank 25^th out of 30 nations in math, 24^th in science and dead last in physics, tired of the violence, and tired of fighting with teachers to get their students the help they need.

One of my pet peeves, however, is the rancor that many homeschoolers have towards those who began the movement.  Rather than extending gratitude for the pioneers, many of whom faced jail sentences as they fought to take back their rights to homeschool their children, many write with disdain towards homeschoolers who choose to homeschool in order to teach Biblical principles and character to their children.

I suggest that as homeschoolers, we recognize that it was the religious movement that brought about our rights to homeschoolers.  It was their conviction that gave them the courage to fight and to face the persecution head on; it was their desire to raise children who would succeed both academically and as individuals that gave US the rights we now enjoy.

My Mom was such a pioneer.  When unable to find an acceptable Christian school option for our family, she decorated our garage into a classroom and began her own homeschooling adventure.  And a few years later, her vision for homeschooling became Bridgeway Academy.  Although the laws allowing homeschooling had already been passed by the time she and my father founded Bridgeway Academy, their vision to establish an academy that could help and support homeschoolers was brand new.  And their commitment to the freedom of homeschooling made it a unique model for future homeschool academies to follow.

So thank a pioneer and listen to their wisdom and insight.  They have run the race and their children are a testament to the success that homeschooling can be.

And enjoy your rights.  They did not come without a fight.

In other words, if you want your child to attend pre-school, you must first get him a flu shot.  And kids who don’t get the shot will be banned from attending classes unless parents can prove that their child will receive the shot within two weeks of the law’s deadline.

And it won’t stop there–it will only be a matter of time before the law precludes children from attending public school without a flu shot.

No matter that according to statistics, last year’s flu season was the worst in three years.  Why? Reports state that this was due to the fact that the virus that so many people had injected into their systems was completely ineffective against the flu.

No matter that there are many children who should not get the vaccine–children with certain types of cancer or who are taking drugs that lower the body’s ability to resist infection.  No matter that some studies indicate that the flu shot may be linked to autism. In addition, all recommendations state that children younger than 6 months of age should not get the influenza vaccine.  Will they be exempt?

Perhaps you have no difficulty with giving your child the influenza vaccine.  But at what time did we decide to hand over our right to determine what we will subject our children to to the government?

And what better way for the government to control what we can and cannot do with our children than through the school system?

I personally have experienced the tragedy of a loved one who died as a result of a flu shot gone wrong.  That is not a risk I want to take with my children.

Just another great reason to homeschool-hold onto our rights as parents and have the freedom to choose whether or not to vaccinate our children.

Homeschoolers in Switzerland are now facing the same battle that our friends in California just fought.  As of next summer, only those with teaching certificates will be permitted to homeschool.  Learn more about their struggle here.

The question is, how did we allow government to gain the kind of power that allows them to dictate the education of our children?  And what rights will they try to take from us in the future?

The time is now to make our voices heard on the issue of homeschooling and the issue of parental rights.  We are responsible for our children-we are responsible to feed them, to teach them to walk, talk, live right, love, to be responsible, to work hard . . . why is it that we can be trusted to do all of that, but not to provide academic training?  Seems to me we are already taking care of the more difficult training.

And why is it that when all of the statistics state that schools are failing and homeschoolers are succeeding, we are still faced with this battle?

If you have ideas or input on how we can work together to ensure that our rights to homeschool remain in tact, please post them here.  We need to lay the foundation now—let’s not wait for the next crisis.

That is why I thought Donald Wildmon’s letter was important enough to post here!

Homeschoolers–protect your freedom to homeschool.  Get out and vote this November!

In my 70 years, I have never seen an election where coverage was so one-sided and biased or where censorship by the liberal media was so widely practiced and where media coverage was so slanted as I have seen in this election process. Their plan is working. The only chance conservatives have is to make sure they care enough to vote.

If the liberals win the upcoming election, America as we have known it will no longer exist. This country that we love, founded on Judeo-Christian values, will cease to exist and will be replaced by a secular state hostile to Christianity. This “city set on a hill” which our forefathers founded, will go dark. The damage will be deep and long lasting. It cannot be turned around in the next election, or the one after that, or by any election in the future. The damage will be permanent. That is why it is so important for you to vote and to encourage friends and family to vote. This is one election where your vote really counts.

Sincerely,

Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association