With the debate raging across America about opening the nation’s schools this fall, many parents are considering home education.

As a homeschool graduate and second-generation homeschooling dad, I’d like to share with you three huge reasons why I believe homeschooling is a great choice whether the public schools are in session this fall or not. 

#1: We Get to Do Our God-Given Job

God has commanded parents to teach their children in His ways. It’s the example of Scripture from beginning to end, in passages such as Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, and Ephesians 6.

Viewed through a Biblical lens, home education is simply a method for parents to take seriously—and, I would add, at face value—God’s commands to teach their children. Homeschooling gives parents a platform for discipleship like nothing else.

Even if there were no problems in our public schools, it could still be argued that home education is the most Biblical form of education available to parents today because it puts them in the driver’s seat of their children’s training and instruction.

Too often, parents in modern American culture have a mindset of delegation when it comes to the raising of their children. We delegate our children’s minds to the teachers at school, their physical development to a coach or P.E. instructor, their spiritual well-being to a youth pastor, and their leisure time to devices and friends. But does God call us to simply coordinate our children’s lives while others do the heavy lifting, or does He call us to be the ones getting our hands dirty in the daily teaching and training of our kids?

As my brother once pointed out, God gives parents the jurisdictional responsibility to teach their children—not as something to delegate but as something to do. Homeschooling gives us the opportunity to do more than delegate—and that puts it right in line with God’s model.

#2: We Know What Our Children Are Being Taught

Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing and a popular speaker at homeschool conferences, raises an important point for parents whose children attend public school. Could you read the textbooks your children are using and say, “I approve of my children being taught this?”

It’s probably safe to say that most parents haven’t thoroughly perused and evaluated their children’s curriculum, let alone decided if they approve of it.

Homeschooling changes this dynamic. Not only do we have the opportunity to guide our children through their studies each day, we get to pick the curriculum! In other words, we get to choose the worldview that forms the basis of our children’s education.

There are many curriculum options available to homeschoolers that are written from a Christian perspective. If your desire is for your children to develop a Biblical worldview, homeschooling is a great choice on that basis alone.

#3: We Can Tailor the Education to the Child

Another incredible blessing of homeschooling is that we can tailor each child’s education to where they are and what they need. We can appreciate both their strengths and weaknesses and adapt their education to fit them.

Have you ever stopped to think about the artificiality of our modern system of grade levels? Is it rational to think that every student who is ready for fifth grade math will also be ready for fifth grade language arts—or vice versa? Chances are, many students are being held back in some subjects and forced ahead in others.

Homeschooling gives you the flexibility to allow your child to press on in subjects where they excel, while giving extra time and attention to subjects where they struggle. It allows you to pick resources that will help each unique child reach their full potential rather than being forced into the same cookie cutter as everyone else.

Blessings Abound

These are just a few of the blessings of homeschooling. The good news is, these blessings—and many others—hold true whether the public schools are open or closed, whether masks are required or not, and whether the pandemic is still disrupting lives or things are getting back to normal.

If you’re considering homeschooling, be sure to check out Illinois Christian Home Educators and Home School Legal Defense Association. You’ll find helpful information on both sites as you prayerfully consider your options.

Please consider a gift to the Illinois Family Institute.
As always, your gift to IFI is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated!

Click HERE to learn about supporting IFI on a monthly basis.