Why I'll Never Subject my Boys to Public School

When I made the decision to take on the responsibility of educating my children, it was for a completely different reason then why I educate them now. The public school system isn’t much different (better or worse . . . well, maybe a bit worse in some areas), but my perspective on what’s most important is.  Partly from maturing in my faith and partly from maturing in my parenting. 

If you’re curious what that initial motivation was to keep my boys at home — where they belong — you can read about that in A Story of Homeschooling Benefits. What really motivates me to continue living this rewarding educational life with my children is their future. A future that is planned by God and can only be realized by honouring the unique traits He has given each of my boys. 

Mass education teaches basics and it’s not done very well. There is no flexibility to offer teaching and skill-building that aligns with each students learning style, preferences, and interests (no, not even through IEPs – Individual Education Plans). This flexibility is even more important for those teens years, of which both my boys are in. I find it interesting that in the past, it has been quite common for parents to see the benefit of home education right from the start, but then decide to send their kids off all day for education once they reach the high school age. Peculiar indeed. 

With so many options for curriculum (including amazing elective courses in various formats!) and so much help for homeschooling parents to learn how to provide a high-quality education (my top choice being HSLDA Canada) home education is not some lofty ideal one can only dream about. Additionally, with the LARGE community of home educating families in cities and towns, across Canada, and the world, there are really no academic or social reasons to not homeschool. 

There are other barriers and I believe that many parents could remove those barriers and thoroughly enjoy the responsibility of fully raising their children by also being the one to guide their education. I have experienced challenges financially, emotionally, and academically in my homeschooling. Over the past 12 years of formally educating my children, I never really considered sending them to public school (I may have threatened it a couple of times), but I have looked into private schools — very low-cost options — and came to the conclusion that sending my children away all day long was not what God wanted for me or them.

Educating them has been an amazing gift for all involved and I couldn’t imagine that when they are ready to transition into adulthood (as one of my boys is now) that they would only have the cookie-cutter industrial education with all its poor social habits as their main influence. 

Besides, challenges in life are what teach us to be strong and immovable on the things that matter most. From the good words of James, “when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT)