It is quite rare that I feel the need to revisit an article I’ve posted the day before, but today I’d like to post just a few points of clarification about what I wrote yesterday on the subject of homeschooling.
The most important point is this: I do not think homeschooling is always or universally a bad option. I know many homeschoolers and respect their decision to homeschool their children. My parents homeschooled my sisters on and off through the years and I saw the good this could do. So please hear me when I say that I support homeschooling. However, I firmly believe that it is not the only legitimate option and, in many cases, is not the best option. As it pertains to my children, I do not feel that it would be the best option for them at this time. That may change and my wife and I are certainly open to the possibility. But right now we are comfortable with placing them in school and will continue to evaluate and re-assess as necessary. If the situation changes, you can be sure that I’ll let you know.
There are quite a few people in the discussion that are trying to read into my article things I did not say. So please do be careful with this. I fear that too many people are missing the primary purpose of the article–that we absolutely cannot allow homeschooling to divide us. If the emails I’ve received since yesterday are any indication, this really is an issue that can and sometimes has been tearing churches apart or, at the very least, cutting into relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ.
Finally, a couple of people mentioned that I have not yet discussed the potential pitfalls of public schooling. I’ll be the first to admit that there are some and am not afraid to discuss them! I will take that as a challenge and will attempt to post something about that in the next little while. I’ve got a busy week of traveling ahead of me, so be sure to remind me if I forget.
