What Happened to Just Teaching the Basics?
Posted on April 7, 2011, by Kim, under Education | Homeschool, Family | Relationships.
Dr. Karen Gushta
My husband and I recently attended the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a weekend jam-packed with wonderful and inspiring speakers. I still can’t stop thinking about the session I had the privilege of attending. It was titled “Homeschool Apologetics 101“, and Karen Gushta was the speaker. She gave ten reasons to home school your children. Now, I know that this is not a popular topic, but I cannot always write about what is popular. Gushta was full of insight and a wealth of knowledge. I wish I could have spent more time with her.
My husband and I decided to take the home school plunge in 2010. It’s a decision which many feel is a weak and cowardly way of handling the “real” world, but to us has been one of the boldest decisions we’ve made as a couple. We knew there were things about the public school system that were broken. I didn’t realize how broken it truly was until I heard Gushta speak. She shared with us that the government controlled schools really aren’t teaching “our” values. I used the quotes because, you may have a different value system. What I have to say may offend you, but I will not apologize for my beliefs.
Karen told us that parents are believing a myth that their children’s school is fine. In 2009, 77% of parents gave their school a grade of an A or B. Why? She shared that many parents really have no idea what is truly going on in the school. There is another curriculum being taught in the schools and she called it, “The Hidden Curriculum”. Hidden? What could this possibly mean? Here are three topics that if they haven’t already invaded your child’s school, they will before you know it.
- Sex Education – Do you know that most sex ed classes are sponsored by Planned Parenthood and based on findings of Alfred Kinsey. Here’s a link to learn more about who is Alfred Kinsey. I’m not sure about you, but I know I don’t want this agenda pushed on my child when the time comes.
- Homosexual “apologetics” – Are you aware that many high schools around us currently have clubs that teach tolerance for homosexuality? It is a fact that a high school just ten minutes away from our home encourages the kids to wear purple on Wednesday to show their support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community.
- LGBT curricula (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) – If this doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. Kevin Jennings the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education is actively pushing this agenda in our public schools.
Of course this post reflects my opinions. It is up to us to do the research and to decide what is best for our family. I may try too hard to push my opinion off on others, but I also feel strongly that the Bible instructs us to be the educators of our children. This is how I have felt God leading me, so it is very difficult for me to sit back and watch families think all is well here in the Bible-belt of America. Do some research, ask questions of your kids about what they’re learning in school. What are they hearing from friends? What are they being “fed” at the lunch table? You may be very surprised by the realities of your children hearing and learning things that you thought they wouldn’t learn for a very long time. I don’t want my children to be naive, but I also don’t want them to grow up too fast. I don’t want their innocence raped and I certainly don’t want their morals and values molded by the public school system.
If you’d like to hear another story of why a family decided to home school their children, I encourage you to read these two posts by my friend Heidi: Why We Home School – Part 1 and Why We Home School – Part 2
