| OK. So what am I talking about? By end, I could | | | | contrasted: |
| mean finished or over due to home schooling being | | | | On a weekly basis, he sees a man who comes to an |
| outlawed or made illegal. But I'm not talking about this | | | | outreach ministry for support and help. The visit |
| use of the word. Some home educators might think I | | | | always begins a little awkwardly-- the man smells and |
| mean the end of home schooling, and now the | | | | looks like he just arrived from a campsite. Actually |
| beginning of home education. They think it would be | | | | that's pretty close to the truth; hours before he was |
| best to eliminate the terms "school or schooling" from | | | | dozing in a sleeping bag. He and his wife are |
| our vocabulary altogether when it comes to | | | | homeless. He suffers the aftereffects of drug |
| describing what takes place in our homes. Their | | | | addiction both physically and mentally. In fact, he may |
| position often represents an us (school is where you | | | | still be abusing, still caught in the cycle of starting and |
| send your children away, and we don't do that) | | | | stopping and starting and stopping. They talk awhile |
| versus them (those who don't understand the | | | | and afterwards pray together. His need for God is |
| difference between school and education, but they | | | | great, and he knows it. |
| would if they would just attend the right seminars, | | | | In contrast is a girl around seventeen or eighteen. |
| the ones we in the "us" camp attend) kind of | | | | She comes from a stable and loving family that |
| thinking. I'm not talking about that either. | | | | enjoys a comfortable standard of living. Her parents |
| I am talking about end, and by using this word, I | | | | have invested deeply into her life. She's benefited by |
| mean the purpose, or expected result of engaging in | | | | being home schooled and attending a private Christian |
| this form of schooling, (oops, or education...). | | | | school the last two years. She is a good student, |
| In other words, what are we doing this for? | | | | respectful, and well-liked. She'll be attending college |
| While most of us are busy doing it, doing it, doing it, | | | | next year. |
| for nine months of the year, there are two times | | | | After a few moments, our speaker posed the |
| when the Why am I doing this? question especially | | | | following question to the graduates: "Who do you |
| surfaces: at the end of the school year around the | | | | identify with?" The range of expressions on the |
| time of graduation and just prior to the start of the | | | | graduates' faces seemed to suggest they thought his |
| new school year. So, here we are at one of those | | | | question was too weird to respond to or that he |
| times. With just a week or two left before beginning | | | | was just joking. |
| the new school year, I want to encourage you to | | | | He wasn't joking; he was going somewhere with it. |
| think about why you are home schooling again this | | | | I'll give you the crux of the question in my next |
| year. As a way of stimulating some thought about | | | | article as well as tie it in with the larger question |
| this, I want to reflect a little on our most recent | | | | about the end of home schooling. |
| NCCA graduation ceremony. | | | | Thanks for reading! |
| Each year when we hold our ceremony, we invite a | | | | Curt Bumcrot, MRE |
| guest to speak to our graduating class. This year's | | | | Does your elementary-age child resist opening his |
| speaker, a home school father and pastor, began his | | | | grammar book? If so, you don't have to look far for |
| talk by contrasting two people. Then he posed a | | | | the reason: it's long, boring, and looks all too familiar |
| question to the graduates. | | | | to last year's grammar book. For all he knows, it is |
| Here's a paraphrase of the two people he | | | | last year's book with a different cover! |