Four Job Hazards of Homeschooling

Oh, to be a lineman!  Those guys got paid $1000.00 a day to drive up to Detroit this winter and repair electric lines over the Christmas holiday—and double on the holiday itself!  To be able to stand up there in a bucket-truck, repairing electric lines in the sub-freezing temps while the wind whistles and the tree branches groan overhead, while ice crystals form on your hard-hat and gloves and mustache.  Or maybe not . . .

 
Every job has its rewards and hazards.   Linemen deserve every penny (or hundred dollar bill) they earn living away from family over special holidays so that our Christmas tree lights and furnaces can run.  But their paychecks tell only half the story.  Being a lineman comes with enormous job hazards.  I spent three summers working with the grounds crew for our local electric department, and the bulletin board had a black-and-white photo of the electric department crew of 1968.  The photo had never been taken down because that small group included a man who died shortly afterward from electrocution while working on a line.   The hazards of linework had cost him his life. 

 

Homeschooling is an incredibly rewarding experience.  But this job has its hazards too.   I share these thoughts as a homeschool mom—one who has, at times, noticed these same hazards creeping into our own homeschool.  I’ve lost sleep over Algebra and Spanish, but the real enemies of good homeschooling are not about academics at all, but about attitudes.

 

Here are four biggies to watch out for—put on your hard hat.  It’s a tough job out there! 

 

1.  Pride.       “Pride goeth before destruction . . “  Proverbs 16:18

 

If we are not judicious with our encouragement, our children run the risk of thinking “more highly of themselves than they ought to think” (Romans 12:3). 

 

Here are some symptoms of pride:

             *Resentment when corrected—especially by someone outside the immediate family, such as a Sunday school teacher, coach, or grandparent

             *Critical spirit--viewing the world with an "us vs. them" mentality instead of charity

             *Difficulty accepting blame or responsibility

             *Comparison to others—particularly those who don’t homeschool or go to church

             *Inability to socialize, even on a surface level, with other children

 

Yes--children.  Many homeschoolers pride themselves that their children can talk well with adults—which is certainly commendable and refreshing.  But let’s be honest:  Adults are almost always easier to converse with than children.  They don’t usually interrupt.  They listen more than they talk.  They don’t argue about petty details, or try to “one-up” the other speaker.  They are quick to praise and agree, as much as possible, in order to encourage their young friend.  They don’t lie or tell wildly exaggerated stories to puff themselves up.   In a word:  Children demand more humility and unselfishness of each other than adults do.  When given the choice, proud children will seek out adult conversation and ignore the opportunity to be a leader among children their own age.  They tend to view other children as a threat, not potential friends who have real needs. 

 

2.  Selfishness.                "Look not every man on his own things . . ."  Philippians 2:4

 

Sandpaper is an important little tool for a carpenter.  My computer lap desk is hand-crafted, and I would hate to think of carrying it around or setting it on my lap if it had not been sanded before it was stained! 

 

By nature, homeschool tends to be a very comfortable environment.  Homeschoolers don’t have to get up early to wait in the cold for a bus in January.  They don’t have to walk to school in the rain, or wait in line to use a restroom, or feel “starved” by 5^th hour lunch.  They don’t have to deal with broken locker locks, or lost homework, or missing mittens at recess.   “Sandpaper” situations are what make children strong, and many homeschoolers have never been sanded.   This is not good . . .

We ought to deliberately create “hard” situations for our children, in order to challenge and stretch them.  Lack of flexibility is a red-flag, warning us that our children have been allowed to get a little too comfortable.  We mothers need to be careful that we don’t allow our “mothering mission” to overtake our greater “teaching mission.”  It’s not a crime for our sons to experience a little cold while feeding animals outside on a snowy morning.  It is a crime to raise a wimp.  J 

 

3.  Laziness.      “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.”  Lamentations 3:27

 

Some tell-tale signs of this hazard—

 *Inability to observe specific parameters (assignment dates and requirements; being on time to events)

*Sloppy work

*Repeated warnings to no avail

*Lack of engagement in the learning process

*Elongated homework times

*Working below grade level, despite being average intelligence

*Constantly asking for help instead of thinking through the directions independently

*Constant silliness

*Babyish words and mispronunciations that are not age-appropriate

*Sleeping in regularly

*Avoiding attainable challenges because it's too much trouble

 

But since Mother knows how to read hieroglyphics, and she wants us to pass spelling even more than we do—why bother to write legibly, or put a name at the top of the page, or turn it in on time? This hazard comes because homeschooling is generally a mother-centered environment.  The Bible commands wives to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5), but that may be the most disobeyed Biblical command among homeschoolers!  Most homeschooling mothers view the homeschool as their own little kingdom, and any suggestions by the father are treated as “too harsh” or “too unrealistic."  Remember what your grandma once said:

                             “Mothers make boys.  Fathers make men.”  J  Listen to Dad. 

 

4.  Fear.            “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear  . . .“  II Timothy 1:7

 

Our overall goal must reach beyond the immediate mission of keeping our children out of the world.   Our higher purpose is to send them right back into the world someday—not as participants in sin, but to make a difference for Christ!  When our kids seek jobs someday as police officers,  pastors, nurses, teachers, accountants, and yes—even homeschool mothers, they will be grateful we prepared them for that moment and did not simply try to spend 18 years hiding from it.      

 

May I share with you one of my greatest burdens for today’s homeschoolers?  Among many homeschooled teenagers that I have seen, there is a strong sense of fear:  Fear of leaving home, fear of the world we live in, fear of failure.   In our zeal to shield our children from sin, how is the preparation process for their futures going?  Are our children open to the thought of going far away to a mission field—or does the thought of leaving our home town scare them too much?  Do our children have any goals beyond high school graduation?  Are our children excited about seeking God’s will for their lives, or are they content rather to wait for us to tell them what they will be doing next?  Are our children willing to share their faith in Christ with others—even strangers—or do they hide behind shyness and reluctance?  Are they academically prepared to seek higher education, or are they intimidated by the thought of being critiqued by a teacher other than their own parents?  Are our teenagers beginning to see the gifts God has entrusted them with, and are they eager to use those gifts for His glory? 

 

The rewards of homeschooling far outweigh these few hazards.  But wear your hard-hat anyway.  Let’s have a “No Casualties” policy!  Our kids are counting on us.