Why Vermon and I Chose to Home School (this year)

I thought it might be a good idea to post why Vermon and I decided to home school Niko this year. Home schooling seems like such a controversial thing, especially within the church community. There are families who think it is the only way to go, families who think home schooling is a poor decision, and plenty who have never really thought about it. The last thing Vermon and I want is to be ammo for either side of the debate, but simply share why we made our choice. As children and families begin to become school age at Roosevelt, we know there will be great diversity in the types of education families choose--we just pray that we can all support and encourage each other to raise our children "in the love and instruction of the Lord."

Reasons Why We’re Home Schooling:

1 At this point, it seems to be our only option that wouldn’t cause us to compromise other values. I want Niko to get the best education possible. Education is extremely important to Vermon and me and we want our kids to be ready to go to college when they graduate. The public/charter schools closest to our home had low test scores and were barely average and this wasn’t acceptable to Vermon and me. We found a few schools that seemed to be good in other districts, but we would have had to drive Niko 20 minutes away and it concerned us that this would limit our ability to get to know the families in our neighborhood. Many of those schools were also very lacking in minorities, which was also not something we wanted to compromise on.
We found a great school downtown that we could easily see sending our
children to; however, it starts in 3rd grade. So we may end up only home schooling for one year.

2)We want Niko to love learning. I am excited to be able to use the school day to creatively teach Niko how to love learning and discovering new things. My goal this year is to help him be an avid reader and greatly curious about the world he lives in. I think the time I will have with him all day will give me endless opportunities to make learning fun.

3)I want him to learn more then just what happened in western civilization. Schools seem to greatly lack multicultural education. Some curriculum and some teachers are better about this then others; however, we still have a long way to go. I am really looking forward to teaching Niko about the eastern world along with what was happening in Europe around the same time period.

4)To lay a foundation for discipleship and growth. I want to be 100% clear that I believe this is every parents calling, regardless of whether one chooses to home school or not. If I send Niko to a school next year, I will be just as responsible for his discipleship as I am this year. I am excited about the extra time I will have to teach him the word, learn about world missions, memorize scripture, etc, but even if he was in school all day—we would find time for this, even if it means giving up some extra curricular things he did.

5) I don’t expect my 7 year old to share Jesus with his 2nd grade friends. I don’t agree with the argument that children should be in public schools so their life can be a witness to others. They are 7…they are baby, baby Christians, if they have even made a decision to follow Christ at all. Just because they are being raised by a Christian family, doesn’t mean they have made a decision to be Christians and it certainly doesn’t mean they are mature enough to influence those around them. I think that argument is the “throw your kid into a lion’s den” argument. That being said, we do teach and talk with Niko often about being a light to others and boldly sharing his faith with others. I also don’t think public schools are necessarily the “lion’s den” either, but just think this is a weak argument for those against home schooling.

Not the Reasons Why We’re Home Schooling:


1)To keep Niko in a Christian bubble. As stated above, I am not going to send my seven year old into the lion’s den; however, I also do not think it is healthy to try to ensure Niko is surrounded by Christians. Thankfully, Niko has a wonderful Christian community at Roosevelt and I am happy to have him spend endless amounts of time with my brothers and sisters who I pray influence and encourage Niko’s faith, but there are plenty of Christians to give Niko a healthy understanding of what life looks like following Christ. I don’t want every activity Niko is a part of to be filled with other Christian families…so outside of my family and my Roosevelt fam, I’m not joining any Christian home school clubs, Christian basketball clubs, etc. We’ll be hanging at the Y, chillin with our neighbors, playing at Grant Park, and maybe join the boy scouts. That opens the door for Niko to see us living and loving the world around us and for Niko to learn how to be light by being a part of constant outreach.

2)To keep Niko from learning about evolution and to ensure he knows we’re a Christian nation. We aren’t really worried about Niko learning about evolution or other things in school that we may disagree with. I strongly believe it is important to be very involved in your child’s education, so whatever he learns—I will be deeply involved in making sure he learns correctly. As for making sure he knows Christopher Columbus was a Christian—well, can’t say I am too proud of that fact since he slaughtered the Natives.

3)Because it’s the only and best way to raise our children. I just don’t believe this to be true. There are examples all around me of those who have home schooled and sent their kids to school. Both categories are filled with children and families I’d be happy to model myself after and families I’d be terrified to be like. Again, this isn’t a right or wrong, black or white, brainless decision.

4)Because whoever they spend their most time with, they will follow. I don’t think that if my child is in school all day that a teacher is going to shape them more then Vermon and I will shape them. Based on my experience as a child and Vermon’s experience—our values and beliefs were shaped by our family that raised us and our church family, not our teachers or our private/public school.

5) Because public schools are incapable of educating our son and will brain wash him. I just know too many kids in school and teachers who pour themselves into their classrooms to believe that Niko is going to fail miserably in life if we send him to school. Kids really do learn how to read in school and graduate and go to college—sometimes we demonize schools so much we forget that they can get a good education, with the right supplementation and support at home.

6)Because I want to be a stay-at-home mom. I do not believe home schooling is for every parent (or every child). We choose to home school this year because it fits into our family’s ministry. Now, for some families, home schooling is their ministry—praise God for the gifts and passions he has given them, but this isn’t the case for our family (at this point). I love being a social worker, being involved in ministry at Roosevelt, and being a foster parent. Some things I am willing to give up, but some I have strong convictions that I am supposed to be a part of. Because of those convictions, if home schooling makes it too difficult to foster parent, then to school Niko goes. It isn’t that I’m not willing to make sacrifices (otherwise I wouldn’t be home schooling now), but because I feel God has called the entire Pierre family to some specific things above and before home schooling (every families calling is different).