And I think that's the main problem. We spent 8 years at a wonderful inter-denominational church in DC that was geared to the urban young professional (which we were when we started there). There was a very strong emphasis on being Christ in the marketplace, something that is very much needed in DC.
That's where we're coming from. If our kids only get the stuff from Focus on the Family or if we're really uptight about "Growing Kids God's Way" (don't get me started on that one), then they won't be ready to face the real world. The real world is ugly, very ugly, and I think we do our kids a disservice if we limit their exposure until they hit college or later.
We do our best to expose our kids to lots of things, and in the process tell them why we believe what we believe. Don't get me wrong, we do limit some of the things they see or read. (profanity, graphic sex, excessive violence, etc.) 'cause they're just not ready to deal with that (if they ever will be - there are likewise things of that nature we choose not to see).
Ultimately, it is the parent's responsibility. Unfortunately, some parents are just ignorant.
I was involved in something like the homeschool academy you're talking about, on Mondays for about four years. Great time. I got to study Shakespeare, science, get snubbed by the popular girls, stand up for myself, fall in love... it was wonderful.
Amen!
This same friend of mine that I've been talking about is at the church putting her kids into the church activities while she does everything she can to volunteer. Good for her, but her kids are actually spending more time under someone elses authority than under hers! And these teachers, I'm sure they are great people, but they are not the parents of these children and don't love them the way a parent should. They also don't have the authority to discipline the children and it shows. These kids are absolute terrors!
You know how when you are teaching your child how to ride a bike, you run along behind them holding on for a time till they figure out their balance and ride off on their own? I see discipline as being the same way. I'm not talking major stuff, like lying or cheating so much...I'm talking things like being courteous and behaving appropriately. I feel like I'm just running along behind my kids...holding on sometimes, letting them go sometimes, making sure they don't fall as best I can!
One of these days, they'll go off on their own and only time will tell if I did a good job.
Oh my stars, don't get me started either! This is another one of those examples I gave earlier where parents have abdicated (or perhaps never had) control over their kids and have turned to a "program" to try to help them. Perhaps it's a life-saver for some people. I don't need a book to tell me how to raise my child. If I read the Word and carefully try to discern what the Holy Spirit is convicting me of, I feel like I can do anything, "through Christ who strengthens me."
It's like AA. Now I know this is a lifesaver for some people. Both my brother-in-laws nearly killed themselves drunk driving and now can't go a day without going to "a meeting". My husband drank a lot too. One day he quit. No meetings. No support group. My brother-in-laws actually resent him!