[beezdotcom]

They won't be able to while the kids are being discipled for those 8 hours under someone else's mentoring in the brick and mortar schools.

I'm always a little bemused by comments such as these. It often seems that the presumption is that parents like myself blindly abandon little Johnny and Susie unprotected to the arms of avowed Satanists - or worse, KNOWINGLY do it.

Perhaps that hyperbole is a bit much, and I know that there are indeed parents who DON'T guard against rogue indoctrination. However, WE make it a point to know each and every teacher, where they go to church (or IF), what axes they seem to want to grind, and which of their classes actually provide that opportunity (not so much in band and math, more so in science and history). This is made much easier by the fact that my wife has volunteered and worked in every school the kids have attended.

You and I probably don't disagree much on the principle of who should be first and foremost in teaching our children - the parents. We probably DO disagree on when to teach them discernment, and when they are old enough to start sorting some of the wheat from the chaff on their own. If I actually let strangers talk to my children, I'd let you hear it directly from them how they handle it on those (rare in our case) occasions where instruction gives way to indoctrination. Suffice it to say, a little rhetorical instruction goes a long way.

Homeschooling usually has great results. Among my friends and family, we've also had great results with private and public schools. Of course, that has less to do with the school, and more to do with parental involvement. (It could also have a lot to do with the region, since we're in a semi-rural, 'red' county.)

[wintertime]

Good.

Everyone using the government schools should feel defensive and be fully prepared with lists of excuses.

[StarCMC]

Homeschooling usually has great results. Among my friends and family, we've also had great results with private and public schools. Of course, that has less to do with the school, and more to do with parental involvement.

I am a homeschooler who completely agrees with that statement.

[uptoolate]

and I know that there are indeed parents who DON'T guard against rogue indoctrination.

It is not so much an issue of 'rogue indoctrination' for me.I don't see 'teaching' as just academics. When I look at 'teaching' kids, it is more than just science, math, reading, etc. that they are learning. They are learning how the authority figure in their life at that moment handles life situations. They are overhearing conversations that two teachers may be having, whether it be Mr. Jones and Ms. Peachtree, or my wife and myself. They are seeing how Ms. Peachtree handles frustration, envy, strife and maybe anger. Maybe they get a glimpse in to the life of Mr. Jones, how he handles those things, or maybe even sexual temptation.

I want, no, I desire, to be the one that gets to teach my sons and daughters those things. I remember taking my oldest son out to the hardware store one afternoon. The girl at the register looked like she just didn't want to be there working. I intentionally made it my goal to make sure that she was smiling and laughing before we left. As we walked away I stopped and told my son to turn around and watch. The next customer got a big greeting grin from ear to ear. In the car on the way home my son said, "Dad? How do you do that?" I said, "Prayer and practice." On the way home we stopped for a snack. I turned to him and said, "Your turn."

There are thousands of books in the world waiting to be read and studied. My oldest son is only 13. All the academics will fall in to place when God wants them too. He will be CLEP-ing out of 3-4 college courses this year plus doing an internship at a computer store. He's on track to have his Masters in Computer Science by the age of 17. Oddly enough, that is not as important to us.

But the real learning comes when he sees his father drive 10 miles back to the Secretary of States office to apologize for getting angry at the clerk.

If I ever send my kids to a school, I will have to spend a lot of time getting to know each teacher. I need to know what they believe, why they believe, and how their beliefs influence their core values, or worldview. I'd want to see in their lives the residual effects of the parenting their mother and father had on them, and also the effects on their own kids.

[Mygirlsmom]

Thank you beez, well said. We take the same approach with our children.