Crosstalk: April 12, 2018

An important decision parents make concerns the education of their children. With that thought in mind, this Crosstalk focused on the topic of home schooling. Certainly there is much to learn about home schooling and there are significant changes that take place in a family that goes down this path. One aspect many home schooling families come to realize is that not all will be supportive of their decisions. Some believe that children will be ruined if they are home schooled.

Israel Wayne joined Jim for an interesting look into this issue. Israel is an author and conference speaker who has a passion for defending the Christian faith and promoting a biblical worldview.  He's also a home education expert who is not only a home schooled graduate, but also a home school dad.  He’s been on Crosstalk before discussing his books including, 'Questions God Asks', 'Questions Jesus Asks', 'Pitchin’ a Fit:  Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting', and 'Education:  Does God Have an Opinion?'.  He joined Jim to discuss his latest book 'Answers for Homeschooling: Top 25 Questions Critics Ask'.

According to Israel, the modern home schooling movement began in 1983. While people seem to think home schooling is some new experimental method that is somewhat untried/untested, when you look at 6,000 years of human history, it's actually the government education model that's the 'new kid on the block'.

Early in the home school movement, groups like the Home School Legal Defense Association and about 26 state organizations began to defend the legal rights of families. Legal precedent came from court battles in the 1960's and '70's where churches had fought to be able to establish Christian schools. Curriculum developed by the Christian school movement was accessible by the home school movement as well.

Israel has a concern about home schoolers who are putting themselves under voluntary government regulation/control. It's being done because the government offers parents 'freebies' and 'perks' if they're willing to give up a certain amount of content control. So for him, the greatest risk to the home schooling movement is not so much the idea that freedom to home school will be taken away by force, but instead he's concerned about the voluntary giving over of freedom in exchange for a few handouts.

As this Crosstalk continued, Israel addressed the teaching qualification issue, the financial costs, different educational approaches within home-schooling, the alleged socialization problem, whether home schooling guarantees success, the 'sheltering' or 'helicopter parent' argument, and more.