My husband is the general manager of a Christian bookstore, one with an abundance of homeschool materials compared to most its size, and he has so many discouraged and floundering homeschool mothers come in with this question or some variation of it. Am I qualified to teach my kids? How do I know if I’m qualified to teach them? What if I’m not qualified to teach them? What if there’s one (or more) subject(s) I feel particularly unqualified to teach?
My answer to that question would have to be… it depends.
First you have to figure out what you are really asking.
Are you asking if you are fully knowledgeable of and qualified to teach basic math, consumer math, algebra, geometry, biology, anatomy and physiology, physics, language arts, literature, American history, world history, and at least one foreign language and an instrument (i.e. to replace the entire faculty of a K-12 educational institution)…
Then no, you’re not qualified. That is an outrageous job description that very few if any parents can meet!
If instead you are asking if you are a reasonably well adjusted, intelligent adult who has a good grasp of basic life skills and common sense to pass on to your children, and who is perfectly capable of helping your children find the resources they need to learn the things they need and want to learn that you don’t happen to know…
Well, are you?
You see, the question you are asking and the answer you need depend greatly on what your children actually need and what stick you think you should measure yourself and your children by. What are your goals in teaching your own children? Who’s opinion truly matters in this discussion?
And if you aren’t sure on that very foundational issue, then please let me help you find (or regain) your footing.
God’s Opinion of Your Children’s Education is Most Important
We nod our heads to this truth, but let’s be honest… as with many other truths we “know” about God and life, we more often than not don’t live like it’s true.
For example, in your homeschool, you might say “oh, of course God’s opinion matters most of all”. So you try to give your little “school” a catchy name that includes this idea of honoring God. Maybe you try to start off your days with some kind of Bible reading, Bible story, or prayer. But then what do we do?
We say okay, my child is in “x” grade and “x”-graders should be learning this, this and this at these levels and so I need to find a textbook or curriculum to cover all these bases. But of course I want a Christian curriculum because I love God and want to put him first.
Stop for a minute and look back at that paragraph. In just a couple of sentences, how many of your assumptions and foundations came from God and how many from somewhere else? Is God really first in that line of thought, or is he just tacked on the end as somewhat of an afterthought? Even you if you were to rearrange the sentences so that the first thing you say is that it should be a Christian curriculum or book, does that actually make any difference to your assumptions and your priorities?
If I don’t seem to be making sense, just bear with me here and let me ask you a few questions:
- Firstly, who says what grade your child should be in?
- Next, and digging a bit deeper, where did the method of assigning grades even come from?
- What if your child is “doing poorly”, and you aren’t sure what to do about that? How do you figure out what grade he is in? Do you need to hold him back?
- What if your child is “gifted” and you think he should be in a higher grade than others his age? How do you navigate that? Does someone need to approve of it somehow?
- Next, what about the issues of subjects? Who or what decides which subjects your child should learn at a certain age and why? How do you decide whether to add in or leave off any subjects?
- What exactly are textbooks and curriculum? Why are they the answer (or at least the starting point) to most of our homeschooling questions?
- How should you go about grading your child’s work, approving or disapproving of it in a helpful way?
- Most importantly, for whom and/or from whom are you “covering all your bases”?
- And to top it all off, what in the world should you do you do about that dreaded record keeping?!
There’s so much to think about, it’s not wonder we end up so overwhelmed and scared. It feels like there’s a lot to mess up and little reassurance that we are ever doing it “right”.
So, let me ask, have you ever asked any of these types of questions and, if you have, who do you ask them to?
If you’re asking Google, well, good luck with that one! You’ll get as many answers as there are stars in the sky…
Or maybe you are asking other godly homeschoolers, which is most certainly a better place to start but can still end in confusion and frustration from too many “helpful” voices.
Maybe you’ve asked people who make or sell a curriculum you are interested in, or someone who puts out homeschooling podcasts or summits (and interestingly, much of the time, their unique methodology or their curriculum that just so happens to be on sale for a limited time is the answer to your problem).
I would argue (and will continue to flesh out) that I believe our very starting point as homeschoolers is often entirely wrong. I believe most of us start with many flawed assumptions and that inevitably leads to loads of questions, doubts, guilt, and confusion.
God Has Given You His Scope and Sequence
I can’t go into everything in one post but I think just a couple of verses may help you start to rethink your starting point and align better with God’s agenda.
Are you ready for it??
Forget everything else you know, everything else you’ve ever learned about education…
THIS is God’s scope and sequence for your children:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ESV
That’s it.
That includes both what God wants your children to learn and how he wants them to learn it. (It actually answers quite a few questions regarding education in one fell swoop, but we’ll get there…)
And for further direction and clarification…
“Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 AMPC, emphasis mine
God tells us to teach our children, gives us a very specific body of knowledge to teach, and gives us the methodology we are to use.
Can you fulfill that assignment? Better yet, do you think that you can fulfill that assignment on the Lord’s wisdom and strength?
That is the real question you should be asking yourself and the only one that matters.
Anything That Hinders You From Following God’s “Scope and Sequence” Has to Go
This is tough. Really really tough.
I’ve been working through this part for almost 12 years and it’s still a struggle to let go of all the worldly trappings regarding education; to keep on trusting that God’s way is all that is required of me and that it is always best.
There is so much opposition to face and there is a reason:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10 ESV
If God’s plan is perfect and designed for our good and his glory, and that includes his plan for education, then of course the enemy wants to thwart it any way he can. And so often, the subtler the better so that we don’t catch on to what he’s doing.
I believe that by twisting, adding to and complicating God’s plan for our children’s growth, our enemy has successfully stolen much of our joy and effectiveness as well.
We get so lost in endless rabbit trails of the “who’s”, “where’s”, “when’s”, “what’s”, and “how’s” of our children’s educations that we’ve forgotten the “why’s”. We’ve abandoned the very heart of God’s will for ourselves and our children and then expect his blessing and peace, and there’s a reason those things often evade us.
So back to the original question but using the right measuring stick…
What are God’s Qualifications for You to Teach Your Children?
1) That you have children 😉
2) That you know and serve him as Lord… You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might…
3) That you prioritize His Word and learning from it yourself… And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart…
4) That you prioritize communicating to your children what you have learned/are learning about God… You shall teach them diligently to your children…
5) That you are willing to do your best to help your children apply God’s word to the various aspects in life… and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise...
6) That you are willing to give them the basic tools and reasonable freedom they need to explore the world around them in a way that honors God and acknowledges who he made them to be... Train up a child in the way he should go…
That’s all that’s required.
Live, learn, and love your children in the freedom of the Lord!
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