Philosophy of Education

Every homeschooling family needs to write out why they are doing what they are doing. This advice was given to us by experienced homeschooler's who know that not every day will be perfect and it is therefore necessary to have a philosophy of education to steady our resolve and not send them to the meat grinder that is the public school system. As such, here is the philosophy we created and hangs in our house. I hope you're blessed and that it inspires you as well.

THORELL FAMILY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

OUR GOALS IN RAISING OUR CHILDREN
We love our children and want to teach them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and might. We want to give them an education that honors God, is academically first-rate, and prepares them for future service in His kingdom here on earth. We believe that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of God is understanding (Proverbs 9:10), therefore, children should be raised under the authority and mentorship of parents who both have fear and knowledge of the Lord and thus are wise (Proverbs 13:20).

WHAT EDUCATION MEANS TO US?
Education is a tool, either for God or for the Devil. The word education comes from a Latin word that means “to bring up, rear, train;” and the dictionary’s definition is “to train or develop the knowledge, skill, mind or character.” Education is our responsibility, not the government’s, and involves much more than reading, writing and arithmetic. It includes the developing of character and convictions, whether good or bad, and training either in obedience or in rebellion.

OUR THOUGHTS ON HOME EDUCATION
Our home is God’s primary place for the education of our children. It is here that we have almost unlimited control over their environment. We believe that a Christian Home coupled with a Christian Church and Christian School is essential for developing a child’s mind that is Christ Centered. We realize the awesome responsibility God has placed upon us as parents and there are times when we look at the task that lies before us and feel inadequate. However, we also realize that with the God-given mandate to educate our children, He has not left us to fend for ourselves; the Holy Spirit will empower and guide us every step of the way. As parents, we “can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth” us. (Philippians 4:13)

WHY ARE WE DOING HOME EDUCATION?
Children are a gift from the Lord and He commands us to raise them in the knowledge of Him. (Psalm 127:3; Proverbs 22:6) The family is an institution ordained by God, headed by the father and sustained and nurtured by the mother as the primary teachers of their children. Over the years, Christians have delegated the raising of their children to the government with terrible consequences. It is a proven fact that children will take into their adult lives what they learned in their childhood. God expects us to be involved in making decisions for our children. Since learning is a natural part of being a child, God commands us to use this instinct to teach them His ways and precepts. It is our responsibility to see to it that our children are not taught falsehood or perverted teachings.

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

God has given us the moral responsibility of bringing up our children in a controlled environment.

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

Righteousness is the end result of teaching and obeying the Word of God. (Deuteronomy 6:18-25) This is the reason ungodly people are opposed to having the Bible as the core of curriculum. We want the education of our children to give glory and honor to the Lord because we’ll have to answer to Him one day for what we taught or failed to teach our children, including the influences we permitted to touch them.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH PUBLIC EDUCATION?
We have found there are several dangers of attending a government run school. First, it is apparent that academics have been compromised because the teachers and books are unsound. Secondly, the public schools are deficient in providing a lasting Godly spiritual emphasis. Thirdly, even the best of schools have an ungodly environment where our value system is being undermined. The greatest danger of the public school system is itself, and although the intentions may be honorable, God never intended for a humanistic system to educate our children.

The Bible says we are not to be unequally yoked to unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) Wouldn’t it therefore be wrong to allow the public school system to educate our children when it rejects the truths of the Bible, negatively affects their spiritual welfare and destroys their faith in God? What good can come from a public school system that embraces humanistic and secular ideas? What should we expect from unsaved teachers who are totally indoctrinated in these values? How will they love and embrace our objectives?

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." (Jeremiah 17:5)

Evolution, sex education and homosexuality are being mandated with no respect to the wishes and authority of the parents. We don’t want unsaved and immoral individuals teaching these subjects to our impressionable children. Furthermore, they want to be accepted by their peers, and in a public school setting, this will also cause them to be tempted to conform to sinful influences in the form of language, clothing and playground conduct, etc.

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

Since the Bible taken out of the public school system, profane and vain babblings have taken over with an increase of ungodliness.

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness." (2 Timothy 2:15-16)

True education ends when the Bible is taken out of it because there is a limit to the knowledge men can gain when they depart from the Word of God.

"Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth… But they shall proceed no further." (2 Timothy 3:7, 9a)

The only true source of wisdom and knowledge is Jesus Christ. (Colossians 2:3) The other source for guidance is the world, but if the public school system has rejected the Bible as the very foundation for education, what do they have left to teach?

"The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?" (Jeremiah 8:9)

OUR EDUCATIONAL GOALS
We want to establish a love of learning in our children irregardless of the subject matter. We know that nothing can take the place of careful, diligent teaching and that training will be impossible if a child doesn’t understand what is expected of them. We want out children to know that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10)

We realize that what we study has a great bearing on what we think and what our minds are filled with forms the frame of reference we use throughout our lives. As a result, education is not simply made Christian by beginning with prayer or by adding a course in Scripture; if the course content or teaching method is humanistic, Christian supplements will do little to change the direction. We need to press in to Jesus since He is the Creator, the sustainer of life and author of all that humans have discovered.

EDUCATION WITH A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW
How can we teach truth to our children if it is not in our hearts first? (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) God wants us to use every opportunity throughout the day to teach them His Word. In doing so, our children will gain respect for the Scriptures. As they grow older and are established in the truth of the Bible, they will know what God’s will is for them. This is something that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Christian education means that Christ is central to education. Consequently, our educational theory, methods, and practice must be built upon Christ as their cornerstone. But how can we know Christ apart from His Word? It is in the Bible that God has revealed Himself and His saving purpose in Christ. Because there is only one God and one Christ, there is only one truth. This truth is the focal point of Christian education. While the Bible is not used as the textbook in every subject, it is the foundational handbook for every course and the standard for teaching. We want our children to be educated in History; Culture, Art, and Technology; Language and Literature; Economics; Mathematics; Geography; Science; Government; Society; Health and Physical Education. All of this will be taught with a Biblical worldview. (Psalm 111:10)

The study of the Scriptures is foundational to the Christian curriculum. Our children need to be mastered by the Word of God before they can properly evaluate the writings of men. If we leave the Bible out of education, what do we have left but an ungodly education? (Psalm 1:1) If our children’s minds are filled with the Bible in all their studies, it will be much easier for them to meditate in the Law of the Lord day and night than if their minds are filled with other things. (Verse 2) Some might think that if children only meditate in the Law of the Lord, they won’t be very strong when they face false doctrine, evolution, and so forth. On the contrary, God’s Word will bring strength and stability and whatever they do will prosper. (Verse 3) We are looking for our children to be born again and prosper spiritually; anything less is failure. The Bible is the living Word of God. It becomes meaningful when it is read more and more. The Lord says “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” so the only way we can know the His thoughts is through the Word of God. (Isaiah 55:6-11)

If we separate the Bible from the rest of our education, we can’t know the mind and will of God. Textbook writers can’t help but inject their opinion into their books. So if they reject what God says, their opinion can’t be trusted. As parents, we can’t afford anything that takes away from teaching our children the eternal truths of God’s Word. An education that is devoid of God cannot help but establish an evil mind because it comes from the natural man.

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

THE NEED TO SHELTER OUR CHILDREN
People think that a sheltered child will be at a loss later on in life when they face the world. We value our children and have a vision for them; as a result, we want to protect their minds and guard their souls from the influences that will endanger them. Why should we expose them to the harmful influences of the public school system, on the radio and television, in books and magazines, in evil associates in the neighborhood or in the family relationships? Our duty is to prepare them to meet such associations when it becomes necessary. Until that time comes, we will shelter and protect them and prepare them to meet future storms and evil influences of life on their own, with wisdom to trust the Lord and to look to Him for direction and protection, even as we do now.

THE END RESULT
We believe that education is not just the training of the mind, but also of the heart, an ongoing process throughout life. All the years spent learning will equip our children to fulfill a specific role ordained by God. In the end, we as parents will reap what we sow.

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:7-9)

May we never forget that prayer and a complete dependence upon God must under gird everything; for truly “except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” (Psalm 127:1a)