My Philosophy of Education

I have been thinking about homeschooling for a couple of years now. As a kid, I never liked the idea much, because I knew only a few "weird" homeschooled kids that couldn't read very well, even at the age of 10.  Then I came to college. Of my 4 closest friends, ALL of them were homeschooled for a significant amount of time. I think there's a reason that I married one of them.

I want to homeschool my kids. I didn't come to this conclusion because of the arguments I've heard about homeschooled kids being somehow better, smarter, or untainted from the world. Homeschooling is definitely not for everyone, but I do think that it's for my family. I have a degree in education, so I am well aware of the flaws of public school. Some part of that is due to a few bad teachers, true, but I know that most teachers work extremely hard at a job that is nearly impossible: educating 30 kids with parents who may or may not care at all if their children learn anything at school, while trying to please the government's poorly-written state tests and trying not to go crazy from not getting paid a lot.

I think that the idea of homeschool had to come to me slowly. It's a real paradigm shift for an education major that attended public school (and really good ones, at that.)

I want to give my children more than what I had. By more, I mean the Gospel, intermingled with every school subject. The only place I experienced that was at BYU-Idaho, which was my greatest time of learning. There is no room for teaching religion in public schools, and there's no denying that. There is also no better place than home to teach my children Gospel principles, so why not teach them everything together?

Joseph is a very intelligent boy. I feel that he could easily get bored in a public school setting. I was. When I had great teachers, I had fun, but the content was never challenging, not until high school.

I love to learn about everything. I've been reading a book about homeschooling that reflects on the philosophies of Charlotte Mason. It's what I've been looking for. It sort of scares me to think of teaching my kids everything on my own, but I really won't be. If this really is my calling, I will have plenty of help! I'm being prepared for it right now. I can feel that.

I finally have a real philosophy of education. Here it is.

1. The Gospel is the foundation of all knowledge, and all truth can be learned from the Holy Ghost. All earthly subjects are inseparably connected with spiritual ones.We are commanded to study them all. (D&C 88: 78-80)

2. No matter where children get their secular education, the home environment founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ is where the most important lessons are learned. Parents and other family members teach by example. The home should be a haven from the world. (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

3. People learn about things that they love. They must be provided with opportunities to find out what those things are and spend their time building both talents and spiritual gifts. (Gospel Principles Ch. 22: The Gifts of the Spirit) and (Ch. 34: Developing Our Talents)

4. Parents should lead the way by continuing to learn themselves. They should take time to develop their own talents, but also to help their children discover and build on theirs.

5. Learning comes from "the best books". (D&C 88:118-119)

I don't know how all of this will work out, but I'm excited for the future.