Is Homeschooling Right For You?

Is Homeschool right for everyone?

Most will say no. The question then follows, how do you know if it is right for you?

In a previous post, Common Concerns About Homeschooling, I mentioned that in order to know if we should homeschool, we should ask ourselves, not if we are patient enough, smart enough, or whatever enough, but if we are willing to take responsibility for the education of our children, which essentially means putting the needs of our children ahead of our own (this was taken from a workshop I attended at the HEAV home educators conference in Richmond). 

A friend pointed out that we should also ask what God wants us to do, which I also agree wholeheartedly with, since I believe we should counsel with the Lord in all we do. (Alma 37:37)

However, stopping there didn't feel right to me. I knew there was something missing. One more step that we must take to know if homeschooling is really the right path for our families. After pondering some more, I realized that we must also ask ourselves this:

Do you know enough about homeschooling to make an educated decision? 

Have you put forth an effort to understand it, how it works for others, how it might work for your own family? 

In this world where public education is the norm, homeschool is largely misunderstood (at the very least most people don't fully understand the true value of it). Making an informed decision about homeschooling can't be done without knowing more about it, otherwise we would be relying on stereotypes and preconceived notions to guide us in making our decision.

I believe that before asking God what we should do about anything, we must study the matter for ourselves, asking God to guide us to the resources that will be the most helpful to us in coming to a decision that is best for us.

The same principle can be applied to anything in life: whether to homeschool or not, how many children to have, whether to get married and to who. Whenever something serious is at stake- the future of our children, the existence of future children, our own future as a married person- I believe we should follow these 3 steps:

1. Study it out

Read as much as we can about it, weigh all options, ponder it in our hearts.

2. Ask God

Pray with a sincere heart, real intent, believing that you will receive an answer.

3. Be willing to act on any answer you feel

This essentially means that if, after studying and praying about homeschool, you feel in your heart that you should do it, you will allow yourself to be open to that option even if you never imagined yourself homeschooling your children or if you were hoping to work full-time outside the home. (There are many people who never dreamed they would be homeschooling, but felt it was right after following those steps, and are now speaking and writing about homeschool to inspire others to do it.)

I believe that these 3 steps will actually result in personal divine revelation. I have received answers to important questions in my life through this formula. 

Again, thanks for your comments. They are what inspire me to keep writing, and help guide me to the topics that will hopefully be of most interest to all of you. :)