Have you ever thought about the cultural factors that have to be in place for a person to be able to homeschool their children? I'm not talking about government regulations or limitations although that is certainly a factor, but more about individual families.
I've been blessed to be raised in a country that values education, including the education of women. There may be a lot wrong with the school system here in America, but nonetheless, me and everyone else I know that has grown up here knows how to read and write. Most people here graduate from high school and there are programs to help people succeed in their educational goals whether that be single teenage moms getting their GRE, a high school graduate going to a community college or university, or even someone pursuing their Masters or Ph.D. Education through the twelfth grade is free through the public school system which helps keep kids off the streets and in a safe environment (usually).
This is not the case in the Majority World. Many times, women are marginalized and do not have an education. Sure, they learned survival skills from their own mothers or community, but maybe never learned how to read, write, or do arithmetic since the generation before them either didn't know either or was unable to teach/mentor them in these things since they had to work to support their families. This generational cycle is debilitating, and since schools are either expensive or otherwise unavailable, children are often left at home to fend for themselves while their parents seek work outside them home to provide for their basic survival. This can leave kids vulnerable to abuse. Of course, I'm making some very broad generalizations in this post, but bear with me.
Schools are amazing. They can help break the cycle of poverty by educating the next generation and keeping them off the streets during the day. In the Majority World, it seems like kids actually want to go to school since they know how much it is going to help them in their lives. That is one of the reasons we love supporting kids through Compassion International.
I don't understand exactly why schools seem to be "failing" in the United States although I'm not sure what it is that would qualify success. For my own children, I want them to love learning and to know how to learn for themselves. However, if I was a single mom living in an impoverished country, I would be unable to mentor my children. I feel as though I'm an elitist - able to provide a means of learning that would be otherwise impossible if we had been born in a different circumstance.
It kind of reminds me of the whole GMO/Organic foods debate. Yes, organic foods are better for you, but you can't feed the entire world on organic food. That was one of the reasons that GMOs were developed - to provide high yield crops to feed more people. Sure, there is a lot of debate about all of this. We try to feed our own family as much organic food as possible since I think it's best. Yet, I struggle with this elitism though since most of the world cannot do this for their own families. The resource is just not available.
How do I justify this inequality? How can I be a light in the world? In what ways can I not trample the poor by being mindful of the things that I eat and buy? How can I teach my kids about the world in ways that will encourage them to love the people around them and want to help change the world? What would God want me to do? If I were to go overseas and work with the poor in education, would I have to give up my own ideals in educating my own children? These are real questions that I struggle with daily.
One consolation I have is that I'm in a time of investment. I am only one person, but I have two children who have the opportunity to also go out and change the world for Christ. Yet, I want to model God's love to the world to my children now, and this is an important part (if not the most important part) of their "education". May God lead us to where He wants us to go.
I've been blessed to be raised in a country that values education, including the education of women. There may be a lot wrong with the school system here in America, but nonetheless, me and everyone else I know that has grown up here knows how to read and write. Most people here graduate from high school and there are programs to help people succeed in their educational goals whether that be single teenage moms getting their GRE, a high school graduate going to a community college or university, or even someone pursuing their Masters or Ph.D. Education through the twelfth grade is free through the public school system which helps keep kids off the streets and in a safe environment (usually).
This is not the case in the Majority World. Many times, women are marginalized and do not have an education. Sure, they learned survival skills from their own mothers or community, but maybe never learned how to read, write, or do arithmetic since the generation before them either didn't know either or was unable to teach/mentor them in these things since they had to work to support their families. This generational cycle is debilitating, and since schools are either expensive or otherwise unavailable, children are often left at home to fend for themselves while their parents seek work outside them home to provide for their basic survival. This can leave kids vulnerable to abuse. Of course, I'm making some very broad generalizations in this post, but bear with me.
Schools are amazing. They can help break the cycle of poverty by educating the next generation and keeping them off the streets during the day. In the Majority World, it seems like kids actually want to go to school since they know how much it is going to help them in their lives. That is one of the reasons we love supporting kids through Compassion International.
I don't understand exactly why schools seem to be "failing" in the United States although I'm not sure what it is that would qualify success. For my own children, I want them to love learning and to know how to learn for themselves. However, if I was a single mom living in an impoverished country, I would be unable to mentor my children. I feel as though I'm an elitist - able to provide a means of learning that would be otherwise impossible if we had been born in a different circumstance.
It kind of reminds me of the whole GMO/Organic foods debate. Yes, organic foods are better for you, but you can't feed the entire world on organic food. That was one of the reasons that GMOs were developed - to provide high yield crops to feed more people. Sure, there is a lot of debate about all of this. We try to feed our own family as much organic food as possible since I think it's best. Yet, I struggle with this elitism though since most of the world cannot do this for their own families. The resource is just not available.
How do I justify this inequality? How can I be a light in the world? In what ways can I not trample the poor by being mindful of the things that I eat and buy? How can I teach my kids about the world in ways that will encourage them to love the people around them and want to help change the world? What would God want me to do? If I were to go overseas and work with the poor in education, would I have to give up my own ideals in educating my own children? These are real questions that I struggle with daily.
One consolation I have is that I'm in a time of investment. I am only one person, but I have two children who have the opportunity to also go out and change the world for Christ. Yet, I want to model God's love to the world to my children now, and this is an important part (if not the most important part) of their "education". May God lead us to where He wants us to go.
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