The other day I was talking with a homeschool mom. Her four oldest children have all become teachers in some capacity, and I commented that she must have been their inspiration. Like most homeschool moms I know, she quickly lamented her own shortcomings as a teacher. She said that she was sure her children would do things differently, and would be better teachers than she was. My own mother has said the same thing on numerous occasions. I think they are right. I hope they are right. You see, few of these moms grew up with aspirations of being teachers, let alone of teaching their own children. They didn’t have the training for it, the patience for it, or in some cases even the desire for it. But out of obedience to what they and their husbands believed God had called them to do, they took a monumental step of faith.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”1 They hoped their children would receive a good education. They hoped their children would become well-adjusted adults. They hoped their children would be successful. But they wouldn’t see the results for many years. They were taking one day at a time…by faith. And it is that faith that has left a legacy for their children – the second generation of homeschoolers.
We will do some things differently than our parents. Hopefully we will be better teachers than they were. By God’s grace, we will be better parents to our children. Not in spite of what our parents have done, but because of it. We who have been trained in the ways of the Lord from a young age; we who have been spared the bombardment of humanistic philosophies that permeate our government education system; we who have seen the example of obedience and faithfulness in our parents; we who have been given much – much will be required of us.2
I am excited about the future, and about the great things God has in store. And we who will make up the second generation of homeschool families are well-poised to make a huge impact on the world. Why? Because we are “standing on the shoulders”3 of our parents.
1. Hebrews 11:1
2. See Luke 12:48
3. See http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/268025.html