Destiny Survival

            Here’s an example of how out of touch and arrogant the big shots are in the media.  There’s an AP article entitled, “Amid hard times, homeschooling families persist.”  I think the appropriate response is, “Well, duh!!!”  As if the economy would make it hard on home schoolers and they’d quit!  The media just don’t get it!

One of the many benefits of home schooling is it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.  You can spend as much or as little as you like.  Curriculum doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, especially when some companies have good sales going on in the spring.  Plus, you can get material for school free at the library or online.  Some families are actually pulling their kids out of private schools to save money so they can teach their children at home.

            Families who are truly committed to home schooling—and it does take real commitment—will make it work.  It may mean Mom goes to work part time somewhere if need be.  Or older teens can go to work part time or start their own home based business.  Dads out of full time work will find that getting reconnected with the family is quite rewarding.

            The AP article did acknowledge that home schooling will continue to grow, and partly because things are so bad in the economy right now.  I’lll just bet the reporter was a little surprised by that.  After all, public school doesn’t cost anything and is the greatest thing since sliced bread, right?  At least that’s what many people think.  But the article did quote Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Oregon, who said home schooling families don’t do what they do because of some fad.  For example, concerns about peer pressure and the desire to give children proper moral and religious training go way beyond what’s happening in the economy.

Home schooling families know what it means to change priorities and make sacrifices.  It’s part of a lifestyle.  Not all who do it are thinking interms of survival, but I can tell you that some families just want to get back to basics, and now’s a good time to do that.  Home schooling fits right into that plan.