Homeschool: Passing on Values and Changing the World
Another reason to homeschool. Discover the countless opportunities of homeschooling to teach your child values, provide a classical education, and make a positive impact on the world. Tailored to your child's unique needs and learning pace.
It feels like another lifetime ago. I was 5 years old in a remote Western valley about to begin homeschool with my sister. Nobody else we knew was doing it. The internet wasn’t a thing yet. I was allowed to walk a half mile down the road with my 4 year old sister to visit friends. I spent most of my time outside, running around on an acre of land with a large garden, fruit trees, grape vines and rose garden. Most people didn’t lock their doors. Our town had no fast food restaurants, no traffic lights, and no sheriff. (And still doesn’t) I spent many hours with my Grandma in her garden. We talked about all things, big and small, from caterpillars to perspectives on life. Much of what she told me has stayed with me all these years and shaped my life in innumerable ways. Had I been away in a public school, I’d have far less of those memories and bits of wisdom. Far less of an inner compass and determination to maintain my values.
The world today is largely focused on the external. There’s never time to take a breath, look closely or appreciate being alive. We tend to get caught up in going through the motions of the modern life template. Many times we don’t even contemplate whether it’s working for us or not. Is this job making you happy? What does make you happy? Do your kids like learning? Do the answers to those questions fall on deaf ears, if asked at all, or do they make you sit down and make a plan of action?
Socrates said over two thousand years ago that the unexamined life is not worth living. He was right. I believe we are here to make the most of our one life, to find and go after what gives our unique lives meaning, not to carry out robotic programming or to live someone else’s ideal.
Young kids have no sense of “should”. The world is full of limitless possibilities. They see no reason why we can’t go borrow a spaceship and visit the moon before dinner. All wishes are fully expected to come true. As we grow up, the external “shoulds” begin to crack the whip and we stop listening to anything else.
While I am excited to give my daughter a classical education, tailored to her ever-changing levels of understanding and interests, what I’m most looking forward to is being with her every day, and having thousands of opportunities to point out the things that matter most in life; those so-called little things that actually have the biggest impact on cultivating meaning and happiness.
Homeschooling allows me to pass on the best of my past experiences to my daughter. I hope she will hold onto her curiosity and think for herself, instead of waiting passively to be told. I want her to have a lifelong love of learning that will compel her to always ask questions and believe in limitless possibilities. I want her to be rock solid with her inner self so that tapping into her intuition is as effortless as blinking
Even though much has changed, one thing that never will is that parents are and always have been the best teachers. The lessons and feelings of older times want to find a way to echo forward to a new generation. I want my daughter to grow up understanding both what is and what could be. To see the world without illusion in its ugliness and beauty, while still believing everything is possible. My job is to inspire her creativity, sharpen her intellect and teach her the values to live her best life and shape the world into something beyond our greatest imagination. Seems like an incredible payoff just for wanting to spend my days with my little girl.
