10 of My All-Time Favorite Posts from 2016

Two weeks ago I shared my ten most popular posts from 2016. It was such an exciting post for me to write because I honestly never realized how many readers I have until I actually took the time to sit down and gather the numbers for that purpose. I am amazed and still feel so much gratitude for all of you.

While the posts chosen by all of you certainly hold a place near and dear to my heart, I have several others that did not make the cut of being one of my most viewed, but that I am so proud of having written. 

So today I’ve chosen ten of my favorites from this past year. Generally speaking, many of these posts took the most courage for me to press “publish” on because I knew I was entering into dangerous territory. But if I can’t use this platform to convey my most passionate pleas, what’s the use of having this blog in the first place, right?

Here are, in no particular order,…

My 10 All-Time Favorite Posts from 2016

 

1. Has Compulsory Education Harmed Us More Than It’s Helped?

…I know that I’m entering into a sticky topic here, but I’ve got to get this off my chest…

Have you ever thought that institutionalized schooling has been bad for us, for our society?

Assuming that all of you are less than 150 years old ;), like me, you’ve grown up with the notion that school has always existed, that it’s the best way to learn, and that it’s necessary for a productive society.

But is this really true?…

 

2. Is Compulsory Schooling to Blame for the Breakdown of the Family?

…Before compulsory school laws were put into place, the family was central to everything. Children learned by helping their parents in the day-to-day things that their families depended upon. Their parents were not just Mom and Dad; they were mentors. They were involved. Children knew how important their familial role was, and they felt valued because of it….

 

3. Imagine a World Free from Compulsory Schooling

…Education, as we know it, has only been around for less than 2% of recorded history. That’s it. Sometimes it may be hard for those of us who’ve grown up with school always being a fact of life to realize that this is not the way things have always been done….

 

4. 5 Reasons Why the Government Should Stay Out of Education

…It’s frightening how efficiently our bureaucrats have taken what could have been a potentially beneficial thing and seized control of it, mandated it, and destroyed it.

Don’t let them fool you with all their talk of education reform and Common Core and other nonsense.

In order for our education system to change for the better, every single schooling method presently used would have to be either completely wiped out or rewritten until it was unrecognizable, but…

…the government will never think outside the box with education….

 

5. 3 Reasons I Don’t Send My Kids to School to Be Salt and Light

…I know that many people aren’t willing to admit this, but our schools do embrace pagan philosophies. At the very least, however, I would hope that we could all at least agree that public education no longer stands for biblical principles. If our children are going to be given the opportunity to grow in their faith, the best place for this to happen would be in either Christian schools or in a homeschool environment where they will learn the values that are true to the Christian upbringing….

 

6. Are Your Values Important Enough to Consider Homeschooling?

…I’m not going to go into another diatribe today about the real purpose of school. Instead I’m going to focus on another area that is often overlooked by the parents of kids in school- the removal of Christian values.

I know what some of you are thinking-

“OUR school is okay.”

And you know what? That’s great. But for how long? And not only that…how do you know it’s okay? Because you’re on the PTA? Because you read through all of your kids’ papers? Because your kids would surely tell you if something was amiss, right?…

 

7. What If the Problem Was School in the First Place?

…Think of it this way…yes, your child may be used to learning in a certain way, but how beneficial has this method been? I’m going to take a wild guess and say that if you started homeschooling because your child wasn’t learning in school, then the school methods probably weren’t doing a whole heck of a lot other than creating stress and diminishing confidence in your child.

So taking it a step further, I’m going to suggest that imitating school at home may not be the answer you’re looking for.

You might argue that your child wants it this way, and I know that it will take some getting used to for both parent and child, but how will you know that there isn’t a better way if you’re not willing to give it a try?….

 

8. An Open Letter to the New Homeschooler I Met Today

…Before the secretary saw me come in, I heard her telling you to hire an out-of-district teacher to help you find curriculum. I wanted to jump in front of you and scream, “No! Don’t!” but I had to compose myself because, after all, we were in the school administration building. Frankly, I was relieved when she turned your attention to me and tried to enlist me to help you. While I did give you some very basic information, the name of my evaluator, and some helpful websites (including mine!), I was dying inside because I couldn’t help you the way I wanted to. Not there. Not while the school employee was standing there listening to us…

 

9. 5 Reasons Why Cyber Schooling Is Not Homeschooling

…On the surface, all that free stuff looks very appealing. But who is providing the free resources? The government. And if you know anything at all about the U.S. government, it’s that when you get something for free, you are at the mercy of any regulations the bureaucracy wants to throw at you.

-mandated curriculum

-strict attendance records

-restrictive oversight

As homeschoolers who value our freedom in education, we don’t want anyone to confuse what we do with what cyber schools do, because we are not willing to compromise the flexibility we have in providing an education that is tailored specifically for our children for a few cost-free commodities. If the line between these two forms of at-home learning gets too blurred, we fear that we will be hit with the same burdensome regulations….

 

10. Speaking from Experience: An Honest Discussion About Unschooling

…So, the blissful home life that I set out for became a household of chaos, complete with a very crabby mommy.

Finally, I announced to my children that we were going to start completing some structured school work again, and chores would be re-instituted. Was there a mutiny? Nope. They looked relieved….

 

These posts may have been the hardest for me to write and share, but I have got to say these pieces truly encompass everything that I feel about the homeschool life. It’s about freedom. It’s about family. It’s about love. And it is for these very reasons I chose to take a deep breath and press “publish.” Because everyone deserves to know the truth about education and the truth about homeschooling. I’m just not willing to keep it to myself.

 

Be sure to check out more great roundups at iHomeschoolNetwork!

 

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