GC Home Schooling/Young Earth Teachings

Welcome to De-Commissioned, a place for former members of the Great Commission movement (aka GCM, GCC, GCAC, GCI, the Blitz) to discuss problems they've experienced in the association's practices and theology.

You may read and post, but some features are restricted to registered members. Please consider registering to gain full access! Registration is free and only takes a few moments to complete.

[Captain Bible]

I believe a home schooled education can be wonderful for any child. I had a good grade school experience as a whole. I truly admire my parents for all the work they put in home schooling me. I know they have always wanted my best and am grateful for it.

All that said, I have a big problem with the education I received from my parents. Every subject was tainted by the world view they held. I was told that evolution was wrong, end of story. They would point out the problems with the theory than tell us how much more scientifically right the creation theory was. Young earth creation is based on the theory that a world wide flood created the fossil record and the whole earth or perhaps even the known universe was created a literal six days.

We had Christan text books that focused on Christians in history over any other group of people. Other religions were studied to point out their flaws and as a point of contrast to the superior christian view. The only kind of lecture we heard was Rush Limbaugh's radio program over the lunch hour.

In the end, my being sheltered from alternative viewpoints backfired. I am a feminist and a lover of modern science. I don't think Charles Darwin was a fool, in fact I have been reading him for some time now and find his work fascinating. I see the "fall" of man in the scripture more as an "enlightenment" of man, with both good and evil implications.

I do feel as if I have lost a lot of time however. My parents don't like university education, they want practical skills based community collage type education. Higher education of any kind is simply a means to and end: making money for the kingdom of God. I have been thinking about going back to school to get a bachelors degree at least.

[EverAStudent]

Greetings!

I grew up in the public school system.  I was saved (reborn) in my early teen years.  As a result my faith was instantly and continuously tested. 

My first inclination after being saved was to read the Biible cover to cover.  In doing so I soon realized that the evolutionary model and the biblical model of humanity's physical rise and spiritual fall were incompatible (though I did try hard to join the two together). 

Now that I am an old man, I have even more difficulty joining the evolutionary model and Christianity.  Without a literal Adam and Eve there was no literal fall, and without a literal fall no curse, making much of what Paul said incomprehenisble.  Further, much of what John says about Jesus as the Creator becomes dubious at best. 

What do I do about all the evolutionary evidences?  Accept them for what they are, evidences, not proofs.  They became for me evidences that call up a mystery (why does carbon dating peg the earth at billions of years old?), but not evidences that preclude the biblical account.  Similarly, the evolutionary model cannot account for where the energy/matter originated that became the universe.  Nor could the evolutionary model explain why the man Jesus fulfilled so very many ancient prophecies (without resorting to pretending He did not even exist), and it could not explain why man has never improved (evolved) spritually but remains a rampant sinner. 

Yes, it is a matter of faith.  But not one of compatibility.

[G_Prince]

Great post Captain!

I am very much pro-homeschooling, but I can barely consider my GCx homeschooling an education. It was more like home-brainwashing. In that regard, I doubt it differed much from “mainstream” fundamentalist homeschooling.

Here are the main things I learned from my GCx education:

(1.)   The world is scary and evil (don’t associate with non Christians unless you are trying to convert them)
(2.)   Humanity is worthless (Human history is basically a series of “mess up” [polite phrasing] in which humanists have attempted to dethrone God...serioulsy God should just killed us anarchists)
(3.)   Evolution is a humanistic conspiracy to conceal the existence of God
(4.)   Don’t trust any scientist or academic unless they are an evangelical Christian
(5.)   Catholics majorly screwed the Christian faith (Seriously these people are going to burn!)
(6.)   Capitalism is sanctioned by God; Karl Marx was influenced by the devil (and he was lazy…instead of working a real job at the factory he spent most of his time in the library [I kid you not. One of my history books actually said this!])
(7.)   The United States is God’s chosen country (Manifest Destiny is totally rad! Those native Americans…well if they had just accepted Jesus and not hardened their hearts we probably wouldn’t have had to send them to reservations).  
(8.)   Third world countries (such as Mexico) are poor because their inhabitants have chosen to be lazy or worse to adopt socialist principles so that they don’t have to “work for a living.”  
(9.)   Don’t think, curiosity is bad, accept these “facts” or you will fall pray to the devil.
(10.)   Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

Again I’m not totally sure how this compares to “mainstream” fundamentalist homeschooling, but since my parents used many of the big name brands (Bob Jones…etc) it can’t be too far off.

Side Note

Captain, if it is at all possible (financially, logistically…etc) I strongly encourage you to go back for your bachelors. You are a very smart and gifted man and would THRIVE in college! The benefits of higher education go far beyond better job prospects and higher income (things which statistically increase when you get a bachelor’s). It also has lots of personal benifits (confidence, self respect, a better understanding of your interestes...etc) which few other environments can give you.  
 
The other great thing about higher education is that you get to study something (or things) you really enjoy. What could be better than that?!!! So anyway if at all possible…DO IT!    

[Linda]

One book that I read early in my homeschooling days was "For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer McCauley. It was a long time ago, but one thing that I remember is that she mentioned that if God is the author of everything, that would include principles of math and science. Therefore, the goal in choosing curriculum is to find the textbook that explains the concepts clearly. The example I remember was that you shouldn't choose a Math curriculum based on story problems involving "Brother" Jones, or "Reverand" Thompson, but rather choose the book that teaches the concepts accurately and clearly.

I do agree with EAS about the spiritual implications of evolution. I've always thought it wise to teach my kids about both theories, point out the implications of each, and explain why we believe one over the other. Both are unprovable theories.

I also, on occasion, watch Glenn Beck AND Chris Matthews. I like to know what the opposing thoughts are and draw my own conclusions.

[Holly]

Go for it!  What an adventure you have ahead of you!   

[LucyB]

I think that homeschooled children are definitely socialized with a different set of mores. I have noticed that homeschooled children generally communicate easily and have good manners. Sometimes they take themselves a little too seriously, but don’t we all?

Since a student cannot be greater than his teacher, I have never understood why parents would want to limit the influence of other teachers. For example, I taught my kids my own perspectives and ideas. They already benefit from my teaching at home. When they go to school, the influence of other teachers can only expand upon and add to what I have already taught.  I was always thankful that my children had the opportunity to learn from people other than myself. My daughter would come home from school and say something like:  “Mrs. ________ said that when she lived in Poland, ……” and it would be a springboard for a conversation. Linda, I’m sure you did an excellent job of homeschooling. You are warmhearted, articulate, intelligent, and (most important) hilariously funny. Humor is an important part of language. Sending kids to public school does not in any way prevent parents from teaching them at home. I think Christian parents who value character building over indoctrination are more likely to send their kids to public school.

When my daughter was in high school, she was more articulate, better read, and more knowledgeable about most subjects (including the Bible) than most of the mothers in our church who homeschooled. Also, she was relaxed in her own skin and had a sharp, dry wit. These women honestly believed they could provide a better academic education to their children than my children received in my home and at public school. They were more willing to believe the fear mongers than make an honest observation. It was absurd.   

[Holly]

I'm kind of an oddity, but I happen to come from a family that has many homeschooled kids.  On my husband's side, two of the brothers in law were homeschooled all the way through.  One is getting his doctorate in art history, the other one is the lead singer of the Afters, a Christian band that has won two Dove awards, had songs on MTV, tours all the time, and a movie with Lindsay Lohan.  HIS sister was homeschooled all the way through and is a photojournalist that does much of the photojournalism for Charity Water as well as Tom's Shoes and other nationally recognized outlets. Now that brother in law and his wife are homeschooling their kids.  Our extended family on that side also homeschools.  My family homeschooled too.  My brother homeschooled through high school and now works for Microsoft out in Seattle as a total computer geek.  My sister homeschooled through high school and is now getting her Master's while full time teaching music in a public school. Her fiance homeschooled through high school, has multiple black belts in various martial arts and is a martial arts instructer... he also just finished three novels and is working on his fourth.  I'm homeschooling my kids and we have travelled all over and live a rich life full of lots of experiences... Many of my friends homeschooled... my relatives... Gosh, I know homeschooled people who run their own photography businesses, a buyer for a department store, people in marketing, world travellers, even homecoming queens (homeschooled through 7th grade), missionary to Papua New Guinea who just finally transcribed the language into written form and are beginning to translate the Bible, pastors, teachers, chefs... they are just as varied as those who aren't homeschooled.  I honestly think it is the GC spin on education in general that can be stifling... not homeschooling.

[Linda]

Excellent post, Holly.

[G_Prince]

I'm kind of an oddity, but I happen to come from a family that has many homeschooled kids.  On my husband's side, two of the brothers in law were homeschooled all the way through.  One is getting his doctorate in art history, the other one is the lead singer of the Afters, a Christian band that has won two Dove awards, had songs on MTV, tours all the time, and a movie with Lindsay Lohan.  HIS sister was homeschooled all the way through and is a photojournalist that does much of the photojournalism for Charity Water as well as Tom's Shoes and other nationally recognized outlets. Now that brother in law and his wife are homeschooling their kids.  Our extended family on that side also homeschools.  My family homeschooled too.  My brother homeschooled through high school and now works for Microsoft out in Seattle as a total computer geek.  My sister homeschooled through high school and is now getting her Master's while full time teaching music in a public school. Her fiance homeschooled through high school, has multiple black belts in various martial arts and is a martial arts instructer... he also just finished three novels and is working on his fourth.  I'm homeschooling my kids and we have travelled all over and live a rich life full of lots of experiences... Many of my friends homeschooled... my relatives... Gosh, I know homeschooled people who run their own photography businesses, a buyer for a department store, people in marketing, world travellers, even homecoming queens (homeschooled through 7th grade), missionary to Papua New Guinea who just finally transcribed the language into written form and are beginning to translate the Bible, pastors, teachers, chefs... they are just as varied as those who aren't homeschooled.  I honestly think it is the GC spin on education in general that can be stifling... not homeschooling.

This post needs to be on a bilboard for homeschooling!

Despite my own experience, I actually believe very strongly in homeschooling. If used for good I think it is the best education out there. If used for evil it is the worst!

[Captain Bible]

If used for good I think it is the best education out there. If used for evil it is the worst!
[/quote]

Good point. I think it all comes down to a simple question, what does this individual child need? this is the strength of home schooling right, small class size individualized education? My math education left much to be desired, I was convinced that I just couldn't do math. I went to a community collage for two years and put off math until the last semester. than I found the simplest class I could. That Is how I met the best teacher I have ever had. She taught me math and I loved it! I thought I was crazy! Math was my favorite class! (I got an A in the class of course)

I still wish my parents would have put us in High School however. I think it was the original plan but my older brother fell in with the wrong crowd. It was too much of a bad influence.

I agree with holly, I think home schooling can be done well. I turned out fine socially (I think?)... anyway I know that we were too sheltered to receive any kind of balanced education.

[Captain Bible]

Greetings!

I grew up in the public school system.  I was saved (reborn) in my early teen years.  As a result my faith was instantly and continuously tested. 

My first inclination after being saved was to read the Biible cover to cover.  In doing so I soon realized that the evolutionary model and the biblical model of humanity's physical rise and spiritual fall were incompatible (though I did try hard to join the two together). 

Now that I am an old man, I have even more difficulty joining the evolutionary model and Christianity.  Without a literal Adam and Eve there was no literal fall, and without a literal fall no curse, making much of what Paul said incomprehenisble.  Further, much of what John says about Jesus as the Creator becomes dubious at best. 

What do I do about all the evolutionary evidences?  Accept them for what they are, evidences, not proofs.  They became for me evidences that call up a mystery (why does carbon dating peg the earth at billions of years old?), but not evidences that preclude the biblical account.  Similarly, the evolutionary model cannot account for where the energy/matter originated that became the universe.  Nor could the evolutionary model explain why the man Jesus fulfilled so very many ancient prophecies (without resorting to pretending He did not even exist), and it could not explain why man has never improved (evolved) spritually but remains a rampant sinner. 

Yes, it is a matter of faith.  But not one of compatibility.

I Have read the biblical account also and I believe in a real Adam and Eve. I Imagine that we approach the text a little differently however. I too love mystory, it is what has kept me inside the christian faith. I have been thinking a lot about what the serpent said in Gen 3:5 "for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good from evil." I know that I am outside much conventional doctrine, after being brought up the way I was I take nothing at face value any more. could it be so hard to say we humans have no clue what the world was like before "the knowledge of good and evil" was relieved to us? After all what else is naked and feels no shame? I am not much of a scientist, (lack of education) I don't need evolution. I have no desire to defend it or fight the typical culture wars. I have only begun to study science with an independent mind. This world of ours is magnificent. The wonders of it test the limits of all of our minds. I simply desire to go on learning, changing and evolving. 

 

[nolongergci]

Lucy, I wonder about your view that parents who care more about character building than indoctrination send their children to the public schools. This view is interesting, to say the least. 
What you call indoctrination, I would call giving a world view.  The public schools also have a world view (indoctrination)!! Parents have to decide what world view they want their children to be taught during the majority of the day. I chose to instill a Christian world view in my children for the vast part of the day, not just the leftovers after they were tired from being gone all day. This world view is not present in the public schools. But actually I was concerned about the character building of my children. I wanted something else than what I saw in our local schools.  So I homeschooled for both these reasons.
They are all grown now and very successful in their fields. One was even a National Merit Finalist. Two graduated from college with 4.0 GPAs. Another had a professor ask her where she learned to write so well, where did she go to school? When told she was homeschooled, the professor was amazed and said what a good job her parents did.
There are horror stories in the homeschool movement, but I believe there would be equal or more horror stories in the public schools.

[ender]

I tend to have mixed feelings on homeschooling.

I know that what nolongergci said is definitely true; there are for sure things lacking in public schooling that are much more easily addressable in a homeschooled environment.  Quality of education does not even compare between most public schools and a proper, well done home schooled education.

But to me, the biggest reason I am against homeschooling is that I feel it gives you a really isolated and sheltered worldview.  I went to a public high school, and due to my personal choices, was still relatively sheltered (even in that environment) but when you are around thousands of people each day (as my high school was easily over 1000 people) you have a much greater appreciation for how different people can be in different situations. 

Too often I feel that Christians get into this "Christian bubble" where the only exposure to non-Christians comes through attempts to evangelize/share the Gospel, and as a result have no real understanding for the different situations many people are in, who are not Christians.

There is not really a good way to 'teach' that save straight up exposure, and yes it's "dangerous" to some extent, but it is also crucial to understanding how the world actually functions - it's great for us to be idealistic and want to change the world, but part of that comes with knowing what the world is.  Most everyone I have met who is or has been homeschooled simply misses a lot of how reality works and I think that there is a strong tie to living in that Christian bubble.

[Linda]

This is my 24th year of being a homeschool mom. I'm really tired.

I'm tired of the socialization question. I'm tired of being stereotyped. I feel sad for my kids who have to put up with those questions and accusations. I'm tired of always feeling like I have something to prove (like my kids are brilliant, or their education is well rounded, or they have tons of friends).

All homeschools are not equal. All public and private schools are not equal. All worldviews are not equally valid, some are bad. Not all socialization is good.

[askingquestionsaboutGCI]

This is my 24th year of being a homeschool mom. I'm really tired.

I'm tired of the socialization question. I'm tired of being stereotyped. I feel sad for my kids who have to put up with those questions and accusations. I'm tired of always feeling like I have something to prove (like my kids are brilliant, or their education is well rounded, or they have tons of friends).

All homeschools are not equal. All public and private schools are not equal. All worldviews are not equally valid, some are bad. Not all socialization is good.

Thank you, my friend --I'm pushing 18 or 19 years of homeschooling (so long, I've forgotten when I started!!) and I could've written your post myself. My oldest daughter will be graduating from community college in 2 weeks, with a 3.9 something GPA, Phi Theta Kappa, honors program, etc.  Yet, in a class this year, when the kids were supposed to introduce themselves and tell something about themselves, and she mentioned she'd been homeschooled, one of the kids actually said, "You mean, like, you can actually READ??"  My daughter, with her sharp wit and sharper tongue, snapped back, "Yup, and I've read Shakespeare, Chaucer, Beowulf, Pride and Prejudice and a bunch of other "stuff" you've probably never THOUGHT about reading!!"  That ended THAT discussion!!

[MidnightRider]

A couple of times our family has gone to "Home School Day" at Six Flags Over Texas. Amazingly, the home school kids were able to get in lines and wait their turn for the rides. How could they have learned to get in line, if they did not go to public schools?   

[Huldah]

CB, if you want to go back to college, I really hope you'll do it. Speaking as a Christian and a creationist, I'm convinced that there can be a wonderful richness in being exposed to other viewpoints. There's great advantage, not to mention satisfaction, in the formal discipline of working your way through a subject all the way from 101 courses to the advanced levels. One of my great regrets in life is that I abandoned my college education due to GC influence. Please don't let that happen to you.

[steelgirl]

If used for good I think it is the best education out there. If used for evil it is the worst!

Good point. I think it all comes down to a simple question, what does this individual child need? this is the strength of home schooling right, small class size individualized education? My math education left much to be desired, I was convinced that I just couldn't do math. I went to a community collage for two years and put off math until the last semester. than I found the simplest class I could. That Is how I met the best teacher I have ever had. She taught me math and I loved it! I thought I was crazy! Math was my favorite class! (I got an A in the class of course)

I still wish my parents would have put us in High School however. I think it was the original plan but my older brother fell in with the wrong crowd. It was too much of a bad influence.

I agree with holly, I think home schooling can be done well. I turned out fine socially (I think?)... anyway I know that we were too sheltered to receive any kind of balanced education.

Do you think your parents made a mistake with your education in high school?  Were you able to get involved with any extra curricular activities?  Were they involved with coops or anything like that?

BTW, I don't know why the Hell I went to the church I did as long as I did.  I let a discipler who did not have even a 2 yr education ask why I have the major I have.  Hell with the fact I have a Bachelors of Art and made honors society while this individual barely made it through schoo.  I just could not find my way and the fact I did not have a certain job like you were supposed to, unless you were in ministry.    Perhaps those experiences have made it hard to get adjusted to other churches.