If you're 100% committed to homeschooling . . .

[jld]

is it, as one poster mentioned, like a commitment to something as sacred as marriage for you?

 

I realize this may make some people laugh, but I do think for some people, homeschooling is as sacred as commitment to their children as marriage is a commitment to their spouses. It clearly goes beyonds academics for some people.

 

If you are one of these people, and you've faced a challenge, say a spouse out of work, a child struggling in a subject, or a serious illness, how did you pull through?

 

I think I'm pretty committed to homeschooling, but if dh lost his job, and I could find one, I think I'd leave the homeschooling to him until he found work. But I think there are moms out there who feel their first obligation is to the children, and they would wait for dh to find work. I respect that kind of commitment, but I don't think I have it. If you do, can you explain it?

[Peela]

My committment is to the kids, and to do what appears to me to be the best thing for them under any circumstances. So far, that has been homeschooling. If it came to any sort of crisis or major life change, I would re-evaluate what would be best for the greater good of the kids, and the family. Homeschooling would take 2nd place to having food on the table, thats for sure.

[Mama Geek]

If dh were out of work and I was the only one able to find work, he would stay home and homeschool.

 

I just can't think of anything that would convince either of us that ps would be better than homeschooling.

[nono]

In our family, my husband is our substitute-teacher anyways. So yeah, I'd work and he could take over my job for awhile. All of it, not just homeschooling. And I'd try really hard not to :smilielol5:at all his complaints at the end of the day. We're likely facing this issue shortly, so I've thought about it a lot.

 

For other circumstances, who knows.

[FO4UR]

I don't think HSing is on par with marriage vows, for me. It is a MAJOR committment in my pov. My reasons do go beyond academics. I think the failings of the ps go far beyond academics.

 

It's not a SACRED committment...but it's a close 2nd behind basic necessities of life.

 

An example of this hard-to-define reason: We went to a Children's Museum yesterday and participated in a little mini-class. My ds7 answered every single question he could, asked every single question that came to his mind. He was excited to share what he knew and learn something new...but he was obviously an annoyance to the teacher.:glare: (who asked me his name so she could shush him LOL) I understand her POV, I really do. I realized I need to work on teaching ds7 not to monopolize classes like that. It's also a BLARING reminder of why a classroom (full-time) would completely stifle him. "Sit down and don't ask genuine questions...but here memorize this list of info b/c it's on the test...and smile for the camera b/c we need to look HAPPY for the advertisements...":glare: Classrooms, by their very nature (having to accomodate multiple kids), are just the antithesis of what I want to give my YOUNG dc.

 

My opinions may change as they grow. fwiw.

[melissel]

I somehow missed seeing that last paragraph, so ignore my original response.

 

Your scenario is one that terrifies me, because I just quit my job to be home with the kids and would just about cut off a limb to avoid going back! If there was any way to avoid my going back to work, including selling our house and moving, I'd do it, because I do feel that strongly about it now. However, DH and I are not quite on the same page there, so the odds are that I'd be going back to work, at least until he found another job. I'd like to think he'd teach the kids, but I just don't know. I'm trying not to think about it too much!

Edited June 12, 2010 by melissel

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Well, it's a lifestyle for us, how we live day-to-day. My husband works at home, I work a couple of days a month and they come with me. We go on vacations when the other kids are in school. I don't believe it's sacred, but it's who we are as a family. It's not just about academics for us; in fact, academics is not one of our top reasons like freedom and family togetherness. I cannot see any reason for us to not homeschool, just like I can't see any reason to buy a TV, move to the city, or anything else that would interfere with our beliefs about how we raise our kids, it's just who we are.

[happyhomemaker25]

My Dh is out of work. Has been for about 18m now. The thought of me heading back into the work force has never even been discussed. I have a job and a commitment right here at home.

We lean on God's promise that He will supply all of our needs. Believe it or not these past 18m would have been more stressful had DH been working. It's like God knew how badly he would need to be home during this season in our lives.

God called us to homeschool. We made the commitment to God so to me it is THAT important.

That being said if God called us in another direction we would follow that as well just as commited.

We both feel that it is for the long haul though so that's what we are preparing and planning for.

And by the way leaning on God's promise has paid off greatly. Not only has he supplied our needs but many, many times something we want will pop up in our budget or some other way.

It has been truly amazing!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Well, just as if dh were unemployed and had go work in another state for awhile, making parts of our marriage take a back-seat, I could see homeschooling having to take a backseat.

 

I've shared before that I'm chronically ill. A couple of years ago, my illness was approaching invalid territory. For the first time ever, I mentioned the possibility of ps to my dh. I was so surprised when dh, who had always been more non-committal to homeschooling, said "no" to ps. He told me that the kids were doing fine and I could put homeschooling on the backburner for awhile while I focused on my health. I stopped homeschooling in November and for the next 2 months I had Dr. appointments and was poked, prodded and dosed. The kids unschooled with lots of books, educational videos, projects etc. I did start to improve. Even though I wasn't totally "well" (and still am not) I was able to resume homeschooling the kids more classically in January. I don't know what we would have done if I hadn't improved at all or had gotten worse.

[Murphy101]

If you are one of these people, and you've faced a challenge, say a spouse out of work, a child struggling in a subject, or a serious illness, how did you pull through?

 

All of the above at various points over the last 10 years of homeschooling. Currently unemployment for the last year.

 

I think I'm pretty committed to homeschooling, but if dh lost his job, and I could find one, I think I'd leave the homeschooling to him until he found work.

 

To me that's a mutual commitment to homeschooling/marriage. We'll do what we have to do to do what is best for our family.

I know some have the view that hsing is women's work, but altho we are happy and prefer me at home, it's not because of gender role issues.

 

Of course, my first obligation is to our family. If what they need to continue homeschooling is for me to work and dh to do the hsing, then that's what I'll suck it up and do. I have pretty much zero earning potential after 10 plus years out of the work force, so for us, it's better to wait for dh to get a contract. He just got one after a year, but he hasn't been paid yet. That's another month away. and of course, contract work always ends and then there's the work for the next contract.

[Kathleen in VA]

My Dh is out of work. Has been for about 18m now. The thought of me heading back into the work force has never even been discussed. I have a job and a commitment right here at home.

We lean on God's promise that He will supply all of our needs. Believe it or not these past 18m would have been more stressful had DH been working. It's like God knew how badly he would need to be home during this season in our lives.

God called us to homeschool. We made the commitment to God so to me it is THAT important.

That being said if God called us in another direction we would follow that as well just as commited.

We both feel that it is for the long haul though so that's what we are preparing and planning for.

And by the way leaning on God's promise has paid off greatly. Not only has he supplied our needs but many, many times something we want will pop up in our budget or some other way.

It has been truly amazing!

 

Thankfully, my dh is not out of work, but this is our approach as well. We've always struggled financially, but we believe that God has called us to homeschool and we trust Him to provide for our needs. We, too, have seen our needs supplied in amazing ways through the years.

 

There was a time when dh lost a hefty contract (he cleans doctor's offices at night) and our income was reduced substantially. During that season I was put on bedrest by my OB and dh's presence at home was very much needed. Not long after the baby (Ds13) was born, the doctor who dropped him asked him to please come back - their new cleaner was just not working out. God really does know what we need and He has never failed to provide for us.

[Dawn in OH]

If dh were out of work and I was the only one able to find work, he would stay home and homeschool.

 

I just can't think of anything that would convince either of us that ps would be better than homeschooling.

 

:iagree:

[Kate CA]

is it, as one poster mentioned, like a commitment to something as sacred as marriage for you?

 

I realize this may make some people laugh, but I do think for some people, homeschooling is as sacred as commitment to their children as marriage is a commitment to their spouses. It clearly goes beyonds academics for some people.

 

If you are one of these people, and you've faced a challenge, say a spouse out of work, a child struggling in a subject, or a serious illness, how did you pull through?

 

I think I'm pretty committed to homeschooling, but if dh lost his job, and I could find one, I think I'd leave the homeschooling to him until he found work. But I think there are moms out there who feel their first obligation is to the children, and they would wait for dh to find work. I respect that kind of commitment, but I don't think I have it. If you do, can you explain it?

 

I am 100% committed to homeschooling, but it is not at all on par with my marriage and I don't consider it "sacred." My marriage is a covenant made before God to my husband for life. Homeschooling is a commitment we made to our children because we are called to do it as we feel it is what God asks of us (and it helps that we love it too!)

 

My dh was out of work for 8 months. I work from home part time. By the grace of God we kept going. There isn't another way for us, but we are not all on our own - our Savior is with us every step of the way. :001_smile:

[rookie]

I am 100% commited to hsing through middle school and then open to other possibilities. It is an integral part of our lives but I would not say that it is equal to the marriage commitment.

[Veritaserum]

My committment is to the kids, and to do what appears to me to be the best thing for them under any circumstances. So far, that has been homeschooling. If it came to any sort of crisis or major life change, I would re-evaluate what would be best for the greater good of the kids, and the family. Homeschooling would take 2nd place to having food on the table, thats for sure.

 

:iagree: Dh's income is three times what I could bring in, though, so it would be highly unlikely that we'd swap roles. If he died or became disabled or something, we'd do whatever we needed to do to survive, even if that meant sending the kids to public school.

[LauraGB]

If dh were out of work and I was the only one able to find work, he would stay home and homeschool.

 

I just can't think of anything that would convince either of us that ps would be better than homeschooling.

 

:iagree: Or, more likely, he would assist the dc if they needed it, rather than be the "teacher" for school - dh's gifts lie elsewhere ;). Fortunately, our kids are at a more independent age and can do a lot more studying on their own. Either way, we would work out a schedule to keep them out of ps.

[Embassy]

I think I'm pretty committed to homeschooling, but if dh lost his job, and I could find one, I think I'd leave the homeschooling to him until he found work. But I think there are moms out there who feel their first obligation is to the children, and they would wait for dh to find work. I respect that kind of commitment, but I don't think I have it. If you do, can you explain it?

 

We had a situation somewhat like that. I could have gone and found a job pretty easily. Instead, we moved to a different country where dh found a job.

 

I love teaching my kids. My dh doesn't want to homeschool them. That makes the choice easy.

 

I wouldn't call it sacred or like a marriage though. We have sacrificed much to be able to do it though, but I have no regrets.

[FloridaLisa]

is it, as one poster mentioned, like a commitment to something as sacred as marriage for you?

 

Not at all. Marriage vows are a covenant agreement between two adults. We are homeschooling our dc in obedience to what God lead us to do many years ago.

 

It clearly goes beyonds academics for some people.

 

Homeschooling is much more than academics for us. But it doesn't equate to being sacred or a covenant like marriage vows.

 

Lisa