A Hot Mess

I'm going to ramble for a moment about the North Carolina ruling from yesterday, regarding homeschooling. I apologize that my thoughts aren't very organized, I wrote this in a hurry.

Oh how easy it must be as parents to take your arguments to the courts. Eric and I have had many heated discussions over our kids' education. They're not fun. But it's what you do when you have children together. You lock yourselves into a room and you don't come out until you've reached a decision, or someone is dead. That's what you sign up for when you sow and/or receive Irish Cream. You don't get to go whining to the court system. You do the hard work, and once you've done that hard work, your marriage moves up to the next level of maturity.

Now I realize this case is more than homeschooling. It's a divorce and custody proceeding, in which the husband has committed adultery. I'm sure the proceedings are ugly. And I'm sure that has a lot more to do with how this situation is playing out than if it were purely a matter of education.

The courts in this country have no right to decide upon an educational path for children. Period.

But I do have one complaint. Homeschoolers, like Pro-Life advocates, too often shoot themselves in the foot by bringing religion into the argument way too soon and way too often. There are plenty of valid scientific reasons to support life beginning at conception, and there are hundreds of excellent reasons to homeschool that don't involve religious beliefs. You turn people off to both causes when you spout religious cliches as your defense.

I'm not saying that religious beliefs aren't valid. I'm saying that they don't get you very far. You have to know your audience, especially if you're put in a public situation. Educate yourself, so that when needed, you are able to defend yourself in any situation with eloquence, conviction and grace.

I am a Christian woman who homeschools. But I don't homeschool for religious reasons. I homeschool because the public school system in this country is absolutely worthless and I can provide my children with a private school quality education at a much lower cost.

And I'm very proud of the battle scars that Eric and I have, and will continue to accrue, over the education of our kids. They prove that we have accepted the responsibility that comes with parenting, and that we don't need the government to decide things for us.

Don't let the government deny you of accumulating battle scars. Otherwise your lily white unmarked skin will mark you as the yellow-bellied wimp that you are.