What Kind of Homeschool Teacher Are You?

Rosemary Vincent, probably in her fifties at the time, was my science teacher in the seventh and eighth grades. Although she made science interesting, at the time she was my not my favorite teacher. She made us "toe the line." It was no problem for her to handle our class of 34 students who eventually graduated from eighth grade. She demanded good behavior, insisted that we learn great quantities of facts and ideas, and quizzed and tested us constantly to make sure that we were learning what she told us to learn. Although not a Christian, she required that we bear the yoke and expected us to obey them that have the rule over you. Lam. 3:27 Heb. 13:17 Mrs. Vincent's attitude toward us was, "This is what we are doing, this is how we will do it, and this is what you will be required to know when we finish. There are no options given, no excuses allowed, and no arguments accepted."

Mrs. Vincent believed that the teacher was the expert, and she taught us what we were to learn. We didn't get to "discover and learn on our own." But, we were children, and even though this was back in the 60's and discipline was more severe, our foolishness was alive and well. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. Prov. 18:2 Acting the part of the fool, we had no delight in understanding, and we were experts at discovering ourselves- thinking of those things that just might please our fleshly nature. Somehow Mrs. Vincent figured us out every time. We couldn't eat in class, talk to each other, chew gum, go to the bathroom during class, pass notes, or slouch on our hard wooden seats (this really made us suffer, because most of us were very active outdoors and consequently a bit bony). Mrs. Vincent didn't even allow us to vote or voice our opinion on class procedure, to decide which textbook we would use, or to decide what area of science we wanted to study! The classroom wasn't set up as a "coffee house" so that it fit our young teenage desires and so that we felt welcome. Everything seemed against us - she thwarted our every move to make life in science class more bearable.

We actually thought she was unconcerned about us and that she only loved her subject. She was pleasant if we behaved ourselves, but she wasn't syrupy sweet, and she didn't even seem concerned about us if we got light-headed during a dissection (and she gave us no option to escape either). We didn't get to make any choices on our own, and we got nowhere if we went home and complained to our parents. You see, I'm sure we tried our best to twist the truth just a bit so that our parents would call our teacher and "straighten her out" in order to make life a little more bearable for us. Unfortunately, our parents were well pleased with her, and even if not, she was not to be manipulated in this way.

Worst of all, Mrs. Vincent didn't even make an attempt to soothe our tender little feelings by assuring us that, "It won't be hard. This will be fun!" She had no interest in the "sing-along science," which we would have enjoyed, and she had no use for the "slow and steady get me ready" style of material. She was actually rough on us- even forcing us to memorize masses of facts such as the chemical symbols for the elements on the periodic table. This was not a one time occurrence, but she forced us to work hard all year, and she even required science projects! Oh, how most of us hated to study and learn these things! How she tried our patience, denied us our comforts, and refused to let us be lazy!

As I look back, as your children will also do someday, Mrs. Vincent was the best teacher I had in Junior High. Mrs. Vincent, as I see now, was the teacher who loved us the most. It was her love for us which motivated her to prepare us for the difficult "other side of life"- the adult world. This was a life she knew all about, but we didn't have a clue about what was coming and what was to be expected of us as adults. She ran head on into our old nature, and she was victorious. We didn't know (and wouldn't have cared if we had known!) that she was building into us self-discipline, the ability to manage time (through homework and studying for tests), the work ethic (1 Tim. 5:8), study skills, determination, knowledge, and yes, a love for learning!

There is a false idea today that if children have fun while they learn then they will want to learn all their lives. What is wrong with this idea is that what is fun in childhood is usually left in the past. What a child is forced to do habitually is eventually what he enjoys doing as an adult! I've lived over a half century now, and still buy science magazines, get science books out of the library, research scientific topics on the internet, and love learning more about God's creation (although Mrs. Vincent did not tell us it was God's creation). Mrs. Vincent knew what we needed, and although she understood that we would not enjoy it, she knew that forcing us to fight against our own personal "good feelings" was what would make us stronger and more prepared for the adult life.

Today we think it almost cruel to make children learn facts, but that idea is playing right into the devil's court. Those who are ignorant in the area of science (as many Christian adults are) are those who see very little of the power and ability of God through the creation. A dumbed-down population easily falls for the idea of evolution! A dumbed-down population knows so little it must follow someone who "appears" to be wise, like the devil - and someday the world will gladly welcome the rule of the anti-Christ who will seem to have ability, power, and intelligence. (Rev. 13)

Mrs. Vincent helped to prepared me for high school and six years of college. When chemistry came along in high school, I was ready for this advanced learning because I knew the symbols for the important chemical elements and knew some characteristics about them. Without that I would have "gone under." In addition, thanks to my other Junior High teachers, algebra wasn't a desperate struggle because I had been forced to learn all of the multiplication tables (and we didn't even get to use calculators - they hadn't been invented yet). English was bearable because I had already been forced to learn hundreds of rules of grammar. All of the public schools of today promote the religion of humanism (mankind is the god), so education becomes man-centered instead of Christ-centered. The child is a little "god," and his feelings are considered first at the expense of behavior, the teacher, and the things that need to be learned. Hopefully this does not exist in the Christ-centered homeschool!

Copied from ANCIENT LANDMARKS by Gary Maldaner.


Author Info:

For more articles and for books to help children and parents please see our web site. http://www.plainpath.org Gary Maldaner is the Director of Plain Path Publishers, a non-profit ministry established in 1985. His past experience includes teaching for three years in a public school, twelve years in Christian Schools, and homeschooling for ten years. He is the author of Christian Manhood, Christian Character, Christian Leadership, Polite Moments, Ancient Landmarks, What Saith the Scripture, and The Prodigal Son and His Elder Brother.

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