by Connie Earl Robertson

Created on: July 21, 2009   Last Updated: July 25, 2009

Homeschoolers are being prepared to face the "real" world as they grow up in a family surrounded by love, acceptance and security. Living in a place where they are free to learn uninhibited by the peer pressure that would surround them in a school situation allows them to develop the characteristics they need. The basic requirements to be a success in the "real" world are the ability to think for themselves, the ability to take responsibility and the ability to find solutions to the problems they encounter.

Does homeschooling present the opportunity for children to develop the ability to think for themselves? In a school setting the children are delivered "canned" lessons. The teacher studies and prepares the lesson and then according to the knowledge that they have attained on the subject, they dish it out to the children. On the other hand many homeschoolers learn to investigate subjects, they are free to question and search out answers without being forced to stick within the time frame of a particular subject or class. They are free to determine what they like or don't like without the pressure of peers telling them what to accept or not to accept.

The traditional school set-up teaches children to think like their teachers. After all they only learn what the teacher knows. It teaches them to act, think and dress like their peers because if they don't, they aren't included in the group, they are bullied or simply left to the sidelines. When our oldest daughter was just eight years old, we put her in a Christian school for the first time. She had a pair of shoes that she just loved. I didn't care for them and would never have worn them, but to her they were the best. The first morning she wore them to school some of the children began to make fun of her. She looked them in the eyes and said, "It doesn't matter if you like them or not because you don't have to wear them. I like them and I am going to wear them." Those two simple statements ended the struggle and she wore her shoes the rest of the school year without another problem. She had learned to think for herself by being homeschooled.

Homeschooling teaches children to take responsibility. A homeschooling mother cannot teach the children, clean the house, care for the younger children and cook the meals all by herself. It is physically impossible. If she is a wise mother, she will delegate responsibility to her children according to their ages. In our home we take a break in

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