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Home Education: An Excellent Choice
25th Anniversary Celebration: 1986-1987

1986-1987THE MOVEMENT "MOVES"
"The 'Movement' is Moving!" -- announced the headline of the March 1987 HEAV newsletter. And so it was! HEAV president R.L. Adams explained, "The number of inquiries we receive both by mail and by phone is far greater than it has ever been before and support group leaders from around the state are telling us that in their own area they are seeing evidence of tremendous growth." 

Yet homeschoolers were not without opposition. Imagine moving into Virginia from Ohio only to be told (falsely) that there were only "six" homeschool families in the whole state! This is exactly what happened to one home educator.

"She had contacted her local superintendent and was told that Virginia no longer honored the Conscientious Objector status, and she would have to conform to the home-schooling law, being subject, therefore, to their scrutiny and LOTS of paperwork. Moreover, when she asked how many home-educating families there were in Virginia, she was told there were six." - An excerpt from "The Home-Educators Journal" by Priscilla Trice, Roanoke, Virginia. Quoted in the HEAV March 1987 newsletter.

Other families were taken to court for continuing to homeschool as conscientious objectors instead of conforming to the compulsory attendance law. Although the "movement" has continued to "move" to a point where the opposition may have lessened, we need to remember we are still in a battle—a battle for the minds of the next generation. We still need to encourage one another and remain vigilant. The excerpt from Priscilla Trice concludes with these fitting words:

"What can be done? Well, first of all, you can decide that you will help others. Not one of us has very much time, but surely we can all be available to help one or two others who are struggling. Encourage one another. If you don't have time, steer the new or struggling home-schooler to someone who does. I am sure that there are many who decided after the first hard year (who doesn't remember that year!) that it just wasn't worth it, and so didn't stay around to pluck the fruits of their labor. Frustration, discouragement, and just plain loneliness are very real factors here. I don't care how independent home-educators are; we are not immune to those enemies."

H.E.A.V. echoes these words, that we must work together to help each other in our common goal of raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is the purpose of our organization. 

ARTICLE REPRINT: SOCIALIZATION
We thought you would enjoy this article on socialization by Dr. Mary Kay Clark. It first appeared in the May 1986 newsletter.

One of the concerns that many home-schooling parents have is that by keeping their children at home, they are somehow "stunting" their children's social development. After all, isn't it important that children learn how to get along with one another? Yes, it is important, but children don't need to learn this in school. The home is, in fact, the best place for children to learn sociability.

While it is true that a few children have difficulty getting along with others their age, this is not a problem for most children. The real problem is that children do not learn how to get along with anyone but their peers. Seven year olds have no trouble getting along with seven year olds; it is their older brothers and sisters who cause them trouble. In the same way, fifteen year olds have no trouble getting along with fifteen year olds; it is their parents and grandparents, and seven year olds, who cause them trouble.

A school is not the place to learn to "relate" to diverse people. At most schools, since the children in each class are the same age, and all come from the same area and usually the same economic status, there is little diversity. The only diversity that exists is the kind that a Christian parent does not want: some of the students will come from atheistic homes.

In the home, on the other hand, there is a great diversity because of age differences. There are children at all stages of mental, psychological, and spiritual development. Here is where the challenge of Christian brotherhood lies. In school, a child has to get along only with his friends. At home, he must learn patience, understanding, and love, so that he can become part of a society of people unlike himself. In addition, all this goes on in an atmosphere of love, where the child can feel secure.

Sociability is not only tolerance. It is an attitude which flows out of a Christian life. It is the direct result of social virtues, such as honesty, compassion, and integrity. The home is the school of virtue, where the child learns integrity through imitation and practice. Thus, the example of parents is far more likely to lead to sociability than mere forced association.

If school were the only place, however, where a child could learn to get along with others, would it be worth sending a child to school for this? Is sociability so important as to outweigh the drugs, the secularism, and the outright hostility to Christianity which most schools show?

Do we not read in I Peter 2:9 (KJV): "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." How then, can we send a child from this "holy nation" into a school where he will be assaulted by outsiders? Is not salvation more important than socialization? 

ARTICLE REPRINT: WE CHILDREN MUST BE PREPARED
This article, written by eleven-year-old Julie Cutright, first appeared in the April 1986 HEAV newsletter.

I recall my mother in a recent conversation saying, "I believe our children may be martyrs." As unbelievable as it seems, it is a fact that times will get worse towards the end. We children must stand for the right; we must protect our future children from the humanism and globalism of the world. It may cost us our jobs, homes, and property, or it might only mean no popularity. 

We must be prepared; let us take advantage of our Christian home-school situation to learn scripture, listen to parents, study diligently, and gather good values. We must be able to speak articulately and wield the pen valiantly. The future may be difficult, so we must be ready. But remember, "...the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18, KJV).