consumed by our own struggles in
home education. Do not get me wrong;
the task before us is difficult. We must
work hard every day. However, our
friends in other countries have a much
harder road to travel as they face prosecution and persecution. Will you and
your family join me in praying for our
brothers and sisters around the world?
The trip also renewed my mission and
vision for the education of my own children and the children that I tutor weekly.
I have always emphasized the in-depth
study of history and philosophy. Too
often, American Christians do not have
an understanding of the origin of ideas
that have shaped the culture. Our visit to
Germany was a reminder that ideas truly
do have consequences. For many years, I
have read and discussed the philosophies
of Marx, Nietzsche, and other German
thinkers. It was enlightening to see how
their ideas have been lived out and embodied by certain countries, particularly
in the high level of state control over the
lives of individuals. It was a good reminder to press on helping students to recognize these ideas and their consequences.
I hope many of us will begin to train our
children to think deeply about the thinkers and ideas that shape societies and
to learn lessons from history about the
consequences of those ideas. (One excellent resource for older children is R. C.
Sproul’s The Consequence of Ideas.) I want
my children to study the governments
that have been in place throughout the
history of the world so that they can truly
evaluate the best forms of ruling people.
However, they cannot stop at the surface
level; they need to understand the ideas
that informed these governments. In my
United States History classes, we re-open
the discussions of the Founding Fathers
as they constructed the Constitution.
At the surface, we can analyze the parts
of the Constitution and understand the
branches of government and checks and
balances. As students grow older, though,
they must understand the philosophies
that informed these discussions. For example, consider these questions that we
discuss in class: “Why did the Founding Fathers have such faith that a minimalist, written document would form
a stable government?” “What was their
view of man?” In Patriot’s History of the
United States, co-author Larry Schwei-kart argues that “the debate was genuine;
it was about important ideas, and men
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
took positions not for what they gained
financially but for what they saw as the
truth” (120). Like every important debate
in history, these men were discussing im-
portant ideas.
Through compassion,
fellowship, and prayer,
we grew in unity.
anything, but expected to do the best
thing, did these principles germinate.”
(xxiv) As we train up the next generation of home educating families and as
we support those who are attempting to
homeschool in nations that are less free,
we have to ask ourselves some difficult
questions: Are we raising a generation
in which our children are expected to do
the best thing, even if there is no immediate benefit to themselves? Can we train
them to make hard decisions that may
involve sacrifice in order to protect and
nurture the generations that will come
after them? Have we trained them to recognize the ideas that underlie the laws of
nations and to know the consequences
that will result from these ideas?
The truth is that struggles for freedom
have always been hard. It is hard to win
liberty, and it is hard to protect it. Ameri-
can history tells this story about the
Constitution. After the Constitutional
Convention, a woman asked Benjamin
Franklin what kind of government had
been set up for the new nation. His reply:
“A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”
Our trip to Germany reminded me of
the difficulties of protecting liberties. So
often, it is all too easy to submit to the
prevailing cultural ideas and to allow oth-
ers to make decisions for us and provide
services for us. I pray that we will train
up a generation who will understand the
blessings of freedom and who will work
hard to protect liberty. I pray that we will
band together to support all of those who
are already struggling to earn their free-
doms. Will you join me?
Leigh A. Bortins is author of the recently
published book The Core: Teaching Your
Child the Foundations of Classical Education. In addition, Ms. Bortins is the founder
and CEO of Classical Conversations, Inc.
and host of the weekly radio show, Leigh! At
Lunch. She lectures about the importance
of home education nationwide. She lives
with her family in West End, North Carolina. To learn more, visit her website, www
. classicalconversations.com, or her blog,
www.1SmartMama.com.
