38;January-February;2014;•;His;Joyful;Homeschooler;www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
“My;Dad;and;My;Hero,” “My;Prayer;Place,” and;“A;Mother’s Love,”;were;just;a;few
of;the;essay;titles;that;I;was;privileged;to
read;when;I;taught;a;high;school;English
class for our local homeschool group,
when my children were teenagers. In
addition to studying classical litera-
ture,;grammar,;and;sentence;structure,
my;students;were;assigned;four;essays
a;year.;While;some;of;my;students;were
experienced writers, others had little
writing;experience.;However,;I;was;al-
ways;blessed;by;the;essays;they;wrote
because;in;them;I;saw;teenagers;who,
despite their struggles to gain iden-
tity;and;independence,;were;trying;to
learn;how;to;honor;their;parents.;I;read
about;their;efforts;to;maintain;a;walk
with;the;Lord;in;a;world;that;vied;for
their;attention;every;minute,;and;about
their;unique;fight;to;view;the;world;of
their impending adulthood through
a different lens than many of their
peers.;They;were;teens;who,;although
far;from;perfect,;were;truly;striving;to
honor their parents and glorify their
God. And so they wrote about their
siblings with love and affection; they
wrote;about;their;parents;with;honor
and respect; and they wrote about a
faith;that;was;real.;They;had;character
and integrity, and it came out in the
papers;they;wrote.;Even;those;students
who;had;not;mastered;good;sentence
structure;and;grammar;and;had;limi-
ted use of vocabulary and expressive
language were good writers because
they;had;good;things;to;say.
Jesus;teaches;in;Luke;6: 45;“A good man
out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil
man out of the evil treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speak-eth.”;I;think;the;same;could;be;said;for
the;pen;or;keyboard.;And;while;a;writer
may;be;able;to;deceive;his;reader;for;a
short;time,;writing;is;a;product;of;the
mind and;heart.;Good;thoughts,;noble
thoughts, and honest thoughts cannot
consistently;be;produced;by;a;writer;or
a;student;who;is;not;first;striving;to;be
good,;noble,;and;honest.
As;parents,;there;is;much;we;can;do;to
help;our;children;become;skilled;writers.
We;can;increase;their;vocabulary;by;read-ing;to;them;and;giving;them;good;books
to enjoy throughout their childhood.
Raising;a;Writer
We;cannot;create;good;writers;until;we;help
mold;our;children;into;good;people.
