children get every course listed
on college applications and
putting such pressure on their
children. I personally think this is
not necessary.
Whatever has taken place
before a child is around 14 years
old has provided a foundation for
his education—and no amount of
stressing or stuffing is going to
change the academic future of a
child. By this time, his academic
appetites have been set. If he
shows a propensity to being
academic, then he will continue
to be. If he is a non-academic
type, putting the child into
another school is not going to
make him academic.
Clay and I decided that if it
was God’s will for our family to
travel and speak and minister to
people that it also was God’s will
for our children to do that. It
meant we could not cover every
course required on a college
application. But since we had
entered the homeschool journey
by faith, we decided to continue
our high school years by faith—
believing that God would provide
for them. I was pretty loose with our high
school years and let the kids do a lot of self-study, read a lot of books, do some (just a
little bit) of math. We gave our kids the
computer program to prepare them for SAT
and ACT tests. Then, a few days before they
took their SAT tests, we hired a math tutor
to coach them. They both scored well above
the 90th percentile overall and were offered
scholarships from numerous places.
All children are different. I don’t offer
our story as a standard but as an encouragement. One great Christian college
offered our son Joel a scholarship even
before he applied. He had attended an open
house weekend sponsored by the college
and had “happened” to sit next to the registrar. The man took a liking to Joel. Our son
soon received a letter in the mail offering
him a presidential scholarship—before he
had even finished the application! So, the
bottom line is, don’t let fear prevent you
from keeping your children at home during
the high school years. God will be faithful.
Depend on Him!
I do think, however, it is in the high school
years that a mom becomes weary and thinks
that someone else can do a better job. We
standing that decisions come
with consequences.
There are many other options
for high school that can take
pressure off the mom. Online
courses offer every kind of
science, math, and other upper-grade courses. Many junior
colleges accept students who are
15 years old. The same high
school math and science courses
can be taken at a local junior
college, and the student can earn
credit for further college.
Sally Clarkson
have known a lot of kids who went to high
school, both pubic and private, and left
their morals and spiritual training behind.
At this season of life, kids want to be loved
and accepted by their peers.
Homeschooling kids going into high school
can find an uphill road to walk. The image
of homeschoolers is often so extreme, and a
child has to bend over backwards to prove
he or she doesn’t fit the mold of a person’s
image of a typical homeschooler. This
creates much undue peer pressure for our
homeschooled children. I don’t think most
parents have any clue how immoral,
corrupt, and tempting the environment is in
most public schools. The pressure to
conform is very strong.
God tells us not to cause our children
to stumble, yet I think many a child has
stumbled when he or she was put back
into public school. Each family must seek
God and base any decision they make for
their children on wisdom, counsel, and
Biblical input. God can work through
many different situations, but we must not
make these decisions without under-
TOS: That information is revolutionizing for me as I work to
equip my own daughter for life
after high school. One of the
blessings I have found from
homeschooling is the friendship
that develops as our children
grow. How can we as parents
continue to guide our emerging
adults and also enjoy the fellowship that comes as they grow to
adulthood?
SALLY: During the high school
years, I had a growing feeling
that my children did not want to
be “mommied” any more. They
responded to me when I treated them as
emerging adults. It doesn’t mean they
always acted like adults, but Clay and I
sought to treat them as such. I began to
systematically spend alone time with each
of my older children. Making time for
them by having them in for a cup of
coffee, hot chocolate, or tea in my
bedroom just to talk or taking them out for
breakfast or coffee became a habit that I
still keep today. It gives us time to develop
a relationship, and it gives me bridges into
their hearts. Parents of high school and
college kids must stay engaged and be
aware of what is going on in their children’s lives; that has been some of the
most wonderful friendship and discipleship time I have had.
TOS: That is such good advice, especially
for some of us with large families.
However, I have seen many families start
to lose their teenagers to worldliness, I
think often because the teens don’t feel a
part of something bigger than themselves.
How can we keep teens’ hearts and yet
allow them some opportunities to develop
their own vision for the future?
