Long-Term Consequences of Choosing Home Education: Choices (Part 12)

Categories: Choices, Léo’s Insights 2022-2023

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Let me mention two important advantages and long-term consequences of learning at home. Remember, there are always exceptions so keep the words “should”, “could” and “usually” in mind.

The first advantage of home education is improved family dynamics. Siblings who grow up together become each other’s best friends. While there will always be contests between children and with parents, especially as children go through the transitional “teen” years, the default remains a strong loyalty to the family unit. Children who are allowed to be comfortable with who they are at home will be more likely to value the individuality of others, especially those nearest them. Educating at home is time well spent especially when considering the word love is best spelled T-I-M-E.

As the family grows, learns and matures, the time invested into it pays dividends. The old “nothing in equals nothing out” adage gets flipped on its head as time spent together as a family pays back in multiples. Eventually, as time marches the children out the door and into their own world as adults, they come back as life-long friends.

The second consequence of home education I want to discuss is the critical thinking skills most students develop as a consequence of being allowed and encouraged to question what they see and hear. Let me tell you another story to make my point.

When I met him many years ago, my good friend, the legendary Ted Byfield, was losing hope for the future of Canada. He had seen a few movements to save this country come and go, and he was not nat all impressed with the caliber of students being pumped out of the public school system. That is until he met me and became increasingly aware of the benefits and products of home education. Later on, he confided in me that his lost hope for the future of this nation had been restored, and he based his newly found faith on what he was seeing as the results of home education.

Good parents actually teach their children to question everything they are told. This is especially true when the family goes through daily living together where things can be discussed and reassessed. This, of course, will eventually come back to bite the parents as the children will try this specialized skill on them. Those bite marks are badges of honour as the parents see their children grow up questioning and evaluating everything in their personal search for truth.

Ted was right. While the masses are being trained to be obedient and dependent slaves, the home educated are being raised to be responsible and to take positive action when necessary. This is called leadership and we can, as Ted Byfield believed, take solace in the fact that there is a hope for our future as home educated students are trained to think in terms of the big picture rather than immediate self-gratification.

There you have it. Family and independent, thinking citizens. Let’s pray we see a societal return to those two values which stand out as excellent reasons to home educate.

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