A Reading Mother's "Retirement"?
Now that my youngest has graduated, what does a Reading Mother's "retirement" after more than a quarter-century of home education look like? From where I stand today, it looks more like a second career . . . or two . . . or more. What I thought all those years ago was my sacrifice for my children’s sake has also turned out to be the beginning of a lifetime education for my own. Here's a quick peek at what's coming up for me.
A Dream-Come-True Master's Program
For years, I have dreamed of pursuing a graduate degree in the liberal arts. I knew I wanted a Christian focus, and a deep dive into the classics of the Western tradition. Over the past ten years, I did lots of research into various graduate programs, knowing that an online program would be my only realistic option, given my family and church responsibilities. Though there were plenty of online programs for a Masters in Education, there was a dearth of programs for a Master of Arts that provided actual content. Then, one day in the Fall of 2017, probably when I was procrastinating on a looming deadline, I idly searched once again. This time, a Master of Arts in Christian and Classical Studies at Knox Theological Seminary appeared as if by magic. I eagerly devoured every page of the website and quickly emailed several trusted friends and mentors for their thoughts on the program. Their response was uniformly positive. Within a few months, and with more than a little fear and trembling, I was beginning my first classes after a 35+ year hiatus from higher education. As a bonus, my newest daughter-in-law decided to join me! The program has exceeded my expectations, and I regularly pinch myself to make sure that this is not just a dream. For the first year, Emily and I completed one three-credit course every term (eight weeks), and that was quite enough to keep me busy. But in the fall, I decided I wanted to try to complete my degree by the end of the following summer. With my Advisor's approval, I am now doing three three-credit classes this term and next, then two three-credit classes for each of the summer terms. Perhaps it is a little insane, but I love being a full-time student—it could become a serious addiction. (Pray for me - and especially for my family!) The pursuit of graduate studies is certainly a personal aspiration, but more than that, it is borne of my desire to equip covenant children through a Christian classical education, to fit them—mind, soul, and heart—for their place in the Kingdom, which in turn will fit them to lead and shape their culture and society. Which leads to the next thing . . .
A Christian Classical School
About seven or eight years ago with a group of dear friends, I started Providence Prep, a local classical home education co-op. It has been a great blessing to our family and to many in the community. My own self-education flourished as I worked hard to stay ahead of my students in the literature and history and English and Latin classes, and as I worked on creating a comprehensive K-12 curriculum in my role as Director of Curriculum. My three younger kids were students, with two of them completing the entire four-year Great Books sequence and all the Latin and English Studies classes that were available to them at the time. My son taught a Latin class there as a Patrick Henry College intern, and my daughter has done (and is currently doing) the same for English Studies and Literature. This kind of a community is an outstanding option for home educating families, and we remain big supporters!Yet we also began to realize that many students (and their parents!) really needed a more comprehensive Christian classical education experience. So my family and I began to dream of providing such an alternative for local high school students, and Loudoun Classical School is the result. For a long time, it was just my daughter and me dreaming, scheming, and meeting weekly to come up with scenarios and curriculum plans and other important components. In the past month, the Lord has graciously brought together an amazing Board of Directors, including several Patrick Henry College faculty, who are picking up all the strands that we could not grasp on our own. Our Community Informational Meeting is coming up very soon, and we are looking at opening our doors for the 2019-2020 academic year with a collegiate-model junior high/high school. Our students will meet on campus three days each week, and work at home on school assignments under their parents' supervision on the other two days.In light of all this, I've already been asked if this means I am moving away from my encouragement for and advocacy of home education? The short answer is that I am . . .
(Not) Leaving Home Education Behind
I would not trade our years of home education for anything, and I remain grateful for all the ways that the Lord has used our successes—and our failures—as home educating parents. I remain absolutely firm in my conviction that it is the duty and privilege of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. I have always understood that this responsibility does not necessarily mean that an education completely at home is going to work for every family—or every student. Even in the early years when I had a lot of little ones at home, and we did not "do" co-ops or even very many out-of-the-house weekly gatherings, we did seek out like-minded families and employed plenty of online classes for our teens. As our younger kids got older, we did enjoy the community and accountability provided in our weekly co-op. Teaching there helped me to see the benefits to all kinds of students—and their moms. Three important reasons for considering a small community of like-minded learners, especially in the jr. high and high school years, began to come into focus for me:
Vocation
Dr. Gene Veith writes, "Vocation is the way God works through human beings to govern His creation and to bestow His gifts." The doctrine of vocation is a blessing in the Christian life and in the Christian community. Though I believe that most parents are capable of providing a good education at home for their children in this day and age, not every parent is called to the vocation of home educator, and not all students are best served by being at home for all of their schooling. I have seen first hand the great benefits to students of sitting under teachers who, in the words of Dr. George Grant, "love what they love in front of their students," especially in those disciplines where my love was somewhat lacking.
Community
Learning in community with like-minded classmates is valuable. We certainly saw that first-hand as well, for all of our children. This community can certainly be provided within the family, especially among those that embrace Morning Time; it can also be provided with online classes. I am grateful that our family benefited from both! And yet, there is something irreplaceable about a physical community, living and working in the same place and space. I think my Wendell Berry reading has had the biggest influence on my thinking here.
Covenant
This actually comes out of my thinking on the previous two points. Over the years, as my vocation of teaching has been confirmed by my experience, I have begun to realize that it is not just a privilege, but a responsibility to my church and community to offer my gifts and service to assist other families who do not feel called to home school, but still long for the opportunity to direct the education of their children. The prevailing cultural winds have made public school a very challenging option for most Christian families to navigate. As the ranks of "retired" home educating parents grows, it is my prayer that the Lord will use this army to provide an affordable alternative.
What About Morning Time?
I have written extensively in praise of the practice of Morning Time, even encouraged keeping it up until the day your students graduate. All of that still stands. One reason that I love the idea of a collegiate model school is that it still leaves two days for students to study at home. We will absolutely encourage our families at LCS to practice Morning Time on those two days, and furthermore, to do their best to have a read-aloud time in the evenings whenever possible, as well as taking advantages of any time the family gathers to share a poem, or a song, or a brief recitation. In some ways, it may be that Morning Time will become more of a priority and a not-to-be missed feature of those days since it is necessarily limited.
The Bend in the Road
If you had asked me ten years ago, or five years ago, or maybe even a year and a half ago, what I would be doing at this point, I would likely have sketched a different path. Like my dearest of dear old friends, Anne, I have come to a “bend in the road,” and like Anne, I am delighting in the expectation of what waits ’round that bend:
. . . It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes—what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows—what new landscapes—what new beauties—what curves and hills and valleys further on. – L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
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