{I met Carla Ann Coroy through Mentoring Moments for Christian Women. As a fellow homeschooling mom, she was further along in her journey. Carla Ann has the ability to get to the heart of a matter and address it with godly wisdom. I’ve appreciated not only her writings over the years, most of all her friendship. Today I’m sharing an encouraging piece Carla Ann wrote for MMCW dealing with the homeschool standards we set.
Kellie}
As parents we want the best for our children. We want them to be able to go to university, eventually to get a job they love, and to support their families and the growing of God’s Kingdom.
We have twelfth graders in our house this year, and so the questions are flying.
Do they have enough science? Math? How are their essay writing skills? What about electives?
Then the comparing starts. We see what the kids in the local school are doing and evaluate where our kids stand in comparison to them. We buy SAT study books and have them take the exams to find out how they are doing compared to everyone else. As we compare, I find myself floundering. Will my kids have the education they need? Have they done enough?
When comparing our kids to children schooled differently than ours (public to homeschool, homeschool to private, etc.) we will find some who measure up much better than ours. We’ll also find those who make our kids look like geniuses!
Education standards are important, but we need to teach our children to do their best–not to do better than so and so or to get a certain grade on their SATs. The Bible says we need to do everything as if we’re doing it specifically for the Lord Jesus as a gift of worship. That includes math, science, writing, history, and physical education–every course our kids take.
The education standard we need to give our kids is higher than any school board can ever set. God’s standard is one that evaluates not just the marks, but also the heart and motives. If our kids have done their assignments the absolute best they can, with an attitude of worship toward Him, they have met His standard. Even if their marks fall much lower than those of their peers.
As a parent, are you letting your children settle for getting good grades, or even good-enough grades? Or are you training them to aim for God’s standard? How do you suggest we practically do that?
Carla Ann Coroy
I'm a homeschool mom of 4 with a love for learning and developing homeschool community. My vision for Fuel is to be a helpful and encouraging resource in your homeschool.
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