Home School Dad:

Part I

Home School=family affair. Both Dad and Mom must be committed to home education. However, the committment usually plays out in different ways. Although Mom does most of the actual teaching, Dad supplies the irreplaceable support and backbone. He is the pillar.

Let's turn to the Bible and look at St. Joseph, Jesus' foster-father. Several points are illustrative...and these are just several of the instances in which God shows the importance of both parents.

• Mary, technically, could have borne Jesus by herself. But God chose Joseph to be His Son's earthly father.

• After Mary gave her fiat, the angel sent by God dealt directly with St. Joseph, not Jesus or Mary. He told him (1) to take Mary as his wife, (2) to flee with them to Egypt, (3) to return with them to the Holy Land.

• When Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus in the Temple when he was twelve, Mary asked, "Behold in sorrow thy father and I have been seeking thee." (Luke 2: 48) (my emphasis) She included her husband and, indeed, put him first. Not just good English... she could just as easily have said, "Why have you done this to me? In sorrow, I have been seeking thee."

• Jesus, God Himself, was "subject" to them.

• Joseph immediately and without reservation did as God told him.

• Though assuming awesome responsibilities, not one word of St. Joseph is recorded. He is silent.

If a father can actually teach a class, wonderful! Everyone wins. However, if he can't or won't, don't worry. As long as he provides support and understanding in his own way, all will be well.

For several years, I avoided home school conferences and books. It seemed like all the Moms extolled the virtues of their husbands, who not only taught chemistry and advanced math, but took all the children on extended camping trips to teach them how to live off the land!

I felt miserable. My husband, who is so good-hearted and works so hard to support our family, was not up to anything like that. Then I realized that that was an ideal picture. Hooray for those that it worked for, but it was not for us! Additionally, it is unfair to put someone else's ideas on my family. To make it work, we have to homeschool according to our own situation.

For instance, suppose a man is naturally very quiet. He shows his enthusiasm for homeschooling by building a classroom, painting it as needed, buying copious amounts of school supplies at random times and taking the kid(s) to extra-curricular activities. When asked to help with homeschool discipline, he steps up to the plate and hits a homer. A child/teen understands this is Dad's way of demonstrating support and love, and so does Mom.

In an informal poll of a large Virginia support group, Moms cited needing the help of spouses in three areas which can be summed up as: (1) Support and Encouragement, (2) Discipline, (3) Higher Vision.

Each Dad needs to fulfill these duties in his own way. But fulfill them he must.

Efforts of both home school parents must be constant and consistent because so much is at stake. You are preserving your family, and the family is the essential bedrock of society. It is demanding but noble work. And, as you already know, the rewards, both tangible and intangible, are unimagineable.

Dad's Role: Part II

Art/Craft Gifts for Dad

Discipline Steps I

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