What Makes You Think You Can Teach Your Own Children?
Dr. Ray will first ask "Should you teach your own children?" then proceed to help his audience answer the question which is the title of this message. Brian will use Christian thought, his experience as a long-time home education father of eight children, ideas from the education profession, and research to stimulate, challenge, and encourage both veteran and novice educators.
Isolationism or Teaching Them When They Lie, Sit, Rise, and Walk?
Dr. Ray confronts both the critics of home education and home educators who may need to revise their reasons for home educating their children. He deals with myths about home education, traces some historical events in American education, considers biblical guidelines for raising children, and sprinkles in research findings about homeschooling. In the end, novice and veteran home educators should be challenged, encouraged, and refreshed.
Current Research on Homeschooling: Homeschooling Works and Increases Liberty
In spite of what logic and professional educators might tell you, homeschooling works. Even parents with only a high school education and low incomes help their children excel with home-based education. Dr. Ray, one of the world’s leading homeschool researchers, makes this engaging and fact-filled presentation as he reviews research on homeschooling and documents the findings of his own multiple studies. Resoundingly, research shows positive outcomes (e.g., academic achievement and social development) from home education. Learn about homeschooling and inform others. Dr. Ray will put in a few thoughts on liberty, too.
Nurture and Admonition Not Pain and Provocation
You want your children to be the best in academics, spirituality, and physical health. You also want to have godly compassion for your children. In striving to lead his wife and eight children to "greatness," however, Brian has found that he can fall into the sin of provoking them. He'll use scripture and experience to address the way to combine high expectations with justice, mercy, and love. Especially for fathers.
Be Honest: Who Should Be Educating Your Children?
Dr. Ray explores scripture, the state of government-run education, the origins of public schools, research on homeschooling, and personal experience to answer the question, "Who Should Be Educating Your Children?" He boldly challenges every Christian parent to face the idea that perhaps home-based education is the "default setting" that God has designed for the education of children. Dr. Ray, one of the world's leading homeschool researchers and homeschooling father of eight children, calls and warns parents to not be a stumbling block in their children's lives (Matthew 18:6).
Swimming Upstream: The Water Gets Clearer
Many parents finally fall prey to their own insecurities and critics' darts when their children reach age 14 (and sometimes much earlier). They consider abandoning home-based and home-guided education. The cacophonous voices of professionals, generations of institutional schooling, "public" school giveaways and enticements, personal misperceptions of reality, and the world's opinion about what is important muddy the waters. Getting closer to the source - the headwaters - brings refreshment and clarity to vision and action. Dr. Ray focuses on key educational goals and philosophy (biblical), research findings, the importance of separating the state from education, and homeschooling for the long term in order to reap the harvest of its excellent fruits.
Home Educated and Now Adults: Were the Criticisms True or False?
Dr. Ray's major new study examines the lives of 7,306 adults from across the United States who were homeschooled. This research, a long time in the making, focuses on these adults' general demographics, attitudes toward their own home-school experience, and success in life. Success was evaluated with respect to civic, social, educational, employment, and worldview traits. In many ways, they are very "normal". On the other hand, they are remarkably different than the general U.S. population. Generally speaking, the findings defuse many of the long-held negative criticisms of those who doubted homeschooling's benefits, whether practiced in the U.S. or other nations. And the findings will likely be a great encouragement to those parents and advocates of home-based education over the past two decades.
The Power of Homeschool Research: What It Tells Us and How to Use It
Dr. Ray provides a brief summary of homeschool research to date and explains current projects and trends. He explains that scholarly writing and research are powerful tools used by both friends and foes of parent-led education, that they should be guided by clear goals and theory that are based on sound values, and suggests where they should be headed.
When a Free Lunch Isn't Free: Public School Homeschool Programs
Lures abound to sidetrack homeschooling parents. One is the fast-growing nationwide promise of "free," state-run, "home" school programs to "help" you educate your children. Dr. Ray will challenge you to consider the paramount importance of who should be in authority over what is taught to the minds and hearts of children. Related to tax-funded programs, there are (1) subtle and negative practical consequences of enrolling your children in them, (2) serious problems from the perspective of a liberty-loving republic such as the United States, and (3) contradictions to a biblical worldview that demands parents and private associations be the main educators of children. Dr. Ray is convinced this is one of the most urgent issues with which homeschoolers should grapple during the next several years.
Beware of Free Lunches
"I'm from the government schools and I have some 'free' curriculum, computers, and programs for you." Does this make you jump for glee, or does it make your hair on the back of your neck start to twinge? Every Christian needs to consider the principles of scripture and what makes a liberty-loving nation succeed before accepting such "free" services of handouts. The spreading practice of charter schools, virtual schools, and other permutations of state-run schooling-at-home that is marketed to current and perspective homeschoolers is one of the most serious issues facing the parent-led home-based education movement in America. Dr. Ray will challenge you to go deeper and face the realities of what and why you believe and do what you do as you model courageous living for your children and adult peers.
Are You About to Be Co-opted? Separating School and State
It is of paramount importance for everyone to consider who should be in authority over what is taught in the minds and hearts of children. Both the concept of a democratic republic such as the United States and a Judeo-Christian worldview demand that parents and private associations be the only educators. Dr. Ray will challenge you to think through this issue and provide you with information and insight to help you promote the concept of the separation of school and state. This has emerged as one of the most important issues with which homeschoolers must grapple during the early 2000s: Hi, we are the local government school district and we are here to help you, to give you a free education for your children at home. Does this positively grab you and comfort you that now all your money and self-doubt worries are over? Or does it send shivers up your spine with visions of Big Brother?
Educational Authority: Where Should It Reside?
It is crucial to decide who holds the authority over children’s education (i.e., discipleship). Dr. Ray helps you examine scripture and history to establish principled thinking. You are then presented with enticing ideas that suggest parents cannot provide a good education for their children. The effects of state-run (public) education, private education, and home-based education are weighed before Dr. Ray explicates what should be the default setting regarding children’s education and the state’s role in it.
Loving and Leading (with Betsy Ray)
Husbands and fathers, it is time to love and lead now. Like Christ loves the church. Wives and mothers, it is time to love your husband as God has declared. Nurture and admonish your children but do not provoke them. Is all of this possible? Yes. But what can you do? Brian and Betsy will give you pointed challenges, down-to-earth examples, laughter, and practical ideas to see your marriage grow from glory to glory in God’s good and exciting will. They will help and encourage you with scripture, their experiences, and what they have learned during 30 years of marriage and the upbringing of eight children.
Who Am I? Identity Determines Strength
Ever feel lost, wandering, ineffective, or downright wimpy? Ever wonder where your roots really go? Only if you know who you are and where you are going can you be the most successful and effective in life. If you do not know these things, life will be milquetoast at best and tragic at worst. Face a few big questions with Brian and Betsy and hear some practical, biblically-based suggestions. Aimed especially at youth, but for people of all ages, single or married.
So Now He’s A Teenager: Why Continue To Homeschool?
Many parents finally fall prey to their own insecurities and critics’ darts when their children reach age 14 (and sometimes much earlier). They consider abandoning home-based and parent-guided education. The cacophonous voices of the world’s opinion about what is important muddy the waters. Getting closer to the source — the headwaters — brings refreshment and clarity to vision and action. Dr. Ray focuses on key educational goals and philosophy (biblical), research findings, the importance of separating the state from education, and personal experience to inform, encourage, and rally parents’ spirits and harden their resolve to continue homeschooling for the long term in order to reap the harvest of its excellent fruits.
What is Your Vision? Where have we been and where are we going?
From where does the homeschooling movement come? What are its precursors and motivators? Key events? Further, what are the movement’s – and your – vision for the future? Dr. Ray will give a very quick history of about 6,000 years of education/schooling then slow down for the modern parent-led homebased education movement. Christians need to take history seriously so that they can move ahead with a strong foundation, vision, effectiveness, and grace and avoiding mistakes and slumps with their families and homeschool organizations into the next decade. Many realize that you really do not know where you are going until you understand where you have come from. Come and be challenged by Dr. Ray about both.
Attacking Homeschooling without Basis
Attacks on homeschooling by academics and elites who influence policy and public opinion have been rising. Their angst is in the air. Homeschool leaders need to be equipped and prepared. Dr. Ray will lay an empirical foundation based on research to date, including his latest nationwide study. He will then move into what the academics and elites are saying and writing, whether they have any empirical basis for their claims, and how homeschool leaders might respond. Dr. Ray’s solutions are evidence-, experience-, and philosophy-based and will provide solid confidence.
Free at Last! God’s Freedom in Home Education
You diligently home educate your children, but many voices (including within the homeschool community) tell you and your friends why you should be doing it and how to do it. (“It’s Method X or Curriculum Y and, if not, you are “on the wrong path”!) And many of these voices are disconcerting, not building unity with the King of your home-based discipleship efforts. This session will explore the interrelationships between the basic reasons for homeschooling, the freedom we have in Christ, our attitudes, our choices, and our practices as we teach our children. It will tackle the expectations and messages of the world that may still have deep roots in our and others’ home education paradigms. May the Spirit free us at last, and help us spread the message of liberty in Christ.
Common Core Crisis
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