Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76Plough Quarterly • Winter 2015 35 I thank God for the opportu- nity to homeschool my children. I am often asked: Why, when the local schools are so good, do we homeschool? Here are some of our reasons: • We have the freedom to pray, read the Word of God, and discuss spiritual issues with our children as they come up throughout the day. • Our curriculum is highly indi- vidualized. Every child gets one-on-one time with his or her teacher daily. • Our children are not regularly exposed to drugs, alcohol, or sexual promiscuity. When we see it in public we are able to discuss it. • We have opportunities to share our faith with others outside of the pressures of the school culture, with its cliques and bullying. • We learn life skills together. How do you balance a check- book? Mail a package? Do the laundry? Cook? Shop for the best deals? Build a chicken enroll them in better, safer schools. But . . . God calls us to set aside our privilege and truly reside among those who have nothing, following Christ’s model.” The church has not adequately wrestled with the community-wide implications of our private decisions on how to educate our children. Where our children and treasure are, there our hearts will be also. When our hearts, children, and finances are mingled with our neighbors’ to such a degree that we can only win if they win, we are following Christ’s teaching. Because the Christian message is life-chang- ing in its power, and because our country’s children are at stake, let’s acknowledge the prob- lems and respond with infiltration rather than abandonment. Let’s seek not only to raise our own children to know Christ, but to follow him in seeking the redemption and peace of the city, to infuse his creation with salt and light and new life, and to place a light upon a hill. Catherine McNiel serves alongside her husband in a community-based ministry in greater Chicago while caring for three kids, two jobs, and one enormous garden. She is a member of the Redbud Writers Guild. www.catherinemcniel.com coop? Butcher turkeys? All this is part of our classroom. • We have the time to pursue a Christian approach to relation- ships. Reconciliation and love are at the heart of our school day. Character comes first. Historically, homeschooling has been the norm. Jesus would have been primarily taught at home. Most of our country’s founding fathers were home-educated. In fact, only in the last two hundred years have people considered letting the state school their chil- dren. My children have been entrusted to me by God for a short while. Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21 KJV). My kids belong to God, not to the state. That said, we have not forgot- ten the children in our local school system. Nor are we trying to keep apart from the community. We have been involved, as a family, in afterschool programs such as theater groups. The children and C o u n t e r p o i n t Why I Homeschool PA I S L E Y H I L L E G E I S T I sing for residents of a retirement home and hand out food with the local food bank. Being home- schoolers does not mean that we drop out of the world. On the contrary, we’ve found that home- schooling frees our calendar to better serve, and to be involved in ways we never could if we were tied to a public-school schedule. I respect and admire people who involve themselves in the local schools as a part of their ministry and outreach. My husband was a high-school math teacher in the barrios of East LA during the first part of our mar- riage. We met because we both shared a passion for working with the younger brothers and sisters of gang members and introducing them to Jesus. We each walk our own path with Jesus. He may call some to homeschool, some not. But I believe with all my heart that the most powerful good I can bring to my community is to raise my kids in the way that will best help them to become the men and women that God has created them to be. That is why we home- school. Paisley Hillegeist and her husband Jon live in Connecticut and have homeschooled their three chil- dren, ages 14, 11, and 9, from the start.