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Avoiding Burnout in Homeschooling
By Israel Wayne
Has your decision to homeschool your children ever left you feeling
tired, overwhelmed or stressed out? As a student who was
homeschooled (my family began homeschooling in 1978), I have learned
a few things and over the years about how to avoid burnout in your
homeschool.
One of the most common reasons for weariness and frustration among
homeschooling parents is the weight of self-inflicted deadlines and
standards. It is good, of course, to have goals in mind, but we must
always ask ourselves: "Am I seeking to do the Lord's will, or am I
merely pursuing my own agenda?"
As Christian families, we need to view homeschooling not as a
glorious end, in and of itself, but rather as a means to an end. The
main goal is to raise children who love the Lord, and are committed
to following Christ. It is not to produce robots that can recite
random facts and data at the drop of a hat.
What a child knows is really insignificant compared to what he or
she believes. We must move beyond facts to convictions. It is vital
that our children know:
1. What they believe.
2. Why their beliefs are true.
3. How to articulate their beliefs.
4. How to live their beliefs consistently.
Getting the right answers on a test is meaningless unless a child
knows how to apply those truths to everyday life. Non-applicable
knowledge is worthless. As parents, we want our children to excel
academically, and homeschoolers usually do. Our main motivation for
homeschooling, however, should not be academic prowess. Instead, we
should "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these (including academic) things will be added to us." (Matt. 6:33)
We should always stay focused on our long-term goals, but we must
consistently follow the leading of the Spirit. Why are we
homeschooling? Our main objective should be to fulfill our God-given
obligation to "train up our children in the way they should go." (Prov.
22:6) Psalm 78, Deuteronomy 6 and 11 and many other passages stress
the importance of teaching God's laws to our children.
What is the purpose of an education? God's primary reasons for
commanding you to teach your own children are to:
1) Enable God to purify you (the parent), as you allow the fire and
pressure of the homeschool setting to make you into pure gold.
2) To help your children know and love Him, and become prepared to
serve Him.
God desires for us to have close family relationships, and He uses
the process of family discipleship to develop Godly character in
both the children and the parents. God has established and He
designed parents to be the primary influences in shaping their
children's values. Parents can't expect to receive a Godly harvest
unless they labor during the planting.
We must learn to view home education as a lifestyle decision, and
not merely an academic alternative. Use every available moment to
teach eternal principles. Developing a Biblical worldview in
children is not something that happens by accident. It is taught by
formal instruction and caught by the Godly example of the parents.
By keeping in mind that we are homeschooling because we want to
raise children who love Jesus, we won't be so frustrated if our
child doesn’t understand Phonics or Chemistry. I've seen some
mothers become so frustrated by their inability to communicate math
facts that they scream at their children and throw books! In trying
to teach academics, are we achieving our ultimate goal of developing
Godly character? Nothing is so important that it overrides our
relationships with God and each other.
It is also easy to get caught up in the busyness of activities,
running our children here and there, and over-committing ourselves
into panic. Are all the programs we are involved in bringing us
closer to God and each other, or are they mostly wearing us out? We
may need to recalibrate our compass. What does God expect of us?
"He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires
of you. To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."
(Micah 6:8)
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep
His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Ec. 12:13)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and
your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
(Gal. 6:2)
If we focus on teaching eternal principles, and developing
Christ-like character in our children, we will have academic success
as a natural result of our obedience to God. We should not merely
teach our children what to believe, but show them why our beliefs
are true. They should be able to determine, from the principles in
Scripture, what is good and what is evil. They should recognize
absolute truths and be able to reason from a Biblical worldview.
By keeping obedience to God as our primary reason for homeschooling,
we will have the flexibility to change our educational approaches,
relax in the face of deadlines, and put family relationships above
SAT scores. We can have a joyful, peaceful, loving family and still
achieve an academic standard superior to the world; but we must keep
Christ as the focus and avoid humanistic expectations.
Israel Wayne was home educated and currently serves as Marketing
Director for the national publication Home School Digest. He is the
author of the book, Homeschooling From A Biblical Worldview, and a
book on preparing for marriage (co-written with his wife), published
by Wisdom’s Gate, and site editor for
www.ChristianWorldview.net
Israel and his wife Brook (also a homeschool graduate) and reside in
Michigan with their five young children. Write to: Wisdom's Gate,
P.O. Box 374, Covert, MI 49043. 1-800-343-1943,
www.HomeSchoolDigest.com
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