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My 1000th Post and thoughts on #kidmin Community

8 Comments / May 16, 2011

After 4 years of blogging I finally hit my 1000th post. Ha! A full year after my good friend Kenny. I just want to thank all of you who have joined me in the conversation. I am really looking forward to the next few years. I say this all the time. I started blogging to […]

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YouTube Friday: Davis/Poole Highlight Reel

2 Comments / May 13, 2011

Here is my latest wedding video I edited.

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Elements of Kidmin worship.

8 Comments / May 11, 2011

I talked to Yancy briefly tonight about worship and the huge role it plays in what we do. We often talk about curriculum and what we teach as we should but I’m not sure if we discuss the importance of teaching our kids how to enter into worship. Here is what we do and why

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YouTube Friday: Why Men Don't Help In Kids Church

41 Comments / May 6, 2011

I am doing a big push over the next couple of weeks to get men to help out in Uptown over the summer. Even as a man myself I find it difficult to get men to want to help, most of the kids pastors I talk to experience the same thing. Who do I blame? The devil?

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Homeschool, Public School, Christian School: Conclusion

28 Comments / May 5, 2011

Before I went to the Orange conference I wrote a series of blog posts talking about why I think you should and should not send your kids to Christian, Public or Home School. I know a few people were offended by some of my posts, I never intended to be offensive in any way, my goal was

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4 reasons I WOULD send my kid to Christian School

9 Comments / April 25, 2011

Here are my reasons to send your kids to Christian School 1. Other Godly examples – One of the things I remember best from my years in Christian School was the teachers that taught me. Most Christian schools don’t pay their teachers a lot as a result the people who do teach are very passionate

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4 reasons NOT to send your kids to Christian School.

11 Comments / April 25, 2011

Here are my reasons why you shouldn’t send your kids to Christian school. 1. Price – Let’s face it. Money makes a difference. I don’t begrudge Christian Schools charging what they charge because they get no funds from the Government. It just makes it more difficult to pull off. It is hard enough to pay

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4 Reasons to Homeschool your kids.

11 Comments / April 21, 2011

Here are my reasons to homeschool your kids. 1. No one can love your kids like you – There are few things on earth that exemplify the love God has for us like the love a parent has for a child. All other loves, grow, have a starting point and to some degree are earned.

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4 reasons NOT to Homeschool your kids.

30 Comments / April 21, 2011

Here are my reasons for why you shouldn’t homeschool your kids. 1. Limited exposure – I know some homeschool people see this as a plus I would say it’s a negative it is very easy to be exclusive and introverted. One of the problems of surrounding yourself and your kids with people who think the

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30 responses to “4 reasons NOT to Homeschool your kids.”

Dean Butterfield

April 21, 2011

Gotta say first off that I disagree totally with the issues you've brought up with why not to homeschool – they simply do not fly any more. But, the reason I'm commenting is to give voice to why we home educate…

For us, it's about discipleship. We feel that b/c God has called us to disciple our children (not the church, not other folks), we need to spend as much time as possible with them to ensure they become fully, committed disciples of Christ. It's not about a need to shelter from the bad liberals and humanists out there – though that is a side benefit 🙂 – but about modeling how we see Jesus spent time with the disciples while training them to bring about the Kingdom of God after he would leave.

Home schooling provides, for us, the best way to see that happen. Now granted, some folks will say "Yes, it's about discipleship – and I want them to be salt and light in the world." The problem with that is that 1) kids are not being salt and light, but are being drug down into sin and humanism (see the research by Barna and others) and 2) Jesus didn't send His disciples into the world by themselves, he sent them in groups of 2 or 3.

As you can tell, I'm pretty passionate about this – and that passion often comes across as angry or belittling. And while of course that is not my intention – otherwise I'd be a big jerk – I just want to be a voice for why MOST parents home educate.

Great set of posts to get people talking and thinking. This is something the church should be talking and I have appreciated the somewhat balanced view Sam has presented…

*These comments are solely my own and not representative of any organization I work for.*

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 21, 2011
  
  Dean here is a response I wrote over at CMConnect.
  
  It is not my goal to be offensive. Some of the people closest to me homeschool their kids. I have also had some homeschool families think less of me as a pastor and parent because I don't homeschool our kids (at this time). I would homeschool my kids in a second if I felt that was best.
  
  I also wrote why you SHOULD homeschool your kids wich will go live at 11am EST My goal with these posts is to get people thinking and talking. I don't think there is one right way to school your kids but these are some of the things my wife and I worked through as we thinking and praying where to send our kids to school. I found little out there that was honest and helpful. People tend to be biased toward what they did and what they do.
  
  I agree with your bottom line. There is no one-size-fits all. We need to ask hard questions and pray hard prayers our kids are worth it.
  
  Reply
  1. Dean Butterfield
    
    April 21, 2011
    
    I didn't get offended….but lots of people do on both sides when this issue is brought up. Agree that most of the stuff out there simply expounds on their beliefs, that is likely b/c (like me) they feel the decision they make for their kids is one that we hope others would make as well. [We wouldn't choose it if we didn't think it was best for us AND others.]
    
    That being said, I found the "Disciple Like Jesus" and "Visionary Parenting" books present a Biblical case for discipling kids and homeschooling. They are both worth the reads…
    
    Thanks for all you are doing for kids and families Sam!! Keep up the good work…
    
    Reply
kptnken

April 21, 2011

I couldn't agree more. Thanks for posting this. As someone who has seen homeschooled kids in real life. Some can be a little scary. Your image at the beginning is spot on.

Reply
Dean Butterfield

April 21, 2011

Gotta say first off that I disagree totally with the issues you've brought up with why not to homeschool – they simply do not fly any more. But, the reason I'm commenting is to give voice to why we home educate…

For us, it's about discipleship. We feel that b/c God has called us to disciple our children (not the church, not other folks), we need to spend as much time as possible with them to ensure they become fully, committed disciples of Christ. It's not about a need to shelter from the bad liberals and humanists out there – though that is a side benefit 🙂 – but about modeling how we see Jesus spent time with the disciples while training them to bring about the Kingdom of God after he would leave.

Home schooling provides, for us, the best way to see that happen. Now granted, some folks will say "Yes, it's about discipleship – and I want them to be salt and light in the world." The problem with that is that 1) kids are not being salt and light, but are being drug down into sin and humanism (see the research by Barna and others) and 2) Jesus didn't send His disciples into the world by themselves, he sent them in groups of 2 or 3.

As you can tell, I'm pretty passionate about this – and that passion often comes across as angry or belittling. And while of course that is not my intention – otherwise I'd be a big jerk – I just want to be a voice for why MOST parents home educate.

Great set of posts to get people talking and thinking. This is something the church should be talking and I have appreciated the somewhat balanced view Sam has presented…

*These comments are solely my own and not representative of any organization I work for.*

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 21, 2011
  
  Dean here is a response I wrote over at CMConnect.
  
  It is not my goal to be offensive. Some of the people closest to me homeschool their kids. I have also had some homeschool families think less of me as a pastor and parent because I don't homeschool our kids (at this time). I would homeschool my kids in a second if I felt that was best.
  
  I also wrote why you SHOULD homeschool your kids wich will go live at 11am EST My goal with these posts is to get people thinking and talking. I don't think there is one right way to school your kids but these are some of the things my wife and I worked through as we thinking and praying where to send our kids to school. I found little out there that was honest and helpful. People tend to be biased toward what they did and what they do.
  
  I agree with your bottom line. There is no one-size-fits all. We need to ask hard questions and pray hard prayers our kids are worth it.
  
  Reply
  1. Dean Butterfield
    
    April 21, 2011
    
    I didn't get offended….but lots of people do on both sides when this issue is brought up. Agree that most of the stuff out there simply expounds on their beliefs, that is likely b/c (like me) they feel the decision they make for their kids is one that we hope others would make as well. [We wouldn't choose it if we didn't think it was best for us AND others.]
    
    That being said, I found the "Disciple Like Jesus" and "Visionary Parenting" books present a Biblical case for discipling kids and homeschooling. They are both worth the reads…
    
    Thanks for all you are doing for kids and families Sam!! Keep up the good work…
    
    Reply
kptnken

April 21, 2011

I couldn't agree more. Thanks for posting this. As someone who has seen homeschooled kids in real life. Some can be a little scary. Your image at the beginning is spot on.

Reply
Laurie

April 22, 2011

I think your reasons not to homeschool address one type of homeschooler but that is a very limited group. I totally get what you are saying about that few but many of us, maybe most of us, are active in our churches, communities and other groups. Through those activities/groups we have lots of adult who are speaking into our kids lives and in often much more real ways than a school could. I do know both sides as my husband is a public school teacher and each of our 3 kids have found their own way in and out of school, charter schools, online schools and traditionally homeschooled all the way through. It is not an either or but through knowing your children and much prayer making the best choice for each individual child. Thank God that we have those choices here! Don't lump us all into one category 😉

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 22, 2011
  
  I am not anti homeschool at all. I just think that before you make any decision to school your children however you feel you are supposed to you need to weigh the pro's and the con's that what I have tried to help with and why I posted these blog posts. I plan on covering Christian school on Monday.
  
  Reply
Hannah

April 22, 2011

Here's my take on the things you've brought up, as a homeschooling family and as your friend.
Limited Exp: Kids learn about other beliefs but in context of Christianty. In recent times we've had a lot of family question their faith or ditch their faith & so this conversation of why mom and dad believe what we do is ongoing, all the time being discussed and answered. Aren't these the most impressionable times in life? Kids are wet cement. As foster parents our kids have had an immense amount of exposure we would have preferred to delay a bit and so we've fielded all sorts of questions about teen pregnancy, marriage, drugs and alcohol, sex abuse and rape – all with kids 9 and under.Your kids are blessed to have parents to come home to and sort their questions but I, in public highschool, did not.
Weirdness – eh, the weird ones always stick out in a crowd. Most homeschoolers I know, you wouldn't be able to pick out in a crowd, except because maybe they'd walk up and start a conversation, with you, an adult.

Reply
Hannah

April 22, 2011

Teaching -I had erasers thrown at me in biology class, what is with that? We figure we'll take it one year at a time and as long as we stay one lesson ahead of our kids, we're good. Also, with Al Gore's lovely invention here of the internet, there is really no way that we can't find a resource to teach whatever needs to be taught. And spell check. Gotta love spell check. As far as official data goes, kids taught at home excel academically against their pub. school peers.
Other voices – good thing about choosing homeschooling is you get to select who the other voices are. In school a few of my teachers were sleeping w each othr or students. Our kids are blessed to have people like you who speak into their lives on the weekend and want to see them succeed, neighbors who have them over and reiterate the values we wish for them and other parents who do the same.

Sean and I couldn't love you guys more if you chose to homeschool your kiddos but we would be awfully happy for your family. Thanks for all you do, Sam. (And if you want to know reasons *why* you shouldn't homeschool, you should ask people who homeschool. 😉

Reply
Laurie

April 22, 2011

I think your reasons not to homeschool address one type of homeschooler but that is a very limited group. I totally get what you are saying about that few but many of us, maybe most of us, are active in our churches, communities and other groups. Through those activities/groups we have lots of adult who are speaking into our kids lives and in often much more real ways than a school could. I do know both sides as my husband is a public school teacher and each of our 3 kids have found their own way in and out of school, charter schools, online schools and traditionally homeschooled all the way through. It is not an either or but through knowing your children and much prayer making the best choice for each individual child. Thank God that we have those choices here! Don't lump us all into one category 😉

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 22, 2011
  
  I am not anti homeschool at all. I just think that before you make any decision to school your children however you feel you are supposed to you need to weigh the pro's and the con's that what I have tried to help with and why I posted these blog posts. I plan on covering Christian school on Monday.
  
  Reply
Hannah

April 22, 2011

Here's my take on the things you've brought up, as a homeschooling family and as your friend.
Limited Exp: Kids learn about other beliefs but in context of Christianty. In recent times we've had a lot of family question their faith or ditch their faith & so this conversation of why mom and dad believe what we do is ongoing, all the time being discussed and answered. Aren't these the most impressionable times in life? Kids are wet cement. As foster parents our kids have had an immense amount of exposure we would have preferred to delay a bit and so we've fielded all sorts of questions about teen pregnancy, marriage, drugs and alcohol, sex abuse and rape – all with kids 9 and under.Your kids are blessed to have parents to come home to and sort their questions but I, in public highschool, did not.
Weirdness – eh, the weird ones always stick out in a crowd. Most homeschoolers I know, you wouldn't be able to pick out in a crowd, except because maybe they'd walk up and start a conversation, with you, an adult.

Reply
Hannah

April 22, 2011

Teaching -I had erasers thrown at me in biology class, what is with that? We figure we'll take it one year at a time and as long as we stay one lesson ahead of our kids, we're good. Also, with Al Gore's lovely invention here of the internet, there is really no way that we can't find a resource to teach whatever needs to be taught. And spell check. Gotta love spell check. As far as official data goes, kids taught at home excel academically against their pub. school peers.
Other voices – good thing about choosing homeschooling is you get to select who the other voices are. In school a few of my teachers were sleeping w each othr or students. Our kids are blessed to have people like you who speak into their lives on the weekend and want to see them succeed, neighbors who have them over and reiterate the values we wish for them and other parents who do the same.

Sean and I couldn't love you guys more if you chose to homeschool your kiddos but we would be awfully happy for your family. Thanks for all you do, Sam. (And if you want to know reasons *why* you shouldn't homeschool, you should ask people who homeschool. 😉

Reply
jbirt2

April 22, 2011

I can totally see these points as valid…sometimes and in certain situations. One issue I would address is the "weirdness" factor. I went to public school and we had plenty of weird kids there (self included), so the corollary to your thesis, "if I send my kid to public school, they will be 'normal' " does not hold any water. What's more, 'normal' public school kids have difficulty adjusting to real life and college because they have been in a bubble of their own. Homeschool can be its own bubble, but it doesn't have to be, To be honest, my experience with "normal" high school graduates (I teach college freshmen and sophomores) makes me shake my head. Usually the homeschooled kids are initially reserved, but then begin to thrive in college, especially compared to their PS peers.

The most important thing for any student, more important than IQ or income bracket, PS or HS, is parental involvement. If you assume the school is doing a good job and back off your child's education (and I am sure I am preaching to the choir here), that is the worst decision you can make.

Reply
jbirt2

April 23, 2011

I can totally see these points as valid…sometimes and in certain situations. One issue I would address is the "weirdness" factor. I went to public school and we had plenty of weird kids there (self included), so the corollary to your thesis, "if I send my kid to public school, they will be 'normal' " does not hold any water. What's more, 'normal' public school kids have difficulty adjusting to real life and college because they have been in a bubble of their own. Homeschool can be its own bubble, but it doesn't have to be, To be honest, my experience with "normal" high school graduates (I teach college freshmen and sophomores) makes me shake my head. Usually the homeschooled kids are initially reserved, but then begin to thrive in college, especially compared to their PS peers.

The most important thing for any student, more important than IQ or income bracket, PS or HS, is parental involvement. If you assume the school is doing a good job and back off your child's education (and I am sure I am preaching to the choir here), that is the worst decision you can make.

Reply
Henry Zonio

April 25, 2011

Again, I appreciate you posting your thoughts on both sides of the different school choices out there. I think with me, one reason to not homeschool is what I would call the "fear factor." We chose to homeschool our kids this past year out of necessity because of moving and such. Our daughters decided to go back to school, and we are finishing out the year homeschooling my son… but I digress. As I've interacted with different people in the homeschooling world, I've found that while the issues you bring up can be overcome… there has been one overarching theme that I hear from homeschoolers… they have a fear of their kids getting a bad education or bad influences or something else. It just seems that the decision to homeschool is made first out of fear. I'm not saying that this is true of all homeschoolers.

Reply
Henry Zonio

April 25, 2011

Again, I appreciate you posting your thoughts on both sides of the different school choices out there. I think with me, one reason to not homeschool is what I would call the "fear factor." We chose to homeschool our kids this past year out of necessity because of moving and such. Our daughters decided to go back to school, and we are finishing out the year homeschooling my son… but I digress. As I've interacted with different people in the homeschooling world, I've found that while the issues you bring up can be overcome… there has been one overarching theme that I hear from homeschoolers… they have a fear of their kids getting a bad education or bad influences or something else. It just seems that the decision to homeschool is made first out of fear. I'm not saying that this is true of all homeschoolers.

Reply
Jesse Smith

April 26, 2011

Sam, I agree with Henry that I appreciate that you are trying to present both sides and give an equal voice. However (isn't there always some nice way of saying forget that I just complemented you before I go on a rant…), I think that by highlighting the stereotypes of the 'bad' you are doing a great disservice to the same thing that you are trying to promote.
I realize that you have also posted why you should – but I am certain that people who read this and think "yep" may never even give the next post a look. I think you would have been far better served to ask a home school parent to post about reasons not to home school, at least then the offensiveness would have been mitigated or not even an issue, but as it is, it sounds like you are talking from an in which you know very little….and that is very unlike the rest of your blog.

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 27, 2011
  
  Jesse,
  
  These are not scientific findings just the the pro's and con's I came up with that helped my wife and I come up with reasons as to where we should send our kids. Every option has strengths and weaknesses. They may not apply to your situation but growing up and pastoring for 14 years I have seen all kinds. I am not trying to be offensive to Homeschool, Public School or Christian School. Just help Parents think through their decisions so they can be informed and make the best decision possible.
  
  Hope that helps. Thanks for your comment.
  
  sam
  
  Reply
Jesse Smith

April 27, 2011

Sam, I agree with Henry that I appreciate that you are trying to present both sides and give an equal voice. However (isn't there always some nice way of saying forget that I just complemented you before I go on a rant…), I think that by highlighting the stereotypes of the 'bad' you are doing a great disservice to the same thing that you are trying to promote.
I realize that you have also posted why you should – but I am certain that people who read this and think "yep" may never even give the next post a look. I think you would have been far better served to ask a home school parent to post about reasons not to home school, at least then the offensiveness would have been mitigated or not even an issue, but as it is, it sounds like you are talking from an in which you know very little….and that is very unlike the rest of your blog.

Reply
1. samluce
  
  April 27, 2011
  
  Jesse,
  
  These are not scientific findings just the the pro's and con's I came up with that helped my wife and I come up with reasons as to where we should send our kids. Every option has strengths and weaknesses. They may not apply to your situation but growing up and pastoring for 14 years I have seen all kinds. I am not trying to be offensive to Homeschool, Public School or Christian School. Just help Parents think through their decisions so they can be informed and make the best decision possible.
  
  Hope that helps. Thanks for your comment.
  
  sam
  
  Reply
4 Reasons to Homeschool your kids. - samluce.com

December 29, 2012

[…] 4 Reasons you should NOT homeschool your kids. […]

Reply
Betsy

March 28, 2013

Both these articles are great, and I love the discussion you’ve created!

I was home-schooled K-12 and my husband went to private school (with you, I think!). The bottom line is each family has to make decisions for their own family based on their own reasons. As a home-schooled individual, I find many of your “stereotypes” of home-schoolers have merit. As a parent of two public school children, I find your public school “stereotypes” also have merit. Does each bullet point apply to each child in each category? No. Of course not. But stereotypes exist for a reason.

Every parent wants to do what’s right and best by their children. We need to all stop being defensive and judgmental of each other when what’s right for another family doesn’t fit our own ideal of “right”. Parents have a difficult enough job! There is no one right way to educate all children. Remembering that God created each child fearfully and wonderfully in His image, but as an individual who shouldn’t conform to a certain one-size-fits-all mold is a lesson I think we all can remember!

Reply
1. samluce
  
  March 28, 2013
  
  Betsy,
  
  Thanks for your comment I agree. The goal of these posts was to get parents to 1. Find out what God wants for me to do for each child each year. 2. No matter what you pick you must be involved as a parent. 3. Do not be dogmatic about whatever path you choose.
  
  Reply
Teryn

March 4, 2014

I appreciate your discussion of all sides. Schooling has been such a hard decision for me in part because I know that each method has advantages and disadvantages. As a homeschooling mom one thing I really agree with you about is your idea of “weirdness.” I feel that many people who commented on that didn’t get your point. You were not saying kids are weird because they don’t know about pop culture. What I heard is a warning of the self righteous attitude that can happen when we see ourselves as better than parents that make other choices. That attitude can isolate kids and families be very harmful.

Reply
1. samluce
  
  March 4, 2014
  
  Teryn, Absolutely. Why you do something matters. Our inability to connect with others comes from a lack of humility the gospel provides not from knowing the words to a Jayz song or who stars on Glee. Great comment
  
  Reply
Annika Jones

February 8, 2016

This is literally the most irrelevant article I’ve ever read. I’ve gone to public school my whole life and I’m still an exclusive and introverted person! Being surrounded and exposed to other groups of people doesn’t always make you open up and become less shy, it’s a personality type. I know some homeschooled kids who are more sociable than I am. And weirdness…? Boy, delete this. You’re taking on a viewpoint of a limited group of homeschooled kids. This article makes no sense.

Reply