As a homeschooling parent, you've likely had an interaction whereupon another parent finding out that you homeschool they say to you, "I could never teach my own kids!" And we know what they mean by the statement, but it is an interesting response nonetheless.
In our culture, we've come to equate the word teacher with a career in a large classroom of children in a public or private school setting. If someone were to introduce themselves to you as a teacher, this is likely the image that would come to mind.
However, the definition of a teacher is simply... one who teaches. While this includes one that is paid for instruction in an institutional setting, that's not all that this word encompasses. In this article, I want to convey one idea, a reminder really. And it is this: if you are a parent, then you are a teacher.
From the moment your child is born (and even in the womb), he or she is learning from you. Think of all the things that you teach your child before age 5, and all of the ways you facilitate their natural learning processes. Though you are not paid to do this, or even necessarily trained, the role of teacher becomes yours as you pass on your knowledge, skills, and life experience to the little humans placed into your care.
This is all part of God's good and beautiful design for the family. In fact, the ancient Hebrew culture placed very high importance on families and communities over institutions and governing bodies. The primary place of instruction and training for life and godliness was in the home; truth and morality were passed down from generation to generation.
So while the sentiment, "I could never teach my own kids" is not ill-intended, it is I believe misinformed because of how we've come to view education and learning in our culture. Parents are led to believe that they are not educated or specialized enough to teach their children what they need to succeed academically. And while each parent has their own strengths and weaknesses in the varying academic subjects, no one knows their child better than his or her parents. The most important thing we can teach our children (aside from God's word and salvation in Jesus Christ) is how to learn and to love to learn. We also benefit from living in an age where assistance, resources, and community are more abundant than we could ever need!
The next time you hear a parent say, "I could never teach my own kids", perhaps offer them an encouragement like this: "You've already been such an amazing teacher to them in other areas of life! I think you're more of a teacher than you know."
**Originally written and posted for our homeschool co-op website
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