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Project Encourages Home Educators to Mentor New Home-Schooling Families

by Jim Brown
October 11, 2005

(AgapePress) - An effort is under way to bring one million additional children into home education over the next five to seven years. The campaign, launched by Exodus Mandate, is called "Homeschooling Family-to-Family" (HFTF).

Exodus Mandate was founded by Bible teacher and retired Army chaplain E. Ray Moore, Jr., to encourage and assist Christian families to leave government schools in favor of Christian schools or home education. The ministry is now asking experienced home schoolers to share their heart for home education by offering to mentor families they know into home schooling their own children.

A designer of HFTF, author Bruce Shortt, says the project targets people who have expressed interest in home schooling but are afraid to get started. "What we're suggesting is that we become, in a sense, a little bit more evangelical as home schoolers," he says. "When those conversations come along, what we need to do is reach out to these people and come alongside them and say, 'Come on, you can do this. We can do it together.'

Short encourages those parents with home-schooling experience to let those considering home education know that help is available. These mentors can let uninitiated parents know, for instance, "We'll help you figure out what to do with curriculum, and we'll take you over to meet the folks in the co-op and the local home-school support associations," he says.

By joining a home-schooling co-op or network, the families gain access to numerous resources, the HFTF designer points out. "Those resources range from the academic to the spiritual," he says. "And, as I like to tell people, we all have rough days. It certainly helps to have a network of people that you know who've been through it all, who've had similar problems, and who can give you encouragement and, in some cases, solutions."

"Homeschooling Family-to-Family" has been endorsed by several national home=schooling groups, including the National Black Home Educators Resource Association and the Home School Legal Defense Association. Shortt hopes the HFTF campaign will ignite a renewed spirit of evangelism for Christian education in the hearts of experienced home schoolers.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.

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(My Note:  If I had small children today, I would strongly consider either a private Christian school or homeschooling. My lack of money would probably mean homeschooling. The parents of today must remain constantly informed about what our children are being taught in public schools.)

Praise God for those that lead the little ones in the ways of the Lord.

The more corrupt and anti-christian our public schools become the more important it will be for children to be in private or home schools. Many schools are already so corrupt that children are being lead away from God and into the evil things of this world.

I strongly recommend that parents look into exactly what their children are being taught (which is hard to do with some public schools as they tend to be secretive about it) and look into private or home schools.

Hello Pastor Roger,

Brother, you are completely correct that it might be difficult to keep up with what children are taught in public schools. I am well informed about elementary schools in my city only because my wife is an elementary school teacher. I really don't know what it would take for average parents to stay informed these days. It would not be sufficient to simply talk to your children, especially the younger children.

I would assume that the quality of information obtained by asking officials of the school about the curriculum would be a matter of luck and cooperation. I really don't know what information schools are required to give parents when they ask. I do know that legislation in many states is beginning to address required information to parents and options for certain classes that Christian parents would object to. A recent case indicates that the ACLU is pushing mandatory sex education and pro-alternative lifestyles classes without parental notification and/or in spite of parental objections to the teaching. Most Christian parents will refuse to let this happen. I would note that it is a mistake for Christian parents to believe this battle won't be coming to their state or city.

Love in Christ,
Tom

Psalms 119:105 NASB  Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Amen. It is spreading at a rate faster than most people realise and organizations such as the ACLU, CAIR and many of the homosexual support organizations are making it happen that much quicker.