This put a lot of pressure on me to perfect my college resume. I became somewhat of GPA junkie, doing extra credit whether I needed it or not.

There were clubs I joined, paid dues to, and never attended. Why? Not because I had an interest in the activities, but because I was collecting memberships for my college resume. My obsession led to many sick and sleepless nights, but it was all worth it when I got accepted to a “prestigious” university.

(Make sure you check out the giveaway at the bottom of this post!)

Even with a huge scholarship, my college education was going to cost about $30,000 a year. No big deal. I heard somewhere that college graduates earned a million dollars more over their lifetime. That bit of misinformation had me signing for massive loans with the same hesitation I might have signed a check for lunch.

Even with my above-average GPA and SAT scores, I am ashamed to admit that it took me until my junior year to figured out that college wasn’t adding up. I finally saw passed the sales pitches and slogans, and I no longer felt like a smart college kid; I felt like a sucker. So, do you know what I did?

For the first time in my life, I thought for myself. Heading into my senior year of college, I quit.

People thought I was crazy, and to this day, they still ask if I plan to go back and finish. I am not saying that I haven’t been tempted. Many people esteem degrees and degreed people. In our society it is an automatic qualifier, whether it deserves to be or not.

But I just can’t do it, I’m no longer a believer.

That is not to say that no one should go to college. If you plan to work in a profession that requires a degree, then you have no choice. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is, and so you will have to submit to the system.

Still, before any kid throws a small fortune at college here are some things that they should know:

What Kids Should Know About College

1. True Cost

You have probably noticed that college is outrageously expensive, but you may not be aware of the total cost. On the low end, with room and board, you will pay about $10,000 and on the high end, maybe $60,000 a year. So, the cost of a 4-year degree runs $40,000 to $240,000, right?

Actually, it can be a lot more than that, because there are other costs, hidden costs, that most high schoolers don’t consider.

Unless the 18 year-old graduate has a trust fund, he is going to need a loan. On $40,000 at 6% over a term of 10 years, our college student is going to pay an additional $18,237 in interest. So, the apparent cost just went up nearly 50%! On $240,000 at 6% over 10 years, he will pay an additional $109,423 interest! Ouch!

Then there is the unearned-income cost. For instance, if you devote 8 hours a day, between school and homework, to college, that is 8 hours that you could have been working. If you only made $10 an hour, that’s $1600 a month – $19,200 a year. Multiply that by 4 years and that’s another $76,000 of unearned income that your four year degree is costing you.

Some people will protest that kids could go to college and work. That doesn’t change a thing because they could also take the extra time to work two jobs.

Oh wait, there might be more! Most of the high paying jobs that require degrees, require more than just a 4-year degree.

For instance, if you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, you are going to need to budget for an additional 3 to 4 years. And the bad news is that graduate degrees always cost more money than undergraduate degrees. So again, factor the cost of room and board, the interest on the loans, and the unearned income.

You start adding it all up, and even if you do make that promised million dollars more, you might need it just to break even!

2. Financial Aid:

Financial aid is rarely that at all. It should called financial enslavement, because that is usually what it is. But if you are going to go to college, you need to know the difference between college grants, college loans, and college scholarships.

A grant will cost you nothing – not now anyway. However, before you get all excited about free college money, understand that there is no such thing as “free money.” The federal government collects money from taxpayers and grants it to you, no strings attached right? Wrong.

Once you graduate and have your degree, you will be a taxpayer, forced to fund other students college grant money. And unlike your student loans, you will be on the hook paying for other students’ college grant money for the rest of your working life!

A college loan is not free money either, it is debt that will be paid with interest.

You are selling banks a substantial stake in your future earnings.

And college loans are the worst, and most dangerous loans because there are no qualifications. When you apply for a home loan, the banks look at your debt to income ratio to determine the loan amount. But most college students have no income, and there is no guarantee that they will have the income to cover the loan after they graduate.

Filing for bankruptcy isn’t likely to help you, as students loans are nearly impossible to discharge. Thanks to the low quality of our schools, most high school students don’t know any of this. That’s why banks love to loan to college students, who will sign their life away without any comprehension.

Scholarships are probably kids’ best option. Still don’t get overly excited. If a school offers you a scholarship, they are simply selling you their services at a discounted price. You are still on the hook for the remaining balance. And you aren’t likely to get a full ride scholarship without strings attached.

Say you earn a full ride scholarship to play football. You haven’t won the lottery! The college is simply paying you in educational vouchers, while they reap real monetary benefits. For most college athletes, their sport is a fulltime job.

Between practice, games, travel, meetings, conferences, and workouts, most spend at least 40 hours a week working for the college. Yet, that college rakes in all the sponsorships, advertising, licensing deals, and ticket money.

Subtract the tuition our full-riders save from they money they could earn working a minimum wage job, and most would come out ahead working the minimum wage job!

3. Education or Degree:

Colleges still maintain a monopoly in degrees and certifications, but they are no longer the sole educators. We live in the information age. I swear, anything college can teach you, Youtube can teach you better!

So, unless your chosen profession requires a degree, educate yourself and keep the change! You want to study art? – then take your tuition money and build yourself an art studio. You want to study business? – then take your tuition and use it as startup money. You want to study history? – then take your tuition and travel the ancient world!

Take your tuition money and get an education, not a degree!

4. A Million Dollars More:

Okay, but in the end isn’t it all worth it? I mean, don’t college students earn a million dollars more over their lifetime?

The answer is no.

This rhetoric is closer to a bold-faced lie, than it is to the truth. It is a lie that could only be bought by an uneducated, schooled population, one that is accustomed to swallowing and regurgitating any line thrown their way.

Homeschooling Teens Giveaway!

Homeschooling your teen is an incredible journey—full of discovery, growth, and the beautiful freedom to learn alongside your child in ways that truly matter.

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I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you the Homeschooling Teens Giveaway—one winner will receive a $125 gift card to the store of their choice! Use it for curriculum, resources, or whatever will encourage you most. 

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Click to continue reading Things Kids NEED to Know About College…

The post 7 Things Every Teen NEEDS to Know About College (giveaway) first appeared on True Aim.

What does having a degree mean?
Today, having a degree does not necessarily make you more qualified to teach than someone who doesn’t have one.  The skills you actually possess are the defining factor.  The completion of a list of classes and the required tasks associated with them is not a good measurement.

First, some people can take a class without learning or remembering anything significant.  Remember that French class you took in highschool?  The fact that I took one is the extent of what I can recall.  And did I really need to learn how to speak French?

That leads me to my next question; who decided what essential knowledge is needed to teach?  In most secular institutions, a degree in education starts with child psychology and the study of how children learn.  Again you could question the integrity of the origins of these topics, but that is a whole other story.

In short, most institutions are guided by the notion that there is no God and people have no spirit.  That is how experts look at our children; as animals or biological machines.  They try to put them in a box, categorize them, and label them.

Today, having a degree in education usually means two things; teachers have preconceived notions about the learning process, and two, the prestige a degree carries today may be misleading to both society, and the teacher who holds it.

The Prestige
They have just completed 17+ years of schooling.  They should be confident!  But a lot of the time, they take themselves too seriously.  Because the knowledge and techniques that teachers have gained through their degree is seen as essential, the logical conclusion is that it is the best.

What if the assumptions about how our children learn are wrong?  That means, the techniques and systems used to teach our children would miss their mark.

Parents’ esteem for a degree is also detrimental.  Parents believe “experts” are teaching their children and so, they pass the buck to the “more qualified” individual.  When their child slowly starts to fall behind, they start to point fingers.  They trusted the reputation of a piece of paper signed off by a stranger whom they know nothing of their motive or character.

Even society on the whole believes that the “highly qualified” institutions can do no wrong and instead of trying something different, they insist that funding is the problem.  “The experts just don’t have enough resources,” they say.

Dedication, Care, and Love
Who taught your child to crawl?  Who taught them to walk, speak, and use the toilet?  Who cried the first time they said, “I love you mommy?”

You know your child best.  You should not discount your methods or parenting style simply because you don’t have a certificate.

The stranger who has one is not ordained by God for the job.

God has put the responsibility on you and although everyone is accountable for their own wrong doings, you have to be sure you have done your best.  I am, by no means, discounting the dedication, patience, and love that teachers across this nation give to others’ children.  I am, however, questioning the efficiency and merit of the system and encouraging you to remember; you are your child’s first and best teacher.

Just to boost your confidence here are 10 successful people who don’t have a degree:
1. Micheal Dell – dropped out of college
2. Henry Ford – never graduated high school
3. Bill Gates – dropped out of Harvard, then 30 years later they just gave him a degree.
4. John D. Rockefeller Sr. – no formal college
5. Mark Zuckerburg – college drop out
6. Mary Kay – college drop out
7. Walt Disney – high school drop out
8. Steve Jobs – college drop out
9. Jane Austen – formal schooling until age 11, homeschooled, never attended college
10. Richard Branson – high school dropout

You won’t be able to put this book down!

The post I Could NEVER Homeschool My Children first appeared on True Aim.

Homeschooling should be outlawed…

1.  Because nothing motivates children to learn like a standardized test!

2.  Because if we just spend a little bit more money, public school is bound to work.

3.  Because ignorance is bliss!

4.  Because we’ll never have a level playing field, as long as homeschoolers keep over-achieving!

5.  Because bullies build character!

6.  Because homeschoolers aren’t social; they have little interest in sex, drugs and alcohol.

7.  Because who will authorize bathroom visits?

8.  Because learning to sit down, shut-up, and follow instructions is essential in any democratic society.

9.  Because sure George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln were homeschooled, but just look at Clinton, Bush and Obama!  They all went to school!

10.  Because if students didn’t spend all their time sitting in classes, practicing sports and studying homework, their non-union parents might impact their lives in an unauthorized way.

11.  Because insanity ISN’T doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

12.  Because how else will children learn to raise their hands?

13.  Because it’s the only way governments can ensure children have the freedom to learn… the “official” truth.

14.  Because government schools are doing such a great job!

15.  Because is learning to read really that important?

16.  Because nothing helps children grow into mature adults, like spending all their time with immature children their own age.

17.  Because science is believing “bang” everything came from nothing and “poof” man crawled out of a mud puddle.

18.  Because a student-teacher ratio of 30:1 isn’t crowded – it’s cozy!

19.  Because no one can tie childhood obesity to school lunches and 7 hrs. of sitting.

20.  Because if the Government has to force you to do something, you just know it’s for your own good.

21.  Because Common Core is going to cure everything ailing our schools!

22.  Because teachers have to eat too.

23.  Because teacher unions were created to help kids learn better!

24.  Because God commands schools, not parents, to raise their children in the Lord.  Right?

25.  Because Bibles are overrated anyway.

26.  Because more adults can join the rat race when governments provide “free” babysitting.

27.  Because school is the only way to teach children where babies come from.

28.  Because irresponsible parents can’t be trusted to give their children free condoms and birth control.

29.  Because when Russia, China, and N. Korea have school, it’s indoctrination.  But when we do it, it’s EDUCATION!

30.  Because government bureaucrats care more about our children than we do.

31.  Because gangsters, pot-heads, goths, sluts, jocks, nerds and class-clowns AREN’T socially awkward.

32.  Because nothing prepares a child for the real world, like being excluded from it!

33.  Because medicated children are happy children!

34.  Because parents see energy, while teachers know it’s really ADHD.

35.  Because great leaders like, Hitler, Marx, and Stalin all agree that homeschooling is really bad!

I’m sure this list is incomplete.  So please leave a comment, letting us know what you would add to the list and let me know which reason is your favorite.  If you like this post, please follow us on facebook.  Also, check out The Dumbest Argument Against Homeschooling EVER!

Discover What School is REALLY Doing to Kids

The post 35 Reasons to OUTLAW Homeschooling! first appeared on True Aim.

Well, let me first reassure any doubting parents out there that not only do uneducated, inexperienced, low-budget moms compete with public education, but they out perform it  by radical margins.  The results are the same for private schools, although not quite as drastic.   And don’t think these are rare exceptions.  Regardless of ethnicity, income, and geographic location, homeschool students test better.  These results seem to contradict logic.  How are these under-qualified moms, beating the best efforts of the “professionals?”

The reality is that homeschools are the ideal educational environment.  Whatever advantages large budgets, professional teachers and modern facilities offer, they are quickly neutralized by other more important factors.  Although I could write a book on the advantages of home education, the most important factor is often over-looked.  YOU ARE THEIR MOTHER (or father)!

Why Moms Teach Best

No one will ever love your children like you do.  Their success, is your success.  Their future and your future are one and the same.  You also share genetic and personality traits that help you relate to one another.  And as far as young children are concerned, there is no one that they love more, want to impress more, and trust more, than Mom and Dad.

And no matter how much a teacher cares, that teacher is still a “stranger” in the eyes of your children.  That teacher can never be trusted or loved the way children love and trust their mother and father.  That is because love between parents and children is natural and unconditional.

In fact, no stronger bond exists in the world, than that between a young child and his parents.  Perhaps, that is why God Himself assigned the raising of children, not to villages, but to families.  Therefore, the monumental fact, that you are your children’s mother or father, makes you uniquely over-qualified to homeschool them!

Don’t underestimate yourself.  Just being MOM is more than enough.

Need more reasons you don’t have to worry about teaching your children? Watch our video!

Check out Our Curriculum Store for Homeschool Help!

The post Homeschool Moms are Over-Qualified! first appeared on True Aim.

One of the best ways that I have found to remain positive in regards to homeschooling during the winter is to remind myself of all the reasons why I love homeschooling. In my heart I know that I do love homeschooling, but sometimes my thoughts try to take over and I have to choose to remember why I love homeschooling.

Why I Love Homeschooling My Children

• We homeschool at the pace that is right for our children

We don’t rush through lessons or textbooks just because we have to get it done before we move onto the next grade. If we need to work on fractions for a few weeks to get them down pat, we do. If diagramming correctly is a struggle, we’ll focus on that as long as it takes before we move onto the next thing. Homeschooling is a journey, not a race to complete the lessons by a particular date.

• Our yearly homeschool schedule is year round

We don’t have to try and squeeze 175 days of homeschooling into a 9 month time period. We use all 12 months of the year to homeschool and always go over the 175 days required by our state. Year Round Homeschooling does not mean we homeschool 365 days of the year, it means that we use the entire calendar year to our advantage and homeschool throughout the year taking breaks when we’d like.

• We are making memories

By choosing to homeschool our children, we aren’t just giving them an education, we’re making memories. The first time I heard my son read, it wasn’t just an educational accomplishment, it is a memory that will last my whole life. When my daughter beamed with pride after writing her first storybook, the light in her eyes is a memory I will never forget.

• Our family goes on field trips together

We don’t send our kids off to go on a field trip and wait for them to come home to tell us about it. We go together and learn about the animals in the zoo, take a hike and see amazing views from fire towers and experience learning together!

• We start and end school according to our daily schedule

We don’t wake up our kids to get started with school, they wake up when their bodies have gotten enough sleep. Kids need sleep in order to grow and to learn well, so we ensure they have a consistent bedtime and don’t rush them to get up and moving in the morning.

• Our family learns together

As our children are learning, so are my husband and I. We relearn things that we’ve forgotten from our school days and learn things that we never knew before! Homeschooling truly is an educational journey for the entire family!

• We pick our own homeschool curriculum

Thankfully homeschoolers have the freedom to choose the curriculum they want to use in their homeschool. Sometimes our homeschool curriculum choices change from year to year, so I’m very thankful that we have the choice!

• Our children’s character is part of our homeschool

We don’t just focus on academics in our homeschool. Our children’s character training is just as much a part of their homeschool education as Math, English and Literature.

• We have quality time together as as family

When I worked outside the home, the time we had together as a family was limited. I was stressed and had too much to do while home from work for a few short hours, so having quality time together as a family was nonexistent. It is a true blessing the amount of quality time we have together now as a homeschool family.

• Our children aren’t the only ones growing and learning

It’s amazing, but as I’m homeschooling my children I realize just how much I am growing and learning throughout the process. It isn’t just about educating my children, homeschooling involves so much more than education. With each passing year, as a homeschool mom I’m realizing just how much I am capable of, how much my kids have taught me, I see where I’ve grown with each step I leave behind and what I still have yet to learn that lies ahead.

Homeschooling truly isn’t just about educating my children. Homeschooling is about educating the whole family. I love homeschooling because it is life changing for my kids and for myself.

Why do you love homeschooling your children?

The post 10 Reasons I Love Homeschooling first appeared on True Aim.

1. You can teach your children how they learn best.

Whether your kids like textbooks, hands-on learning, unit studies or literature; you can use whatever homeschooling method that works best for your children in your homeschool!

2. You can homeschool at your own pace.

As long as you are moving forward you are never behind. You do not have to feel pressured to keep up with anyone else, much less everyone.

3. You can set your own homeschool hours.

If you’re not a morning person and your kids love to sleep in, afternoon homeschooling may be the answer for your family!

4. You can take days off when you need to.

Everyone needs a break sometimes and homeschooling allows you the opportunity to take the breaks when you need them without having to worry about playing catch up.

5. You can snuggle your little blessings while teaching.

You can never get enough snuggles, gather your little blessings and snuggle on the couch while learning about the history of the world, astronomy or go on an adventure through literature!

6. You can homeschool year round.

There are 365 days in the year, you can choose which ones to use in your homeschool! Summertime learning can be lots of fun and vacation destinations can be less expensive in the wintertime!

7. You choose what to teach and decide when to teach it.

Ask your kids what they want to learn about and start there, you don’t have to teach in any particular order as a homeschooler.

8. You can go on field trips on quiet, less crowded days.

Taking trips to the zoo or museum is much more enjoyable when the school isn’t visiting. Planning your trips during the quiet season makes learning and exploring more fun!

9. You don’t have to use textbooks to teach.

Not all kids love textbooks and they aren’t the only resource for homeschooling anymore. Lapbooks, living books, unit studies and more are great options for your homeschool!

10. You can drink coffee while teaching your children.

This is a must in my home. I always have coffee in hand while teaching my kids, it’s a staple in my homeschool.

Why are you thankful for homeschooling?

The post 10 Reasons to Be Thankful for Homeschooling first appeared on True Aim.

Education

“Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish the way it climbs a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein

It drives me crazy when people measure other’s intelligence by grades. Throughout the years, I’ve learned to value education over grades. To me, this is priceless. I’ve learned the difference between learning and studying. My intelligence isn’t measured by a standardized test – I’m not a standardized person.

I love learning, but I hate studying. Being a visual person, I learn best by books; where my imagination runs wild on what life must have been like hiding from the Nazis in the forest or smuggling Bibles behind the Iron curtain. I also love documentaries and yes, movies. Being homeschooled, I have time to study my passions (WWII) and pursue interests (professional blogging).

I am a strong believer that our educational system should focus less on grades and more on actual learning. What we have created in public schools isn’t learning – it’s studying for a test. I know several teachers who enjoy teaching, but are being bogged down by the pressures of regulations and mandatory testing.

The Socialization

In my awkward middle school stage, I never felt pressured to be anyone else other than myself. I think this pivotal time in my life has shaped who I am today. While the majority of my peers, including many of whom I knew in middle school, were worried about fitting in, I heavily studied literature, WWII, politics, and started my blog. Again, this is something I am extremely grateful for and don’t take for granted.

While I think I’d still be the same way to some degree if I went to public school (my parents are both strong-willed, and my personality showed through even as a kindergartener), homeschooling allowed me to truly break the mold of the typical teenager, and to do so without peer judgement when it mattered the least.

For the most part, the people I do socialize with are more mature than I am, and/or help me grow in some way. (“Either you’re a blessing, or a lesson.”)

I think teens are the most capable and have the most potential of any other age group. Yet, the majority of teens are known for wasting their teen years, and it’s expected. Since the beginning of time, teens have been world changers and history makers. In today’s culture, we’ve been horribly under-estimated, and frankly, teens are expected to be idiots. Being around peers (and even some adults) with this mentality makes me bonkers, and isn’t the type of socialization I’m interested in.

The Prom Question

I often get asked about how I feel about never attending prom. Homeschooling has given me so many experiences beyond a school dance or prom.

Experiences

For the superficial reasons, I can shop in the afternoons, take a day off school when I need a break, and do school in my sweat pants. I’m a night owl, and can stay up late and work, and wake up at around 7:30. On a more serious note, I’m closer with my family and sisters, with the sister I’m closest with having gymnastics practice every day from 4-8PM. With a half hour to and from the gym, I would never get to see her if we weren’t homeschooled.

While my peers are in color guard, debate club, and the football team – I’ve started my own business, blog, and have had the chance to speak in front of almost every local high school, and several large audiences. My business, blog, and part-time graphic design eat up the majority of my time. Add dual enrollment classes at a local college, and a State scholarship competition coming up, and I can’t imagine adding eight hours of school plus homework to the mix.

I don’t have anything against public school kids, nor do I blame them for a lot of problems our society and the public school system has created. I can’t say homeschooling is for everyone, or that every day was easy-peasy. Homeschooling requires a LOT of self-motivation, and I’ll freely admit my family gets on my nerves often and we occasionally have days that end in stressed tears. I’ve learned to accept that this is life, and life without ups and downs would be pointless.

I’m a Senior. With only a few more months of my homeschool journey left, education is one of my biggest passions and I love being able to give back, offer homeschool tips and advice, and share my story. Homeschooling isn’t about copying the public school system. It’s about finding what works best for your family.

The post Breaking the Mold: Thoughts from a Homeschooled Senior first appeared on True Aim.

“Well gee, I don’t know. I guess we homeschool because we don’t want our kids raised in a Godless, bully-infested, government hellhole, whose academic mission statement is “Common! Common to the Core!” … or something like that.

So instead, I’d just shrug and claim that homeschooling is what worked for us, for our family. That’s right, nothing more than a preference; you like chocolate, we like vanilla.

But that isn’t how I really feel. With all my heart I believe homeschooling is for every parent, every child, every family.

Is homeschooling a better way? Yeah, it is. There I said it.

But I’m not saying that we are better, or we love our kids more. I, (like I’m hoping you will be), am a homeschool convert. I wasn’t a believer, but after reflecting on my school experience, after remembering what it did to me, and didn’t do for me, I gave homeschooling the old college try. And I never looked back.

10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Children

I love that homeschooling keeps our family together. I love that I it doesn’t take all day. My kids are several grades ahead. I love that there is no Common Core. I love that I don’t have to fight a school board over curriculum choices. Plus, I am part of a freedom movement. I love that my kids are chasing dreams, not test scores. I love that my kids’ best friends are their brothers and sisters. Finally, I love that we can still start each school day off with a prayer.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here are my top 10 reasons for homeschooling:

 1. Kids Should Love Learning

For me, school was synonymous with suffering. It was sit down, shut up, pay attention, take notes, do assignments, regurgitate, get report cards – an endless cycle of compulsion, forced learning. You had to learn until it hurt. You couldn’t be human. There were no days off. You couldn’t say “No, thank you.” You couldn’t say, “I would rather…”

In time, kids learn to hate learning. They cry over homework, they wait to the last minute and then cram for tests, or they cheat. Anything to lessen the “learning” load. I was one of them.

With my kids it is the opposite. I’m like, “Hey, stop reading that book and go play outside for awhile.” My kids do math worksheets for fun to see how many they can solve. And I’m not even sure if it is healthy, but they read alllllll the time.

2. Kids Need to Believe That They Have Potential

Have you heard of a gal named Barbara Corcoran? Before becoming famous as an investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, she made millions in New York selling real estate. I believe she sold her company for 66 million. Although proving to be a business “genius,” the multi-millionaire confesses, “I feel like my whole life I’ve been insecure about looking not smart.”

Here is a woman who has achieved financial success that most Americans could never dream of, yet she still harbors a deep-seated insecurity about being stupid. So, where did this idea that she was stupid come from? School, of course. Barbara was a straight D student. Somehow all the success in the real world can’t shake that terrible lesson taught in school. She is now 66, and still talking about how stupid she feels.

She isn’t alone. All children are bursting with potential, only to have their wings psychologically clipped in school. And for millions of adults, the doubts and insecurities linger long after school is just an ugly old scar.

3. School is Social Suicide

I cannot tell you how often non-homeschooling parenting ask how I “socialize” my children outside of school. I’m always like, “Ummm, well I talk to them and allow them to talk to others, which is already more than I can say for school. I mean, I don’t know what schools these people attended, but I went to 10 unique schools, in 6 different states, both public and private, and they all had this in common: Socializing was strictly forbidden.

The second you walked in class you had to zip the lips and PAY ATTENTION! because you know, “You’re not here to socialize.” For goodness sake, you couldn’t even quietly pass a note. Kids literally only have a few minutes at recess and lunch, or in between classes to talk. Maybe that’s why conversation devolves into slang and 4-letter words.

But I’m not complaining. I mean, don’t you remember how school kids socialize? Seriously, school is social suicide!

4. Bullying is a Big Issue in Schools

School bullies are such a big deal that even our president has spoken out about it. There is a national campaign being waged as we speak to raise awareness and tolerance in schools, but I’m not holding my breath.

School is a bully-making machine. Schools take vulnerable, immature children away from their parents prematurely, pack them into a building with little supervision, lock the doors, and then wonder why they can’t solve their bullying epidemic.

I know that the utopian ideal is that all kids can learn to get along; that by forcing kids to socialize with kids they normally wouldn’t, school will breed tolerance and understanding. That would be ideal if it were possible. But it isn’t. You take a violent street thug and lock him in with a small nerdy kid, and bad things happen.

The Social Environment at School can be Dangerous

The funny thing is, we know better, don’t we? There are parts of town that we stay away from, especially after dark. There are people we don’t associate with. And as adults, we have the ability and right to protect ourselves.

School children know better too. They know what will happen to them in the locker room, on the bus, under the bleachers, and behind the school. The difference is that school forces them into those dangerous situations. And to boot, kids aren’t allowed to defend themselves. Schools have adopted a zero tolerance policy for all violence, and that usually includes the victim fighting for his life.

I’m glad schools are taking the bully crisis seriously, unfortunately the bullies don’t take the school seriously.

5. You Like Your Kids.

Don’t we all? Sometimes I don’t know. Every school year I see youtube videos of parents celebrating their children’s return to school. I know it’s a joke… but is it really?

I’m sure that there are some parents who prefer a distant relationship with their kids, but for the rest of us, togetherness is a huge advantage of homeschooling. Five years old is just to early to “let go.” I don’t know how parents do it. And it’s never easy. A lot of moms secretly cry.

Yes, you will see them in the morning and evening, but is that really enough?

Kids used to work side by side with their parents until marriage, when they built a house just down the road. I get that the world has changed, but has our need for our children changed? And is their need for us any less?

Most Important Aspect of Life Are Relationships

The longer children stay in school the further they will drift. The bonds you shared the first five years will begin to dissolve, slowly at first, but by middle school and high school, you will find that your children have bonds and loyalties to a new community.

In high school, between school, sports, homework and friends, you will be lucky to share thirty minutes a day with your kid. It isn’t enough. Then they will graduate, and parents will be lucky to see them once a year.

Life is about relationships, not test scores. Even if school could provide a better education, (which it can’t) the relationships are a million times more important. What parents wouldn’t trade the “My Child is an Honor Student” bumper sticker for a few more hours a week with their kids? And what grown child, looking back, would trade their time with mom and dad for a higher SAT score? Forget about school; Your kids need you more.

6.  Children Have a Right to Chase Their Dreams.

When I was a kid I was an amazing artist. I entered three art competitions, and won them all. At the age of 8, I was the best artist at every school I attended. I was a million light years ahead of my peers in art and it was my destiny to be a Disney illustrator.

That was all true, until a year into middle school. Then school got in the way. There were tests, homework and sports, and teachers punished me for doodling in class.

School had my future all laid out with, Calculus, English, Biology, etc. I took a few art classes at school, but they were those “easy” electives that nobody took seriously. Besides the classes wrung all the creativity out of art by giving me stupid projects to do. Instead of honing my drawing techniques, I was forced to make “leaf art” and paper mache.

So, I quit. It wasn’t a conscious decision. The busy work of school simply pushed art out the picture. And whatever early “genius” I demonstrated as a child is frozen in childhood. I look back at drawings from 5th grade and wonder, “my goodness, how could I have created this?” What a waste.

Children have a right to chase their own passions and dreams; education should be wind in their sails, not an anchor of bubble sheets and boring.

7. Kids  Should Be Learning Things, and Learning Things That Actually Matter.

Let me start by saying that I am not one of those low achieving students, who is now claiming sour grapes. I am one of those high achieving students, now claiming sour grapes. I worked so stinking hard. I did all my homework, I crammed for every test, I took SAT Prep courses, I did the extra credit, I took AP and honors classes, I sucked up to teachers, and all in good faith, trusting that my hard work would eventually be rewarded.

But I never speak any Spanish, have yet to solve any calculus problems, and can’t remember anything from chemistry. Sure, school taught me some things, but nothing of much value, and certainly nothing I couldn’t have learned better, faster, and in my home.

I feel totally cheated and misled. Yeah kids need to read and figure, but my seven year old is reading chapter books and already doing multiplication. And everything she does has a practical application. So why did it take me so long to learn so little in school?

I mean I would love to take chemistry again, but this time tie it to gardening, or cooking, or wielding, something, anything with a practical application.

If you really want educated children, build a curriculum around the things in life that really matter: Faith, Family, Fitness, and Finances. Teach them how to create, built, think, speak, work, budget, invest, plan, lead, troubleshoot, cook, garden, start a business, etc. These are the things that make up our lives.

8. Private Schools Aren’t the Answer. 

Dude, school is school. I’m not saying that private schools aren’t at a slight advantage, especially if you live in big, gang-infested cities. But before you throw down big bucks in high hopes, you need to know a few things.

Nearly all private schools are accredited; meaning they are all made in the image of public school. You will find the same schedules, same testing, same certified teachers, same class structures, same curriculum, same sports, same dances, and generally the same rules. What will you get for you money? Probably, smaller class sizes, a better standardized test score, and a warm fuzzy feeling that your kids are better off.

Yes, but maybe it’s the Christian influence that you are after. That would be nice, but there really isn’t one. Look, I attended three private Christian schools in three different states. The Christian impact was minimal. Most had a 30 minute chapel once a week (that students talked or slept through), and then it was back to our secular education.

Just look it up. Kids graduating from Christian schools are just as likely to leave the faith as those graduating from public schools.

9. Satan Wants Your Kids in School.

When we think of education, school has us envisioning the subjects they teach. But what is most import?

For me, it is faith. If I had to choose between raising kids who couldn’t count to ten or read a single word, but loved the Lord with all their heart, I’d choose children who honored God. I think most Christians would, but few understand that their decision about school will make all the difference in the world.

In 2002, the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life noticed a disturbing trend of kids being raised in the Church, turing 18, and then walking away from their faith. So they conducted a survey of parents, and what they discovered was far worse than they could have ever imagined: 88% of the young people in the Church were walking away from their faith after graduating high school!

Other churches and organizations conducted similar studies and though none proved as bad as 88%, I think the lowest was 70%. Some of these kids will eventually return to their faith, but the majority won’t.

Homeschooling Helps Strengthen Their Faith

Now, when it comes to our kids and their faith, there are never any guarantees, but homeschooling is your best bet. When the same survey was conducted in Christian homeschool families, only 6% of graduates turned away from the church. That is a 94% success rate for homeschoolers and a 70-88% failure rate for government schoolers.

Taking a chance with public school is like playing Russian Roulette with your kids eternal souls. I know that is going to offend some people; the truth always does.

10. Yeah, There’s That Conspiracy Thing too. 

I hate to even go there, because 99% of Americans are programmed to reject anything that sounds like a conspiracy, anything that would suggest that our benevolent leaders don’t always have our best interests in mind. But that is exactly what school is: the single greatest conspiracy in history!

Most Americans think that school was created to educate the population. We actually believe that our leaders wanted an educated citizenry to hold them accountable. We can only believe this because we are such an utterly schooled society.

The True History of American Schooling

The fact is, America gave birth to government schooling on the heels of the industrial revolution. The large factories were looking for cheap labor and their solution was school.

School serves as daycare so that both parents can work. With both parents working, the industrialists had doubled the supply of labor. This created excess labor for corporate America, and a scarcity of jobs for workers. That of course drove wages into the dirt. So, where women once entered the workforce in the promise of getting ahead financially, they now work just to keep their families financial heads above water.

Our industrial society runs on ignorance, and it’s the school’s job to keep us that way. The next time you drive to the grocery store, look at the businesses, gas stations, restaurants, car washes, movie theaters, etc. Most of the businesses aren’t looking to hire Einstein’s. They need simple people, who are content doing simple jobs for simple wages. By stunting children’s education, schools guarantee American industry a massive pool of low-skilled labor.

There is proof of this conspiracy and many others in my book.

You’re NOT Convinced You Want to Homeschool

There is so much more to say. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and the PG tip at that. I never expected that this post would undo centuries of relentless pro-school propaganda. But hopefully it has got you questioning our sacred schools.  If you need to know more, the entire truth about America’s schools is in my new book: REVEALING school.

People have claimed that schools dumb kids down, and REVEALING school is the book that shows you how it’s being done. Part 3 of REVEALING school uncovers things about education that have never before been talked about. Part 3 is groundbreaking. It will shock you and yet, you will wonder why you never saw it before; the conspiracy of school was hidden in plain sight.

You can get a paper copy of REVEALING SCHOOL on Amazon, or save by getting the digital copy through Blue Manor.

For More Why Homeschooling Inspiration, Visit the Posts Below!

Why I Still Choose to Homeschool After 18 Years – Harrington Harmonies

Should I Homeschool? – Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Why We STILL Homeschool – 1+1+1=1

The post Why Homeschool? Here are 10 Good Reasons first appeared on True Aim.

Common Core is not a new idea, and Common Core is certainly not what ruined public schooling. Actually, Common Core is the natural progression American schools must take as they mature into the socialist institutions they were always meant to be.

If you are concerned that Common Core is “dumbing students down,” you shouldn’t be alarmed; schools have always done this. Don’t you remember?

There has never been a time in our nation’s history when schools weren’t failing. Go all the way back to the 1850’s and the days of Horace Mann, the Father of Modern Schooling, and guess what, parents were outraged that schools were doing a terrible job. So if you started your children in a failing system, why are you suddenly concerned about Common Core? It is only going to lead to more of the failures that you consented to the day you dropped your children off for kindergarten.

Besides, failure and success is a matter of perception. For instance, if you are under the illusion that schools are trying to educate children, then of course, you’d assume that they are failing. But, what if I told you that the entire purpose of school was to deprive children of an education? If that were the case, the schools would be succeeding! And along those lines, Common Core is helping school reach new heights.

But you can’t believe that, can you? You can’t believe that schools are meant to create an illiterate population because it goes against everything that your school taught you.

I don’t expect to change your mind today; there is simply too much to “unschool” in the few paragraphs that follow. But I have a few questions for you to think about. I dare you to answer them over summer vacation, before you return your children to school in the fall.

1. Who invented school? 

This an important question to answer because it will reveal the true purpose of school. Modern schools grew out of three movements: industrialism, socialism, and eugenics.

The industrialists were obviously after cheap labor. However, you’d be surprised how schools provided the cheap labor. One way, was to provide taxpayer-funded “daycare,” so that mothers could afford to join the workforce without employers having to pick up the cost of childcare. This practically doubled the labor-pool overnight, taking the country from a shortage of workers (where employers had to pay a living-wage) to a surplus of labor (making labor extremely cheap).

Another way was by depriving workers of a useful education. They could no longer apprentice under a master. They had to go to school, thus ensuring that unless they went on to college, the average workers graduated high school with no marketable skills; making high school graduates job-ready for low-skill industrial factories!

To find out the other purposes of school, read REVEALING school.

2. Why would schools want to “Dumb Students Down?”

In 2013, the most popular jobs in America were: retail salesman, cashier, food preparation (fast food), desk clerk, nurse, waitress, customer service, laborer, secretary, and janitor. With the exception of nursing, all of these jobs are low-level, low-skill, and low-pay. As I stated in REVEALING school:

Dull and obedient is what American corporations are looking for schools to furnish. Competent people expect a living wage; smart people rethink the system; leaders blaze a new trail; and entrepreneurs start competing businesses! – all detrimental to the powerful tycoons in corporate America!

And that is why schools are designed to dumb students down. The bells, the pointless assignments, the lectures, the standardized tests, the busy work, the rules and long hours are all designed to condition children to endure the monotony of corporate America.

Schools teach students to deny their own creativity and ambitions, in favor of another’s. In fact, subjection of our children’s wills is the main thrust of public education. If children are going to make outstanding employees some day, they must learn to put a company’s ambitions above their own.

3. How do schools dumb kids down? 

There are hundreds of methods used to dumb kids down, and you experienced all of them in your school days.

Schools dumb kids down by making learning long and painful, providing misinformation, pointing students in the wrong direction, replacing the Classics with textbooks, segregating children according to their age and not their abilities, replacing latin with spelling lists, rewriting history, stealing children’s free-time, forbidding children to socialize in class, standardizing “learning,” micromanaging, separating children and parents, divorcing education from experience and the real-world, assigning homework to steal the evenings, failing to teach the essential information, encouraging students to master a “sport,” instead of a marketable trade, testing with bubble sheets and multiple choice, grading obedience and participation… The list could go on and on and on.

4. Why do the elites pay $40,000-50,000 a year to send their kids to elite prep schools.

What do the elites know about public schools that you don’t? And why do these wealthy men invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep their kids out of the very schools that your children attend? I know the answers because I attended an elite boarding school.

These are just a few basic questions that I answer in REVEALING school. If you would like to know the entire truth about school, you can get REVEALING school at Blue Manor Education and Amazon. Please read the book and share it with a friend. It has the power to change the conversation about education and school forever!

The post Why Common Core Can’t Ruin School first appeared on True Aim.

I must admit, that I did have a rocky start though. In fact, as a boy I hated school with all my heart. It was synonymous with suffering. I counted the minutes of my wasted afternoons. I had big plans: forts to built, creeks to cross, and people to spy on, and there school was talking on and on about who knows what. Being the gullible child that I was, I did trust that schooling was necessary; so I endured.

Then something terrible happened. In fifth grade, I took a standardized test and was discovered.

“Gifted” is what they called me. And suddenly a school that had never noticed me, except to tell me to “sit down,” or “shut up,” began filling my head with nonsense about how special I was and what a bright future I had.

Oh yes, they tell that to everyone. But once you test “gifted,” they actually believe it! They told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be, if I just applied myself in school. It took some convincing, but eventually I believed them.

In that instance, when I came to believe in school, I died and a student was born.

I traded my ambitions, for the school’s. By senior year, I was a GPA junkie. Even when I had an A+, I did the extra credit just to get a fix.

I sucked up to teachers; I sat in the front row; I got nervous for tests; I always completed my homework and I felt cheated if I didn’t get any; I took SAT Prep classes in my spare time; I planned to be the valedictorian; and I dreamed only of college.

School even changed the way I talked to people. There was this book I was reading, it was called something like 10,001 Vocabulary Words You Need to Know for College, and I really took it to heart. But they were mostly words that I had never heard of and were hard to use in sentences. So, I practiced them on my friends. I’d say, “My goodness, this room is quite aphotic.”

My friends didn’t understand what I was saying, and some of them called me stupid. But I knew that the joke was on them because they were going to get rejected from colleges for not knowing those essential vocabulary words!

However, the fog of school dissipates rather quickly after graduation. First, everyone that wanted to go to college got into one! I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t hard at all.

Second, after high school no one cared about my GPA. Actually, no one has ever asked about it since. Then, the prestigious university that I was so proud to get accepted to wasn’t as brilliant as I had imagined. In fact, it was garbage, even worse than high school!

Finally, I entered the real-world and only a few ounces of my schooling converted over. I felt cheated. They promised me an education, but they gave me school instead.

I knew how to align paper margins according to MLS standards, but I would rather have known how to align the wheels of my car. I understood calculus, but didn’t understand the true cost of my student of loans. I wasted months in school learning concepts and ideas that I now teach my daughters in a single afternoon!

What a waste school ended up being. I never should have engaged. And if it were possible, I would love to have my childhood back; I could have put it to better use!

Would you like to know the truth about school? Would you like to know what it is, and where it came from, and most importantly, why you should never send your children there? Get your questions answered in my new book REVEALING school.

The post Dear School, I Want My Childhood Back first appeared on True Aim.