the end of homeschooling
- Alaine Strozier
- Jun 4, 2019
- 3 min read
On June 7, 2019 I will close Strozier Christian Academy. My last student will be graduating and after 19 years of homeschooling, it is finished. I am filled with gratitude because I accomplished one of the hardest goals in mothering. I educated my children from birth until their senior year of high school. My first student graduated high school in June 2013 and college in December 2017. My second student graduated high school in June 2016 and will graduate from college in 2020. And now my youngest son will graduate high school in June 2019 and start college in the fall of this year. All of them entered college with college credits that they earned in high school.
The Lord called me to homeschool in November 2000. I had just given birth to my youngest son a few days before Halloween. He had stopped breathing two weeks after he was born, spent a few days in the hospital and was later diagnosed with reflux with sandifer posturing. When this posturing would happen our son would hold his breath, turn blue and would look like he was having a seizure. It was horribly scary. Anyway, I refused to go to sleep without holding him on my chest while I slept in the living room recliner for weeks. My lower back was in horrible shape because of it but I didn't care. One morning I woke up and continued my routine of carrying the baby upstairs and waking our oldest up for school.
Things were different that morning. As the baby and I walked up stairs, I felt as if I was placed in a tunnel and was walking up a steep mountain. I heard God's voice within my spirit say, "I never told you to send Isaiah to a public school." I was stunned! As soon as those words were spoken to me, I stopped in my tracks and gasped for a breath. At that moment I was back in my space, carrying the baby up the stairs to continue my morning. I did not say anything to anyone about my encounter with the Holy Spirit. Shortly after we moved from England to Germany I began my homeschooling journey with full support from my husband.
I taught them reading, spelling, science, social studies, theology, history, character, etiquette, and more. WOW! Thank you Lord because you gave me the grace to be faithful. I wanted to give up many times for many different reasons. The Lord gave me some mentors that helped shape the course of my journey. I will never forget them. They showed me what Titus 2:3-5 meant and loved me enough to challenge me. Proverbs 13:20 was our foundational scripture for our school; "He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm."
Dear mom, you may not be called to homeschool but you are called to protect your children from other foolish children and adults. Please protect them and don't apologize for it. Our children are born foolish and according to the scripture, it is our training that will drive the foolishness far from them. Write the vision for your children from school year to school year and make decisions based on the vision the Holy Spirit gave you for their life.
Shalom Aleichem
I truly commend you. Teaching is a gift and you homeschooled not 1, or 2, but 3 children alone for what may have seemed like years and long years. Nevertheless, no matter what your feelings were you didn’t give up. That’s a big responsibility to teach all those subjects yourself each child going through 13 years of home schooling with their mom. You did it maybe even afraid I’m not sure. What I am sure of is you empowered other moms to homeschool as well.