Blessed New Year's
Greetings!
Dear friends,
This has been a year of change and surprises, hasn't
it? I am nearly officially done with much of my role as the
Director of Covenant Home School Resource Center, and there are still
some decisions in the works about how the organization will look for
the next few months.
I know that many of you have been asking questions
which I will address briefly. We are definitely continuing classes for
the spring semester as we have been. IOWA and Stanford testing
will continue as scheduled. Our bookstore is full of books with
great specials which will continue to be open for you. We do
have some paid staff in the office for your questions and
transactions. I will continue to be available to the
homeschooling community with Q and A sessions and workshops. I
will continue to communicate with the homeschooling community through
the HeartBeat and the website, although I may transition the
newsletter to more of a blog (another learning curve to get that set
up).
As other decisions are made, you will be informed as
quickly as possible.
As I wrap up some of my
tasks at Covenant Home School Resource Center, I find myself wondering
what direction home education in the United States will be taking in
the next months and years.
I expect that we are in
a transition time in which the whole education system, public, private
and homeschooling, will be undergoing some drastic changes due to
economic and political changes in the nation.
With the economic
crunch in numerous sectors, many mothers are going back to work to
help the family make ends meet, and thus some are choosing to put
their children back in public school. I believe that each family has
to make their own decision about what is best for this season, and as
fellow sojourners with the same goal of providing the best education
for our children, we can be supportive of the paths that other
families take.
More working mothers
may decrease the number of families in support groups and
co-ops. Tighter budgets will increase the demand for used
curriculum, so that sector may flourish, while publishers and
distributors of new materials may see a drastic decline in their
sales.
It is possible that
families may need to pool resources in creative ways to stretch their
own dollars and to account for services that may dissolve under the
financial strain. There may be greater demand for legislative
control over home education in some states, and there may be greater
pressure on the public schools to adopt even more "politically
correct" philosophies and methodologies of instruction.
Home education will
have greater challenges, and require a higher level of commitment from
the families to overcome the obstacles. Be assured that if you
feel called to continue or start homeschooling, God is sufficient to
provide for your needs, and the journey and sacrifices will be worth
the trials.
The nurture and
education of your children is a very high stake as you ponder your
educational choices. Be encouraged that many of us who have
taken the path ahead of you are standing by to cheer you on, even
through the difficult times.
Blessings,
Holly Craw
