Men and Boys
The hardest part about homeschooling is boys. I'm not one of these mothers who consistently says, "Wait until your father comes home", but at times, I have had to resort to that. There's a fear of dad that just doesn't exist with mothers, particularly once you're looking up to your son, rather than the opposite. Boys respect strength, and we just don't have it.
It is no different at church. Our children's church is set up that two people work as a team. One prepares and teaches the lesson and the other helps. In the past, my son had been my helper. Then, for awhile, it had been my daughters.
Last Sunday, it was my turn again, and Andrew said he was going to help. The lesson was about the time Jesus and his disciples were in a boat, there was a storm, and Jesus was asleep. The focus of the lesson was God's power. I asked, "What are you afraid of?" One of the boys replied, "My sister's boyfriend", and there he was, my son. I smiled. Somehow I had a feeling things were going to go much better with Andrew there than it did when my daughter was my helper.
In fact, it did. Every time one of the boys got out of line at all, Andrew said something, and they responded immediately.
Is it any wonder then, we have so much trouble in our families and schools? Single parent families, minus fathers, abound. Parents split and some of the dads just "evaporate". Some do that before the child is even born.
It is a known fact that boys without fathers are much more likely to drop out of school and/or wind up in prison. Exhibit A is my oldest son, who was born out of wedlock.
Recently, in our area, a boy committed suicide. The reason was because he was bullied at school. I couldn't help noticing that he came from a broken family.
Now parents, not only in that school district, but others, are having rallys and pointing the finger at the schools for the awful behavior of kids. Perhaps some things need to be changed in the school, but let's look at the root of the problem - families.
It is no different at church. Our children's church is set up that two people work as a team. One prepares and teaches the lesson and the other helps. In the past, my son had been my helper. Then, for awhile, it had been my daughters.
Last Sunday, it was my turn again, and Andrew said he was going to help. The lesson was about the time Jesus and his disciples were in a boat, there was a storm, and Jesus was asleep. The focus of the lesson was God's power. I asked, "What are you afraid of?" One of the boys replied, "My sister's boyfriend", and there he was, my son. I smiled. Somehow I had a feeling things were going to go much better with Andrew there than it did when my daughter was my helper.
In fact, it did. Every time one of the boys got out of line at all, Andrew said something, and they responded immediately.
Is it any wonder then, we have so much trouble in our families and schools? Single parent families, minus fathers, abound. Parents split and some of the dads just "evaporate". Some do that before the child is even born.
It is a known fact that boys without fathers are much more likely to drop out of school and/or wind up in prison. Exhibit A is my oldest son, who was born out of wedlock.
Recently, in our area, a boy committed suicide. The reason was because he was bullied at school. I couldn't help noticing that he came from a broken family.
Now parents, not only in that school district, but others, are having rallys and pointing the finger at the schools for the awful behavior of kids. Perhaps some things need to be changed in the school, but let's look at the root of the problem - families.
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