Fall 2020

HOMESCHOOLIOWA.ORG

When you get push-back, press on!

BY ELIZABETH BAILEY

This

is the

path,

Walk

in it.

Isaiah 30:21

“T

hink! THINK!”

The interviewer looked at me strangely, wondering at my stumbling to answer such an easy question. I

was being interviewed about life as a second-generation homeschooler.

“Well,” I started again, “when people give me a hard time about homeschooling my kids, I usually…”

I stopped again, unable to think of anything.

“Honestly, I don’t really get push-back from homeschooling my kids.”I con-

cluded. The interviewer, surprised, moved on to the next question.

But this was a question I couldn’t completely move on from. “Why don’t I get

push back from homeschooling my kids, when so many others do?” I began to

wonder. I’ll return to my thoughts on that later.

As a child, I felt the constant push-back on homeschooling, because I was

homeschooled. When my parents decided to homeschool us, they received

grief from people on all sides. Family members would ask about socializa-

tion, sports, and quiz us to see how our math skills were shaping up. Strang-

ers in the grocery store would give quizzical glances, and sometimes mus-

ter up a rude comment to my mother about why we weren’t in “school.”

As a middle school girl, I felt the division keenly on the community soft-

ball team. I learned to field not just fly balls, but prying questions and com-

ments from my teammates. “Why are you homeschooled?”“Your family is huge!” and my personal favorite: “Do

you have homework?”

Sometimes my answers would satisfy their curiosity, but other times I was just plain weird to these girls. No

matter the outcome, I came to personally own my life as a homeschooled student, and learned to not care

about what others thought or what was “cool.”I learned new ways to explain my point of view as I learned what

resonated with my listeners.

My mother always taught me that there is no waste in God’s economy, and I can certainly attest that all the

push-back as a homeschooler in the early 2000’s was not wasted; it was God’s tool to shape my own thoughts on

the subject, and learn how to help others understand why I loved homeschooling so much.

Fast forward to my late teens. I met Joe Bailey at a TeenPact civics class, full of other homeschooled students.

Years later I re-connected with him while we were both volunteering at the Homeschool Iowa Conference, and

we soon fell in love and were married. Yes, even my love story has “homeschool nerdy”written all over it.

Joe was also homeschooled and had a great experience. His own parents had endured pushback from family

and friends, served on the Homeschool Iowa board for 10 years, and in their earlier years helped start the home-

school support group which my own children are now a part of!

As a second-generation homeschooler I now live in a community with a thriving homeschool support group

that has a good reputation in our small town. My husband and I serve on the Homeschool Iowa board where Joe

serves as President, as his father did years before.

Thanks to the grace of God and the faithful work of our parents, all our extended family members support

us in our homeschooling journey—even those who once gave our parent’s grief for it. And I can’t tell you the

blessing of having parents on both sides cheering us on… and letting us borrow their old curriculum too!

Why am I telling you all this? Is it because I want you to feel sorry for my challenges as a homeschool student, or

because I want to brag about the support I now have as a homeschool parent?

My friends, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Perhaps the challenges you’re facing—the rude comments from parents

or friends—isn’t about you after all. Perhaps God is giving you the good work of plowing fallow ground so that

others can sow in soft, fertile soil. Perhaps you’re laying a foundation for your children and grandchildren to build

a solid home. Like my parents who went before me, maybe you’re sowing seeds so that your children will enjoy

the fruit of your labors.

Now when I consider the question: “Why don’t I get push-back for homeschooling?” I could say it’s because

I don’t care about what’s cool, and no one cares to convince me. Or you could say it’s because I was home-

schooled, and I’m confident it is the best option for my family. But really, it comes down to a good name and a

legacy of love that was given to us by our parents. A legacy they trusted God for, endured social shame for, and

worked hard for.

I thank God for my parents and my husband’s parents who blazed the trail so that I could homeschool my

children in a family and a community that doesn’t attach a stigma to the word “homeschool.”

So if you’re homeschooling and you feel the weight of the disapproval of others, I encourage you to stay on

the path God called you to. Set your gaze, and move joyfully on. Your children will rise up and call you blessed,

and will probably ask to borrow your Little House book series. Press on!

Elizabeth is a Christ-following wife, mom, and second generation homeschooler. She and her husband, Joe, faithfully serve on the Homeschool Iowa Board of Directors.

the push-back I

experienced as a

homeschooler

in the early 2000’s

was not wasted;

it was God’s tool....