The truth is, every Adventist child should be home-schooled. For some that may mean all day long with a parent's instruction. For some that may mean studying math and Bible lessons with parents after a day at Adventist school. For some that may mean studying science lessons together-then creating Bible lessons because the child doesn't have a Bible class in public school.
Valuegenesis put a special emphasis on finding what factors in youths' lives made the biggest difference in keeping them involved with Adventism. The study found that not all factors are created equal. Certain ones stand out as predictors of a young person's development of a mature faith and their likelihood to remain in the church. In the three arenas that strongly influence young people's spiritual growth-home, school, and church-the home reigns above the rest. Parents have a power to shape and influence kids in ways a school or church cannot.
Reflecting on parents' unique role, Ellen White wrote, "God has given to all fathers and mothers the responsibility of bringing their children to Jesus, teaching them how to pray and believe in the Word of God. In the education of your children lay not the grand truths of the Bible to one side, supposing that the Sabbath school and the minister will do your neglected work. The Bible is not too sacred and sublime to be opened daily and studied diligently. The truths of the Word of God are to be brought into contact with the supposed little things of life. If rightly regarded they will brighten the common life, supplying motives for obedience and principles for the formation of a right character" (The Adventist Home, p. 189).
"The family is the crucial laboratory [for developing] the faith and values of young people," writes researcher Roger Dudley (Faith in the Balance, p. 201). He then goes on to list five effectiveness factors that, working together, develop a mature faith and denominational loyalty in young Adventists.
1. Mother. A highly religious mother who is comfortable talking about her faith, shares her faith with her children often, and discusses matters of faith with them.
2. Father. A father of strong faith who is comfortable talking about his faith shares his faith with his children often, and discusses his faith with them.
3. Support. Children need frequent and positive communication with their parents, and they also need to experience family life as loving, caring, and supportive.
4. Control. Children need parents who present strong standards, enforced fairly, firmly, and lovingly, and who punish wrong behavior and set limits on the child's use of time.
Dudley notes that this is one area that the family alone can influence. "Though control factors have the least influence of any of the five groupings," Dudley writes, "that effect is positive for the home even though it is not for the school and church. . . . Discipline and control can be positive when it comes from people who the recipient knows love him/her, but usually has negative or no effects when the loving intention is in doubt."
Countless young people have left the Adventist Church, never to return, because churches and schools have usurped this area that only parents should enter.
5. Spiritual togetherness. Writes Dudley, "When the family frequently engages in worship together, and that worship is interesting and meaningful, and when the family engages in proj-ects to help other people, the youth are more likely to manifest mature faith and denominational loyalty."
Valuegenesis found that the strongest family-related predictor of faith and commitment is the quality of family worship. The second most important family predictor is the degree of family caring and support the adolescent receives.
As I studied math with my daughter, we learned much more than just multiplication and division. As we stayed with the task until we figured out just when the eastern train would meet the northern one, we learned values about life that you can't get out of a book alone.
No schoolteacher can be completely effective without parents who help children learn at home. Read to your children. Listen to them read. Study history together. Work math problems together. Every teacher longs for parents who help students learn. Working together with your child, you build a bond that will last forever.
24-Hour Training
So what does it mean to "home-school" your child, regardless of his or her educational circumstances? Home-schooling also can mean driving your children to school. There's no better time for parent/child communication-about the trivial and the eternal. No child ever walked out of a conversation at 35 miles an hour.
An integral part of every child's home-schooling is family worship. Have it as often as possible-every day and twice on Sabbath, at sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. Adapt it to the age of your child, actively involving them as soon as possible.
When Dudley compared factors in the lives of young adults who had remained in the church with those who had not, he discovered how essential a role family worship plays. Among young people who'd remained active, 55 percent reported joining in family worship at least once a week. Only 34 percent of those who'd dropped out said the same-a 21 percent difference. Furthermore, only 13 percent of those who remained active said they'd never participated in family worship. Twenty-seven percent of the dropouts said they'd never participated.
One study participant named Mickey remembers the countless family worships that shaped his childhood and, in turn, his life. He and his three sisters loved Bible charades the most. Stepping outside the room to plan their charade, they'd call out, "Here I come!" when ready. The Bible came alive for Mickey and his sisters as they acted out its greatest stories.
One dad smiles when he thinks of the kit of materials he bought for his family's worship time. It was silly stuff-little animals and bells and stars. Each item gave the children permission to have a great time at worship with their parents. It created a bond that hasn't been broken.
Yes, every child should be home-schooled. It's a precious opportunity that must not be passed by.
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Kermit Netteburg is assistant to the president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America for communication. Tompaul Wheeler is a writer and photographer in Hagerstown, Maryland.
S YOUR CHILD HOME-SCHOOLED? He or she should be! The debate about home-schooling in Adventist circles is miscast. It asks whether the ideal educational environment for children is in a church-sponsored school or at home. That's the wrong question.
