In August 2013, I began writing a weekly school-year blog. I envisioned being able to help home educating parents by providing information that would enhance their understanding of relevant educational matters. Hopefully the blog has been serving this purpose.
But, I realize that my desire to work on behalf of the home education community requires a lot more than this initial effort.
During the last school year, the website LeoGaumont.com was launched, containing numerous audio recordings of presentations I have given, as well as some of my articles and a few videos. It is still a work in progress. All of these materials reflect my full-throttled commitment to home education as the best form of education for children. Please take advantage of the many resources provided there.
This school-year we intend to ramp up our efforts to help the home education community even more.
We plan to include video and audio versions of my blog, along with the text version. People who would rather watch a video than read the blog can do so. And those who would like to listen to the blog while doing chores or some other task can do that as well.
These improvements involve a learning curve on our part, so please be patient if they don’t roll out as smoothly as planned. We still have our training wheels on, but we are fast learners!
In the longer term, we anticipate including these videos in a new internet-based venture called Gaumont Academy. The purpose of Gaumont Academy will be to explain the biblical model of the family, education, and church, to encourage families to exercise their God-given authority and responsibility. Instructional videos will be the central feature of this site, at least at the beginning.
I have frequently encountered situations where families are not operating according to God’s plan, and that has led to problems in the education of their children.
As well, I have encountered several instances where churches have undermined the biblical plan for the family, and there is always the added concern of organizations who, while advancing the welfare of home education, are really just businesses looking to increase their market share. These errors need to be corrected.
The resources provided on Gaumont Academy, therefore, will help to explain the biblical model of the family, education, and church, to encourage families in their authority and responsibility. We believe that enlightening and empowering parents is the only effective means to get the home education movement in Alberta, back on track.
In short, our vision is to help parents exercise their authority and take charge of the education of their children. We aim to fulfill this vision through our work as a home education ministry, providing facilitators who understand the preeminent role of parents in education, and providing biblical instructional materials in multimedia formats using the latest and best technology.
The biblical family is the most important institution in society and it is worth fighting for. We plan to use all of the tools at our disposal, including Education Unlimited, LeoGaumont.com, parent-initiated community conferences and the soon to be created Gaumont Academy.
From our biblical perspective, we hope to advance the faith and to encourage and equip parents in their vital task of raising their children.
We hope that you will make use of these resources and encourage others to do likewise.