Part of the series Wrapping Up 2015-16
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2016-05-16.
The truth will set us free, it is said.
We are generally all ignorant of what is actually happening around us. This ignorance can either be perpetuated and capitalized upon or fixed to empower the masses. It is time to enlighten home educators who have generally been kept in the dark respecting what is occurring within their community. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)
Bible Reference: 2 Peter 3:17
After spending nearly two months travelling the province, visiting families; hosting a number of Community Home Education Conferences (CHEC) where I had the opportunity to talk to all manner of families; having to deal with government in one way or another, either directly or indirectly; sponsoring a few campaigns dealing with pertinent and urgent issues potentially damaging to the home education community in this province; and having time to think on these things while travelling thousands of kilometres in our truck and camper; I have much to share and little time to do it in these blogs.
The biggest lesson learned this year is that I have been in error by desiring to be liked and not wanting to cause discomfort to others. You can chalk this up to my “being a nice Canadian” and my subscription to the unbiblical attitude of being positive at any cost. Both are just excuses cloaking cowardice with a sweetness more akin to aspartame than real sugar. I was corrected by a lady who attended my presentation at the provincial conference for alluding to problems and issues while carefully avoiding the use of names in order to … protect the guilty?! After having checked, I realize that the Bible is full of examples where bad people had their names published. How else could they be avoided if not by being revealed for the crooks and scoundrels that they were? Indeed, when nothing is done about bad people doing bad things, nothing changes and good people are hurt or taken advantage of by these bad people, who may not even realize they are being bad. Therefore, I have determined to tell the truth, at great personal risk, by including the names of the people and organizations that are continuing unchallenged with their ungodly, self-serving causes. There is a great deal that I see wrong with the world, but my most sensitive “buttons” include the abuse or manipulation of parents and children and the tarnishing of the name of Christ by people and agencies pretending to be Christian while obviously neglecting to apply the teaching of Jesus Christ.
One mom attending a CHEC frustratingly shared her concern that most home educating parents were more often being duped than being informed. It has long been known by manipulators that the first thing necessary for anyone to be manipulated is that they be ignorant of the truth, otherwise they will be on their guard against being used by others. I am simply amazed at the level of ignorance, not only about things pertaining to home education in general, but things pertaining to the life that has been freely given us by our Lord. The frustrating thing to me is that most of these young people have a genuine and sincere desire to come to the knowledge of the truth about our faith, but most have no where to go. Churches are too often focussed on nearly everything other than supporting families and growing their faith, leaving the world without a compass along with the resulting madness of relativity and corresponding normalization of deviation. Today, it’s an anything goes world with the very agencies that should be defending what is right, encouraging rather than resisting secularization, for the sake of survival. This perverted progressivism has crept into the Christian community and through it to the home education community as well. True, there is more resistance to this insanity within the home education community, but when those purporting to be on guard for it make compromises towards their own self-interests, there is little one can do but watch traditional home education slowly slip into oblivion as it becomes more secular and driven by questionable motivation.
I am even more convinced than ever that the plight of traditional home education in this province is not good. Between government heavy handedness, and home educating parental ignorance and fears, not to mention the ICHESs, private schools and other home education providers competing for the students and the associated cash, parents are unwittingly being taken along on a wave of compromising that can only lead to the destruction of traditional home education in this province. Most parents quickly see that it is the money that is causing the problem, but they are not entirely correct in this observation. It is the love of money, demonstrated by some parents’ pursuit of what this money can provide, and hidden by the pseudo-wisdom of agencies willing to sacrifice parental authority on their altar of survival, so they can get even more of it. This problem will not go away until we start refocussing on Jesus and hearts are changed.