If you are a new homeschooler, the reasons for homeschooling your children are probably fresh in your mind. This e-book will help you clarify those reasons and put your educational plan in writing to ensure that your homeschool starts out on a strong foundation and continues to function well into the future.
If you have been homeschooling for a while, you may have noticed that the busyness of daily life seems to distract you from the principles that matter most. Your family can get back on track by formulating a mission statement to guide you from this day forward. Don't delay - get started today!
One of the most important concepts to teach your children
involves having a sense of direction in life. Ambitions without goals
are merely dreams. Many companies, churches, schools, and even families
have mission statements. Creating a mission statement for your homeschool
can also be useful.
A homeschool mission statement is like a compass that guides your course.
When referred to regularly, it helps to shape the goals you set and the
decisions you make that lead to your destination. By defining timeless
values that do not change, it provides direction for strategies that do
change.
A homeschool mission statement proclaims the reason and purpose of your
homeschool. It describes its desired effect upon family members. The mission
statement incorporates values, principles, and philosophies. It should
be positive, uplifting, and empowering. It may include ends (goal) and
means (how to go about achieving those goals), that specify how the mission
is to be accomplished day by day and into the future.
The homeschool mission statement should be one that can be visualized
and communicated. It must contain meaningful principles from which no
one is exempt. If you write it down and post it where everyone will see
it, you're more likely to live up to its standards. When placed as a focal
point on the wall, it will be a constant reminder of why you chose to
homeschool. It will also be a convenient way to inform visitors of your
commitment to the education of your children.
The first step in planning a homeschool mission statement is for all
members of the family, including children, to sit down together and have
a brainstorming session. It is best to choose a leisurely time when people
are more likely to be in a reflective state of mind. Use a notebook, chalkboard,
marker board, or large paper pad on an easel for writing down ideas. At
this point, welcome all thoughts and do not allow comments to be made
about the validity of any suggestion. Listen respectfully and record everyone's
expressions accurately. Be patient, as this process will take time. It
is important to get everyone's input, because where there is no involvement
in the drafting of the mission statement, there will be no commitment.
As a starting point, here are some questions to ponder and discuss:
Why did we decide to homeschool? What does being a homeschooling family
mean to us? What is the vision and purpose of our homeschool? What is
our purpose in life? What things are most important to us as a family?
What are the priorities on which we want our family to focus (such as
trust, honesty, kindness, service)? What guiding principles and values
do we want our family to live by? What competencies do we want our children
to develop (physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually)?
What is our responsibility in caring for our children? What kind of home
environment do we want our children to grow up in? What great historical
figures have inspired us? What are our dreams for the future?
Think about the above issues and talk about them. Separate responses
into categories based on their themes. Divide them into goals (what you
are striving for) and action items (things to do to reach the goals).
Shorten the list by deciding which are the main recurring themes and by
combining similar ideas. Keep going over the list of suggestions and re-writing
them until everyone agrees on what your homeschool mission statement should
include. Each family member has to ultimately agree, since working together
toward the same vision is vital for a homeschool to function properly.
Never copy someone else's mission statement in an attempt to make it
yours. Their mission statement reflects their unique style and point of
view, as yours must reflect your own. Your homeschool mission statement
will have a special meaning for your family that goes far beyond the meaning
it would have for anyone else. Each part of it will remind you of the
many discussions you had on that topic.
A homeschool mission statement does not have to conform to any set of
rules. It may be in the form of prose or poetry. It can be a phrase, a
sentence, or an entire page. It may incorporate a picture, symbol, or
motto. A homeschool mission statement may be based on a Bible verse or
other suitable quotation. Bible verses relating to homeschooling include:
Proverbs 1:2-8, 2:6, 4:1, 13:1, 22:6;
Psalm 25:4-5, 32:8;
II Timothy 3:14-15;
Deuteronomy 6:5-8;
Ephesians 6:4;
Isaiuh 54:13;
Joshua 24:15.
Keep your homeschool mission statement simple. This does not necessarily
mean short, although it can be, but make it something everyone understands
and will remember. A mission statement has to be written in the heart
and mind as well as on paper. When family members have internalized the
principles of the mission statement, they can sense the appropriate practices
that pertain to each special situation.
Once you have developed your homeschool mission statement, you and your
children must follow it. Your homeschool mission statement should be a
"living" document. Don't just file it away--use it, review it, memorize
it. Use the homeschool mission statement to help you stay on the right
course. By comparing your actions to the mission statement, you can tell
if you are straying off the path. If you have difficulties, the mission
statement helps you get back on track by motivating you to make course
corrections.
By placing the homeschool mission statement in your school room or in
a prominent place where the family gathers, it will be a constant reminder
of your homeschool's purpose and principles. Look at it often and regularly
consider how you are conducting your homeschool in accordance with the
homeschool mission statement.
POSTSCRIPT
The public school mission statements are included for the purpose of comparison.
Notice how the homeschool missions are stated, then take a look at the
public school mission statements.
Each homeschool mission statement embraces a personal heart-and-soul
emotion, while the public school statements all have a sterile written-by-committee
feel. They are full of politically-correct bureaucratic gobbledygook seemingly
designed more to confuse than enlighten.
There is nothing in the public school mission statements for which anyone
can be held accountable. The school boards don’t want to take a chance
on offending anybody, so consequently their mission statements mean nothing.
A writer once stated "Tolerance is the virtue of people who do not believe
in anything." In other words, when we become so accommodating that we
don't even recognize or oppose evil, our moral decline is evident.
Stand up for your principles. Inscribe them on your doorposts. Use the
public school mission statements as examples of how NOT to write your
homeschool mission statement.
Additional References:
First Things First, by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill
How to Develop a Family Mission Statement, by Stephen R. Covey
The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement For Work and For Life, by Laurie Beth Jones
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