Comments on Lifestyle of Learning

"I am 50 years old and have a degree in Secondary (which is "high school" for those who may not have heard of that) Ed, in English and History. I loved learning but I never liked "school." I have been in that season of re-education for the past 5 years (our boys are 9 and 11) and I am finally seeing myself become free after 5 years of reading everything from Doreen Claggett, the Moores, Wisdom's Way of Learning, John Taylor Gatto, the Principle Approach. Every year I was tied up in knots, until I read Wisdom's Way of Learning. I knew it was the Lord, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light." ~Barbara from TN

"I received Wisdom's Way of Learning as a birthday gift last year and Marilyn (Howshall) put on paper many things that I had been feeling about education... I knew there had to be a better way to *educate* our children ~ in fact, I often wish that I had been "educated" in the same manner that Marilyn describes in her book! However, the Lord has passed His wisdom to us through Marilyn and we can truly give our children the education that we missed! I am also looking forward to this season of re-education for myself!" (Name withheld)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following mom had been homeschooling for 8 years, was ready to quit, and then a friend gave her Marilyn's book. She wrote to me:

"We knew immediately this was from the Lord for us. We have implemented ideas from it, and I cannot begin to tell you the change in my son (12 years old) and I. We were burnt out, now we're enjoying ourselves. Certainly the Lord brought this wonderful "new concept" of just following him (!!) to us. Thank you for your part* in this." (Name withheld)

I'm not exactly sure what she means by "your part" as she didn't get specific, but my part is generally to point people in that direction to begin with, and then to give some hands-on ways of applying it to sort of get people "jumpstarted" into it. The last half of the following letter gets more specific about that very thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here is a longer letter that Luz Marina Lovins, a

homeschool mom and dear sister-friend, wrote to me about...

Misunderstanding the

Lifestyle of Learning

Message

Many homeschooling moms "out there" have totally misunderstood the Lifestyle of Learning message. I'm not sure how this has happened because I think Marilyn did a great job on her book. The problem seems to be that many moms think the Lifestyle of Learning approach is about throwing out all curricula, sitting back, and letting the kids do whatever "delights" them.

Now, you know what that will be if these kids: 1) have been in public school before, and/or 2) have not been trained to be "spiritually-minded." These moms, not understanding what the real message is, essentially do nothing to direct the children. Not understanding the difference between "delight-directed" and "flesh-directed," many moms flounder around not knowing what to do because the kids are not interested in any learning things. Husbands, not seeing any fruit, become a bit impatient with the lack of results. Most unfortunate of all, however, the children have no direction.

If our life, our homeschool, is not bearing fruit, we are doing something wrong. But many moms, realizing their lives aren't bearing good fruit, still don't know where to take it from there. Many of us are the product of public schools; it takes time to break out of this mold, and many people need specifics to know how to do so. "How do we implement this?" "What does this look like on a day-to-day basis?" The concept of finding a vision is so abstract they don't know where to begin. I think your work provides them with "eyes-on" examples. I understand that Marilyn does not want people merely copying what she does. And I agree with that. But I also think many moms need to be led by the hand for a little bit, before they can venture off on their own.

Many homeschoolers begin with the best of intentions, but get lost with the worries of this world. Curricula, test scores, and requirements become the focus and topic of every conversation. Marilyn's message – and yours, Barb – brings homeschoolers' focus back to God. Without a vision the people perish. Right!? But where does that vision come from? God's word! People need to hear what God has to say about education, knowledge, wisdom, and the worries of this world. That's why your work is a ministry. It's not just about how to do high school our way and get away with it. [Aaaamen, Luz!] It's about getting back to God's vision for His people.

You, my dear friend, have a wonderful way of making that Lifestyle of Learning vision practical and do-able for those struggling to grasp it, who might otherwise just abandon it. Your articles on Accreditation, Testing, Honors Diplomas, and Dual Enrollment are wonderful examples of how you bring us back down to earth but out of "the world" at the same time and remind us of our real reason for "education".

– Luz Marina Lovins

All of the articles that Luz mentioned above

can be found in the Article Chart.