With the advent of our homeschool journey, it seems appropriate to develop and record the philosophy which guides my teaching. I am blessed with a wide range of exposure to academic institutions: home education, community college, private university, state university, public high school, public middle school and Christian middle school. These experiences have introduced me to diverse teaching styles, philosophies and learning strategies. Along the way I have incorporated some into my own philosophy and rejected others. My teaching style is organic, adapting as necessary to the tone of the day; my philosophy, the assembled convictions that guide what I teach, will be a constant as my students and I grow.

It is ironic to observe the evolution of education in America across the centuries. There was a point where schooling was minimal (Abraham Lincoln was self-taught) to now feeling like children must be in preschool for 8 hours a day. The Greatest Generation learned the core subjects and defeated the Axis of Evil; today’s students are receiving sexual preference and tolerance education. Will they be equipped to defeat the next evil which threatens the world? The difference between the victories of then and the weakness of now is that we have gone from teaching how to think to teaching what to think.

My philosophy of education incorporates four postures a student should develop in order to know what he thinks so he can articulate it and act upon it:

• The posture of the soul towards God: education is meaningless without an assurance of eternity with God
• The posture of the heart towards man: education is empty unless it benefits mankind and teaches us to do good for our neighbor
• The posture of the mind towards learning: education has no ending and should be embraced with an eagerness to learn more
• The posture of the body towards living: education develops a healthy mind that needs a healthy body in which to reside

Over the next few weeks I will expound on these postures and share the vision I hold for my little students.