All throughout the world our people suffer a common dilemma which affects the future of our people; the crisis in the education of our children. The main concern parents have is that their children receive poor education. Unfortunately most parents hope that the government or politicians will address their concerns. Many admirable speeches have been made and policies were presented that were meant to fix some of the issues. However, no progress has been made and in some cases it has become exponentially worse because of the impoverished state of our people.
Within the scriptures there is a simple solution, a commandment given to us by God, that is to teach your children. Deuteronomy 6:7 “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” This commandment explains that the parents are responsible for the education of their children. From the moment that “thou risest up” from bed to when you “liest down”, your child is learning from you “in thine house”. Today that is called homeschooling. Most parents are led to believe that homeschooling is reserved for children with disabilities or special needs. But have you ever seen those videos of children that are gifted that are considered geniuses? The majority of their success is due to the fact that they are home schooled!
Nearly in all countries it is legal to home school; meaning parents have the choice to administer their child’s education rather than a public school. 2nd Maccabees 7:27 “But she bowing herself toward him, laughing the cruel tyrant to scorn, spake in her country language on this manner; O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee suck three years, and nourished thee, and brought thee up unto this age, and endured the troubles of education.” A great number of countries where it is considered legal have restrictions, this usually means that the parents have to report to the government.
To provide an example of what it is meant by restrictions, let’s take a look at the United States. In the map below, we could note that regulations differ depending the state you live in.
The state of New York is a high regulation state, which means that parents must notify the state that they intend to provide home instruction. After enrolling your child, you must submit the planned curriculum for the year known as individualized home instruction plan (IHIP). Once the school year has begun, you must report quarterly the lesson plan completed with a grade or progress evaluation of the child. Finally at the end of the year an annual assessment is submitted, declaring whether the child completed all requirements. Although it is not required or submitted it is recommended to keep record of attendance. Due to COVID-19 the process has become easier since they have provided the documentation online and it is submitted by email. As mentioned earlier, every state (or country) has its own process, make sure to check with your local department of education. Below we have outlined the steps, documents, dates of submission, and contact information for New York City. Note: all dates of submissions are suggested by Central Office of Home Schooling.
Letter of Intent: submit by July 1st to the email address LetterofIntent@schools.nyc.gov
Individualized Home Instruction Plan (Grades 1-6): submit by August 15th to the email address Homeschool@schools.nyc.gov (IHIP for Grades 7-8, and for Grades 9-12)
Quarterly Report: submit QR1 by November 15, QR2 by January 31, QR3 by April 15, and QR4 by June 30 to the email address Homeschool@schools.nyc.gov
Annual Assessment: submit by June 30 to the email address Homeschool@schools.nyc.gov