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Remember the
Witness:
Reflections on the Recent
National LDS Homeschool Conference
My Report on the Conference
Did We Make a
Difference?
Thanks for the
Memories
My Report on the Conference
by Doreen Blanding
WOW! What a conference. Seldom does a homeschooling
parent gather among friends without the accompaniment of
all their children. Seldom does a homeschooling parent
get to sit and be fed for a day, rubbing shoulders with
like-minded people from across the country, but for the
first time ever, on
June 3, 2005, that is just what happened. The attendees
who gathered together on a typically beautiful spring
Utah morning had a rare treat.
The National LDS Homeschool Association conference
started with a beautiful
song by Aaron Edson from Liken the Scriptures,
www.likenthescriptures.com,
and the buffet just continued to delight. The keynote
speaker, Lori Scovill, a professor from
University of Houston, was absolutely a delight. She
took us down her homeschooling journey with laughter
and deep thought, but most importantly, a reminder
of why each of us are on the same path but at
different spots on the path. A few things are still
very prominent in my mind as I reflect a week later
on her wonderful address.
First, we need
to treat each other as the very important people that we
are -- children of
God. We would put on our best behaviors for a King, a
CEO, our priesthood
leaders -- and yet, we don't do the same for our own
children, and they are
indeed royalty.
Second, we have to treat our children with respect,
love, and trust if we expect to get the same in return.
Third, it is a partnership not a relationship. A
partnership, according to Lori, means working together
50/50 towards a goal where you are equally invested to
meet the goal. We are to work with the child.
Last, we cannot forget that is it *their*
education, so let them be in charge of it. If we
"take over" the course and structure of their education,
we are
telling our children that their ideas and their
education is not worthy of
their thought and input. I guess her presentation hit me
personally, as we
are just about to enter high school with my eldest. If I
give him the right
tools, he can reach his own goals, not mine.
Other speakers at the conference were just as wonderful
in helping us
remember exactly why we are all homeschooling. Ken Ebert
and Jay Powell bore strong testimony of the proper roles of fathers in
their homes and in
particular in their role of their children's education.
They gave examples
of ways to do just that -- from sitting back and letting
the homeschool mom move
forward, to doing laundry and helping with dinner. It
was a strong reminder
that we are couples doing the work God gave us, so act
as couples.
Jay also
treated us to his beautiful piano playing throughout the
conference. I
don't recall any of the words he sang, but I do remember
the spirit
whispering to me the things I needed to change in my
home. As a musician
myself, I recognize that it was through Jay's music that
the spirit was able
to speak to me.
The teen speaker, BJ Hunter, was a gem! I wanted to
stuff him in my
suitcase and bring him home and show my boys what they
could become if only
they put into practice the things which he shared with
us. At 16, this
young man has his life in front of him and he knows what
he wants. He wants
an education and he knows that it is up to him to get
one. He wants to be a
valiant young missionary, an honorable father and
celestial husband, and he
knows exactly what to do and more importantly, that it
is totally in his
power to make it happen or not. His sister, Katie,
shared her vocal talents
with us as well. What a family!
Jolene Irving shared with us the vision and history of
this wonderful
organization and then treated us to a slide show of
pictures from around the
world of other LDS homeschooling families. What a treat
to see pictures
from all points of the compass and even into Mexico and
Japan. We truly are
not alone.
Not often does one get to hear from someone who has had
a total change of
heart about homeschooling and especially after her own
children have left
the nest, but Darla Isackson bore strong testimony of
the strength of
keeping children home and educating them at our knees.
She shared with us
her journey to that testimony. It was a treat to hear
from her
daughter-in-law, Heidi, and hear how she came to
homeschooling, and how she
eventually shared with her mother-in-law, Darla, the
power of homeschooling.
It is hard to review and critique one's own
presentation, but I will try.
My husband and I feel very fortunate and privileged to
have been able to
speak at the National LDS Homeschool Association
conference. We wanted to
share with others our love for learning, our love for
our children and our
passion for homeschooling. We started out by showing two
film clips on
different ways to teach. There is a stark contrast in
the two examples.
One approach bores the children to distraction and the
other grabs the
children's attention by asking questions and seeking the
answers. We hoped
to present wonderful ideas on how to "entice" children
into learning, and I
think we were able to give a new perspective for
bringing excitement to the
learning process.
Paul Savage spoke to us about being leaders.
Walking the walk of a leader, by setting a strong
example without cutting down or criticizing what others
are doing; leading out with confidence, courage and
truth.
Jack Monnett ended the conference encouraging us
all to continue the course. What we are doing is worthy
of our every effort and sacrifice.
I could go on and on, as my conference handbook is full
of wonderful notes.
One statement I remember from Ken Ebert's presentation
is: "When you are
doing right there will be opposition." This sentiment
was echoed by Jay
Powell, as well. Perhaps we can all keep in mind, while
we are "remembering
the witness," that there will be opposition to our good
works. What do we
do when opposition comes? One solution is to approach
our Father in Heaven,
and through prayer, find our solace and our strength to
continue another
day. Another means of strength is to seek out and find
our homeschooling
peers through forums like the National LDS Homeschool
Association
conference. I'm confident I will also find strength for
the journey from
the regular publications of LDS-NHA, The Sentinel, the
Leaders' Post, and
the Quarterly Bulletin.
This was a great conference, and I'm already looking
forward to next year's
conference. When is registration? I'm there!
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