25th Anniversary Celebration: The Early '80s

Note: We are still in the process of sorting through all our old records, so in the upcoming weeks watch for more information, photos, and fun facts from the early years of HEAV! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the "tidbits" below.

1984 HOMESCHOOL LAW PASSED! January 1985 HEAV Newsletter
The January 1985 issue of the HEAV newsletter discussed the big 1984 homeschooling bill: The passage of the homeschooling law! The opening paragraphs recapped the year:

"Home Educators Association of Virginia has been busy in 1984. We have worked with literally hundreds of homeschoolers in the state. The officers of the association have traveled hundreds of miles to attend board meetings and many of the regional meetings, trying to encourage new homeschoolers and answer questions about how to deal with the new law, how to find curriculum, and how to go about the day to day routine of teaching their own children at home.

"We also have had the unfortunate task of counseling with parents who have not been treated favorably by local superintendents. This is one of the reasons why we have spent much time talking to legislators, asking to have the law administered fairly and asking that we have the most favorable law possible passed during the next session."

…AND TODAY
Twenty-five years later, homeschoolers enjoy relative freedom. Yet let us not forget the cost that was paid for our freedom--nor get slothful in defending our hard-won liberty.

ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS
Below is another pertinent item from this newsletter: a short article on "special concerns of home-schoolers." (Notice the hyphen--"home-schoolers" was not yet a common enough word to use without a hyphen.)

SPECIAL CONCERNS OF HOME-SCHOOLERS
Socialization
This is a topic many home educators are asked about by friends and relatives. The Teaching Home, a Christian publication, compared Christian Training with Humanistic Socialization. In Christian training, they state,

"1. The child's peer (peer is defined as the group that sets the norm) is God and the parents as representatives of God.
2. The child is trained to become a servant of his God.
3. The child is trained to see himself as being born with a sinful nature in need of a savior, made in the image of God and, as a Christian, made a new creature in Christ.
4. The child realizes his purpose is to glorify God in everything he does, and enjoy Him forever.
5. The child sees his worth as priceless to God. All human life is priceless and not dependent on usefulness.
6. The child understands happiness in Biblical terms. Joy is knowing Jesus."

In Humanistic Socialization,

"1. The child's peer is the group, the state of social law.
2. The child is trained to serve the state's interests and yields to the whims of the crowd.
3. This child is taught that he is born inherently good, his own savior, autonomous, having evolved from a slimy blob in the image of a monkey and no different or of more worth than other animals.
4. The child realizes his purpose is to serve the 'good of the people' and conform to the collective. This 'good' is constantly changing and can be arbitrarily set by the state.
5. Man measures his worth in comparison to others. If he is useless to the group, he has no value and is expendable, i.e. abortion, infanticide, euthanasia.
6. The child equates happiness with "coolness" and is quick to join in the latest fad lest this happiness escape him."

Grade Levels
Please do not be overly concerned about the "grade" level for your child. The idea of a grade level came from the school institution, not from the home! Whoever decided that children should be on a certain grade level at a certain age was not a mother, nor even an educator, but a school administrator who had to figure out how to divide up large numbers of children. We parents must think about our own child, teaching him so that he learns at his own pace, using his God-given talents. School administrators have been trying to fit all American children into some sort of mold or pattern. A child does not want to be squeezed into a shape that some stranger somewhere predetermined what was "good" for children his age!

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