Profiles in Education: The Thompsons

Meet the Thompsons, a homeschooling family from Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson both attended traditional public schools, but decided they wanted something different for their own four children. So, how did this family decide that homeschooling was best for them, and what happened next?

Mrs. Thompson described her educational history by saying she had always “been less than pleased with my education. I was a very good student, tested well, etc., but I knew from at least high school, if not earlier, that I was getting a mediocre education. It was all about playing the game, can you take the test, can you either shine, or in my case, keep your head down to survive?” Her husband, she says, also found public schools to be lacking and was “self-taught to a degree that it makes one wonder why we need schools anyway.” For their family, they decided to look into other options.

As private school was not an option as they are what Mrs. Thompson calls “institutionalized schooling.” The Thompsons didn’t know much about homeschooling, but were still attracted to the option and set out to learn more. Mrs. Thompson had the opportunity to spend time with a homeschool family as a young mother, and was impressed with the children. She read up on the subject, then realized that homeschooling would also be the perfect way for their family to live out their Christian faith. 

The Thompsons knew that the right education for their children would be based in belief and submission to God “as in ‘God made everything and, yay!, we get to discover it.’” They felt this was the best way to make their kids life-long learners with a joy of learning, and focus more on learning than standardized test scores. 

Fortunately, Texas is a homeschool-friendly state, which also helped them along their way. In Texas, there are only three requirements: that the instruction be bona fide, the curriculum be visual, and that it includes reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship. In addition, the kids are involved with extra-curricular activities that provide them with an active social life. 

Not all children learn the same way. The Thompsons found that traditional education was not the right fit for them, and decided to find something better for their family. Although it is a lot of work, for this family, homeschooling is the perfect fit!