A Father and Son Look Back

Twenty-two years ago I was a young father with a little boy, my first child, aged two. My father-in-law called me aside. “How are you going to educate your son?” he asked. I had no idea. I had hopes and fears for the future, but I had no vision. I wanted the best for this young soul, but what was the best? And how on earth could I get him there?

My father-in-law told me that homeschooling was the answer. I followed his lead, but every step was an act of faith. Doubts and detractors plagued me every step of the way. Loved ones, strangers, and friends amplified and confirmed the darkest fears of my heart. I was not qualified to educate my own children. I was not able to educate my children. I was risking my son’s future on a hope and a prayer.

In the midst of this cloud of shadows I stepped forward in faith. From faith came a vision. From a vision came a plan. From a plan came a lifestyle. But no matter how crisp the vision became, it never told me exactly the future would hold.

But eventually the future gives way to the present. Eventually our looking forward becomes a looking backward. Eventually we reach our destination.

That little boy is now 24. And he agreed to sit down with me for a wide-ranging interview. Father and son at the microphone, me asking the questions and he giving the replies. What was it like to be homeschooled? What were the highlights and the low points? What was it like to go to college and to start a job? And most importantly, what would you say to the young father like me with a child in his arms and a hope in his heart? Listen as a father and a son look back.

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Selected books mentioned in this episode:

• An Island Story by H. E. Marshall
• Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Paddle-to-the-Sea by H. C. Holling
• Seabird by H. C. Holling
• Minn of the Mississippi by H. C. Holling
• Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
• Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
• Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
• Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley
• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
• Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
• Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
• Redwall books by Brian Jacques
• American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
• Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat
• The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch
• Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
• The Once and Future King by T. H. White
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
• King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• Exploring Creation with Biology (2nd Edition) by Jay L. Wile
• Exploring Creation with Chemistry (2nd Edition) by Jay L. Wile
• Advanced Chemistry in Creation (2nd Edition) by Jay L. Wile
• Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett