As a homeschooling parent and a “resource librarian” for our homeschool lending library, I am constantly on the lookout for good educational resources and teaching tools. Over the years, I’ve made a practice of jumping on interesting looking books, videos, or other items that I’ve seen advertised because I am never quite sure that I will see them offered again any time soon. This practice has placed within my fingertips useful tools to further the education of my own children along with assisting other homeschoolers, too.
A couple of years ago as I was driving in the car, I heard an interview; the author of The Privileged Planet was describing the thesis of his book. Simply put,
“…a rare and finely tuned array of factors makes Earth suitable for complex life…. The same factors that make a planet like Earth hospitable to life also provide the best conditions for scientific discovery.”*
I ordered the “must-see” (according to the radio host) companion DVD. It lived up to the superlatives used in the interview. It, along with the book, has become part of our science curriculum and makes its way into the hands of other homeschooling families who use our library.
Resources like this one prove most helpful to homeschooling parents, many of whom feel inadequate to provide in-depth science instruction. This one-hour DVD provides sharp and specific weapons to combat the deceptions of the Big Bang Theory as it is currently taught in most schools and accepted in modern culture. Moreover, the graphics, commentary, and thorough explanations reveal the simplicity of the answer to the question of Why are we here?, while resonating within the soul of a believer the words of Scripture, “Let God be true and all men liars" (Rom 3:4). It is just as the Bible states, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made"(John 1:3).
The comparison to homeschooling is quite compelling:
The rare and finely tuned array of factors that make obedient parents suitable for teaching and discipling their children, are the same factors that make homeschooling hospitable to providing the best conditions for furthering the Kingdom of God.
By answering God’s call to provide Christian education for our children, God additionally provides the means to continue in that obedience. I not only live on a privileged planet, I am most certainly a privileged parent.
*from the DVD liner notes
- Andrea G. Schwartz
Andrea Schwartz is Chalcedon’s family and Christian education advocate, and the author of eight books including: A House for God: Building a Kingdom-Driven Family, The Biblical Trustee Family: Understanding God’s Purpose for Your Household, Empowered: Developing Strong Women for Kingdom Service, Woman of the House: A Mother’s Role in Building a Christian Culture, and The Homeschool Life: Discovering God’s Way to Family-Based Education. She’s also the co-host of the Out of the Question podcast, the Chalcedon podcast, and has an active teaching schedule with women and high schooled students.. She can be reached at [email protected].