Monday, June 23, 2014

The Quads . . . Graduating? Really? What are They Going to Do Now?

Everyone knows it's graduation season! 
 But not many folks know we have
four graduating from high school in our home.

Because our approach to education, graduation and college is a bit different than most, we thought we might try to answer some questions that we know have been on the minds of some of our friends and family. 

Written by Daddy Bowes

Purpose:  The purpose of this post is to very briefly describe our family philosophy on education, graduation and college to family & friends who are genuinely interested . . . and maybe even a bit concerned.  This philosophy is grounded in our understanding of our role as Christian parents to train up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; but I’m not including specific Bible references to save space.  We really do care about what our dear family and friends think, but we’re not trying to convert you if you disagree.  We know we’re ultimately responsible to God for how we train the kids He entrusted to us; and we take His instructions, admonitions and warnings seriously (Matthew 18:5-6).  We believe He loves us, wants the best for us and our kids, and that His best is found by obeying & trusting Him.

Education In General:  As Christian parents we believe the ultimate goal is to bring glory to God in everything we do, including how we educate the kids He gives us.  To us, this translates to providing them a distinctly Christ-centered education . . . with the Bible as the core curriculum.  We believe education is at its best when it provides the resources, encouragement and discipline necessary for our kids to discover God’s plan for their lives, and equip them to fulfill that plan.  We believe God entrusts specific children to specific parents for specific reasons.  We also believe God made boys and girls equal in value, but different in roles and natural aspirations . . . and thus different in educational needs.  Because the above ideas conflict with popular education, home education was the clear choice for us.  The priority of our home discipleship was not academics, but we do believe academic achievement can help prepare kids to glorify God.  We believe it is critically important in today’s world to be able to read, write, speak and “calculate” with excellence, so this is our academic goal.  We also believe introducing our kids to “real life” early in their lives is important; so we have resourced & encouraged them in entrepreneurial undertakings . . . in which they have thrived.

Graduation:  Since our philosophy does not follow the “scope & sequence” approach of institutionalized education—but aims to develop a lifelong love for learning—graduation is not especially relevant.  However, because so much is made of graduation in our society, and we don’t see it hindering our kids in any way, we decided it best to “do as the Romans”.  We call our home education program Bowes Academy, graduate the kids when we believe they are ready for a significant step towards adulthood, and issue a diploma to reflect this.  We prepare transcripts to show what they have studied/mastered along the way.  For our boys, we require a good score on the SAT test to keep options open for college.  For our girls, if we or they thought college was likely in their future, we would also require a good score on the SAT.

College:  Our belief in God’s different design for men & women is most evident in our views regarding college.

Men . . . by God’s design are the primary providers, protectors, and leaders of their families.  We believe God wants us to prepare our boys to be fatherly, masculine providers & leaders even if they never marry nor have children.  We believe this makes it possible (but not certain) that they will need additional education at some point.  Thus we require a good SAT score to graduate and will help with additional education as God leads.

Women . . . by God’s design are the primary helpmeets and managers of their families.  We believe God wants us to prepare our girls to be motherly, feminine helpmeets even if they never marry nor have children.  We believe this makes it unlikely that college will be necessary.  Remarkably, though the most likely occupation for Christian women is still wife/mother/home manager, many are shocked or disappointed if they hear that this is the aspiration of a young lady.  We believe the role of wife/mother/home manager was designed by God as the most important, fulfilling, and God-honoring calling of Christian womanhood (Titus 2) . . . and we’re thrilled that our daughters aspire to this calling!  After graduation, we will help further prepare them for this through ministry to their family, church & community -and- continuing experience in business.  We believe both of these will prepare them for managing a home, supporting a husband’s provision, or providing for themselves while honoring God’s beautiful design for Christian womanhood.
 

Our dear Pastor Dean was on to the fact that Kyle, Caroline, Valerie and Victoria
 are quietly "graduating."
So he briefly recognized them at the end of the church service yesterday,
and blessed them with prayer and some special books.  


11 comments:

Elanee said...

Congratulations On your Graduation Kyle, Valerie, Victoria, & Caroline!!!! That's SO exciting for your all to graduate together!

Maria said...

Lord bless you, Kyle, Caroline, Valerie and Victoria for honoring the Lord through your early childhood years of home education and discipleship. Enhance your love for learning, be used by God to fulfill His good purposes and honor Him in using the skills He has given you. You have been faithful servants of the Lord. Lord is found evident in your lives. He is magnified! Mr. Bowes, you did a very good job communicating on behalf of your wife and you God's intent for home-based discipleship and education. Psalms 34.3, The Booy Family

Shiloh Strang said...

Congratulations, Quads!! :)
Kyle, Valerie, Victoria, and Caroline (did I get the order right?)! I love your family's education purposes. I'd say that my family totally agrees. We don't do the SAT though. See you all soon!
~Shiloh :)

Shiloh Strang said...

Oops, just saw that the line up would be Kyle, Caroline, Valerie, and Victoria. I was thinking that Caroline was either the oldest of the girls or the youngest and that maybe Victoria was the youngest out of the four. Oh well, I have it memorized now for next time! :) ~Shiloh

Meemom said...

Congratulations Kyle, Victoria,Caroline and Valerie!!!
You have persevered and earned your way to your high school graduation!!!We are so proud of each one of you. You are truly a huge blessing!!! Much love, Meemom & Papa Bob

The Bowes Family said...

Thanks so much dear friends! We are sooooo grateful for your support and encouragement!!! We thank God for your special friendship!!! May God bless you abundantly for being such a blessing!

Meemom and Papa Bob,
Thanks so much! YOU are a huge blessing to us!
We love you!!!!



Kelley said...

Congrats to you four!!! You made it to the next level!

You all have grown up to be amazing young adults and I couldn't be happier nor prouder of you!!!!

I can't wait to see what God has in store for you...

I love you all!!
Aunt Kelley

Anonymous said...

Wow! Looks like kyle needs to mow his chin a bit. ;-)

-S0me0ne

The Bowes Family said...

Thanks so much, Aunt Kelley, for all your love, support and encouragement! We all love you so much!

Kyle Bowes said...

Actually, SomeOne, I mowed quite a few things today . . . including my chin. :0P The experiment went fairly well while it lasted. . . I was just prepping for no-shave November! ;0)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Graduation post! Love this!
Blessings to you all,
Mrs Strang

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