Indoctrination is a touchy subject. Every time the two ends of the spectrum on homeschooling come together, this word magically appears. Like venom, the word is spat with disgust and accusation… “homeschoolers are just out to indoctrinate their kids.” Of course we’re not, are we? I was struck this morning by the absurdity of this accusation, the double standard that it imposes and really, the ignorance that it represents.

Before we can really dive into this topic though, we have to understand what indoctrination really means. Essentially, in Webster’s Dictionary it is defined as,

to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle

The problem comes not in the written definition but rather the cultural expansion of the definition. The word was first used in the 17th century to simply mean teach. Over time, it took on a more negative connotation and was used to describe teaching your own biases and beliefs. Now, though the actual definition has not changed, the cultural use of the word is usually meant to infer teaching your own biases and beliefs and teaching students not to question these teachings nor consider any other teachings… essentially brainwashing students.

Indoctrination (as it is defined) happens everyday in every school in every home in every news article in every show

Biases, opinions, beliefs, they are the very foundation of our personality. They shape our thoughts, our conversations, our ideas. Every show I have ever watched, portrays a hidden message. If you look closely enough, you can see the core beliefs of the person that wrote that or directed that movie. The news, supposed to be strictly facts, has become incredibly unreliable. Entire news organizations are now known for their political stances and left-wing/right-wing tendencies. When it comes to education, you need to take only one look into a classroom or textbook to see that opinion and bias and cultural messages are strewn in every lesson, every reading and every assignment. Our kids are being indoctrinated EVERYWHERE THEY GO!

Every home, every parent, every brother and sister and grandparent and aunt… our kids are a product of their environment. The people who raise them, the people they spend the most time with, influence them and therefore influence their very ideas and perspectives on the world. Every home, aware of it or not, is indoctrinating it’s children with every conversation and viewpoint that is expressed.

Public schools, bringing in their new policies and new gender spectrums, are teaching our kids to question their sexual identities. I get taken down on this every time I write about it, but leading psychiatrists are speaking out on the rise in suicide and depression and the danger of the transgender movement. This is the epitome of indoctrination, and a very harmful one at that. I would say that schools and our culture in general even take this indoctrination to the next level. Not only is it taught as a bias, an opinion, a stance… but it is not allowed to be questioned. Other viewpoints are not taught to our children. They are taught to consider evolution as fact rather than a theory, they are NOT TAUGHT creationism. They are NOT ALLOWED to question homosexuality or the fact that someone identifies as a different gender or species.

Side note: If you are reading this as someone who is LGBTQ, I am not trying to get into a debate about sexuality or identity, though I obviously, from the opinion, flair, and approach of this article, have my own thoughts and ideas on the matter (let me clarify that this is not a news article, it is an opinion piece). I am merely trying to point out that the fact that we, even as a culture, are not allowed to have different ideas or opinions on this, speaks to the indoctrination of our society.

Do I indoctrinate my children in my home?

Before I really sat down and read the definition, I would have said ABSOLUTELY NOT! I guess the question comes down to whether you are asking me based on Webster’s definition, or 2017 culture definition. According to Webster’s dictionary, yes, I indoctrinate my kids. I teach them based on my own ideas and viewpoints and beliefs. I teach them about creation, I teach them about God, I teach them about marriage between a man and a woman, I teach them about right and wrong. My husband and I raise our kids based on our own understandings and ideas, just like each and every one of you.

If you are asking, however, if I teach as our schools do, teaching ONLY one side, not ALLOWING my children to consider other viewpoints, then you would be dead wrong.

In fact, I think it is fair to say that I homeschool my kids so that they will NOT be indoctrinated by the school system.

I teach my children evolution as a theory that they will be learning about and should consider. I teach them about God but when they have questions, I encourage them to wrestle with those questions, to find their own answers. I don’t want my kids to “inherit” my faith and my beliefs, I want them to come to their own conclusions and hopefully one day have their OWN ideas and beliefs that they have come to by sifting through the billions of opinions in the world and finding what is true. I teach them opinions, and I teach them NOT AS FACT but as exactly that, what some people believe.

Closing thoughts

I guess I find it ironic that the very term used to slam me when I post something about the gender spectrum or creation science is the very thing that is happening in every public school in America. I find it sad that they are blind to just how entrenched they are in that culture that they can’t even see it. Truthfully, however, I am not surprised. This is just the tip of a very slippery slope. I think the day will come when the government, schools, our “big thinking, open minded, tolerant” culture will be burning books like in Nazi Germany if they don’t align with what they want our society to learn and know. Until then, I am thankful that I have the freedom to pull my kids out of the “system” and allow them the freedom to explore facts and learn all sorts of ideas and have permission to have their own opinions, a freedom they wouldn’t be allowed in the school system.

What do you think? Agree or Disagree? Comment below!

All comments, ideas, opinions and beliefs are welcome to comment and debate on this article. Hateful, demeaning comments will be deleted. Not for your opinion, but for your intolerance. So let’s keep it civil and see what some of the different ideas are on this subject.

Pin me!