?
IS IT
POSSIBLE
GIVING A CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW EDUCATION
By Becky Keep
IF
I HAD BEEN told early on in my foray into motherhood that I’d be
one of those “homeschool” moms I would have laughed and said,
“Never!” And as a nurse, my favorite line in reference to homeschooling was
often, “Bring a child to me when they’re bleeding, but please don’t ask me to
teach them to read!”
I could not have known then that God would lead my husband, Tim, and
me to serve Him in the country of the Philippines, and my part in that service
to Him would include homeschooling our menagerie of five children. Some
of them were eager to learn and easy to teach, another was simply allergic to
all things scholastic, and one—totally blind!
It was at the end of our first year as missionaries that we were blessed with
our third child, a son. We named him Jesse. We were shocked and horrified
when at the age of five weeks he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer of the
eyes. This necessitated our return home to begin treatment in an endeavor
to save not only his sight but his life. At the end of an intense four-year fight,
Jesse emerged cancer free but totally blind.
We began preparing to return to the Philippines to continue the work that
had been so abruptly interrupted. Although we felt clearly this was the path
for us to take, I had grave concerns about taking a blind child—one who was
ready to begin school—to the third world where educational resources for a
special needs child were limited or simply nonexistent.
This began a journey for me, an odyssey of discovery that has enriched,
challenged, and broadened my life, my perspective, my courage, and my faith
in the awesome God I serve. I realize now more than ever, the wonderful
privilege that was mine to spend 13 years learning alongside our son, both
in a homeschool and a private Christian school setting. And in retrospect, I
can see clearly several key truths that lend success a hand when it comes to
overseeing the Christian/private education of a special needs child.
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