Homeschool vs Public & Private School (Special Guests Dalton Wilson & Mike Burkett) | S6 E1

Welcome back to the point -taking podcast.

We are in season 6 and I cannot be unfixated by this blue ring.

We will not be changing it.

That looks so cool.

Can is that coming through the camera?

Yeah, you see it on screen.

New season.

I forgot this was a new season.

I was about to say, you know, just continue on but we've taken a little break.

We got Guests, I think every week but y 'all really only care about seeing Anna.

She is the best personality for the podcast.

Let's go.

It's not really close if I am lying.

Then at the business meeting in two Sundays, you need to ask to have me removed as a pastor because that's one of the qualifications.

So either you take it back or I'll take it back, but I don't agree.

Pressure.

After all that intro that Lowell's gonna edit out.

We have Anna here.

Do not do that.

We have Anna here.

Who's our favorite?

We got Dalton here.

Who's normally running the camera screwing things up and making Lowell's life hard.

We got my boy Mike Burkett here and we are here talking about schooling as a Christian for

your parent for your children.

Excuse me as a parent as a parent.

So what's the right route, you know.

Public school?

Private school.

Home school.

And the questions very prevalent here in the city.

We all grew up in because I'm gonna say it like it is our public schools think I mean they they coming from

a public school.

Teacher.

So we got Great perspectives here.

We have Dalton who's gonna share some of his stuff, which is different for Mike's which is different for mine.

Which is different for Anna's and all from different angles some as a parent as a teacher as a so we're gonna get

into that.

But we have a game first now that I ruined most of the game time.

I'm gonna take that over.

That's okay.

Part two guaranteed.

It takes some work off of me, so that's all I'll clock out a Sunday, you know.

Okay.

So for would you rather I have three questions.

So we'll try to get through these if not time.

Would you rather be covered in fur or covered in scales forever?

Yeah fur.

100 Scales

a bird Either It's like wrapping in plastic You

can like send I can shave fur down scales like it's like.

Fish.

Fish are like crocodiles that kind of scale.

Oh, I was thinking of fish.

I was thinking like crocodile.

I guess reptile.

Well, yeah.

Cuz I can buzz my fur down to nothing.

I mean, yeah.

Covered in fur.

Yeah, already survived just fine.

I just picture that episode of Spongebob whenever they shave Sandy and like have her fur.

Can we just mention Anna's notes on a paper towel, yeah, I don't have peace paper.

That's awesome.

With nights we do what we have to do.

You got a ink pen and something to write on what they do it back in the day.

It was like back of pamphlets.

Down on my hand the other day cuz I had paper.

Hey, that didn't wash off until we do what we got to do in Witten.

Would you rather have unlimited sushi or unlimited tacos for life easy tacos

tacos?

Don't eat.

Okay, what kind of.

Sushi and I'll still choose tacos cuz tacos are the six best food.

I'm not saying I just like tacos.

I love tacos.

But like when I think about going out to get tacos.

Limited sushi that I wouldn't have to think about this.

Think about this in the morning in the morning.

You could get up and eat sushi and the lunchtime eat sushi and at dinnertime eat sushi.

I think I would just as unlimited for life.

So you can only eat sushi.

Oh.

Tacos but you're saying you can eat something different, you know, I put okay.

If money's not a thing, I put 17 ingredients on tacos.

Oh, it's like Chipotle or what.

Are you at Subway?

No, yeah, my house subway taco shop.

17 17, I'll take it all.

Add extra sauce.

You probably think I just made that number and you want to challenge no.

You.

You counted the toppings.

It's the six the best food so quickly it's just it's definitely thought of this

before 100

So you chose sushi and I love sushi.

Sushi is one of the few foods is about five or six of them that I used to not like and now I do.

I will kill some sushi.

My husband's like what do you want I said sushi but.

Tacos are still superior, dude.

What is sushi like 17th best?

Yeah.

It's like the 16th best food.

Don't sound like that, but that's how I hear somebody.

Most people like me.

Yeah, most folks that like sushi that are men like me or in a different part of town, you know.

Preppy Mike.

My guy here is wearing sunglasses because they're his prescription glasses and he broke his other ones

and he won't go get regular glasses.

I'm sitting here on the stage in in Sunday morning worship.

Well, we just talked about.

He looks at the screen at the world and squinting like a dork and he puts his glass

down goes amen.

I did not see it.

You're like, can I wear my sunglasses?

I'm like, they're your prescriptions.

I know what I feel like if I don't have mine not to mention.

It's pretty bright in here.

So it does work for this one.

Okay, so everyone was tacos except for me.

Yeah.

My whole family eats tacos.

I mean I tacos too.

It's like we had street tacos on Friday, but it's like I would much rather have sushi.

My guy my guys coming in with the practicality.

He's thinking of paying for Jameson.

Yeah.

Be my whole family.

Date night said I don't have to pay for like that's what I'm going.

I'd rather pay for date nights.

I got to feed my family every night.

You know, we're going to.

Tacos won me over with the practicality if I was anywhere in sushi tacos tacos.

It is man.

She's only.

That's great.

We're done.

It's more like a tortilla roll up.

Okay last one then we'll move on.

Would you rather be able to go to any theme park in the world for free for the Life or

eat for free at any drive -thru for the rest of the second one theme park.

No.

Think of money.

Don't think of the fun.

Think about how many more times you go to the drive -thru then you do the thing you still have to pay to get to.

The theme park.

Dude, let me tell you something.

I love theme parks like I get more enjoyment of roller coasters than eating Wendy's.

But I go to Wendy's 20 times more than I go to Six Flags.

So money -wise it makes way more sense to do drive -thru.

I don't know if money -wise because you'd probably spend about the same eating Wendy's 20 times and going

to the music part once.

Yeah.

$90.

Universal like I'm going.

Saying I don't care.

I would much rather not have to pay the ticket prices that are like $200 per person.

$200 per person per day.

Watch this math.

You follow me on this.

Okay, the average person who's not named Josiah and hasn't memorized a menu to know how to eat for less

than $10 spends on themselves $16 because they buy drinks, which is stupid.

$16.

Wendy's agreed.

Sure.

Double Baconator.

Okay, definitely.

16 times 20 is $320.

You know how much Disney is you $8 ,000.

No, you don't.

Yes you do.

Vacation.

No, it isn't for four days, how do you know this?

No onions.

This man can't take himself to the music park.

Twice and I can.

First one was like almost 5 ,000.

Say that you.

Certain areas.

He's not talking about.

No, I understand like with all the money you're not spending $8 ,000 just on the ticket.

I would not spend that but I'm not saying just to take it.

I wasn't Honeymoon, we did like bare minimum and it was still like almost $5 ,000.

It's just like what mine wasn't.

I think I did a different bare minimum.

Like a tiger.

The Witten.

Minimum you had a timeshare that you could do, right?

Yeah, so we had to pay.

I'm talking about just getting in the door.

That's what I'm talking about.

So I would even though it's like I would still we don't go to eat fast food a lot.

So like Lola and I were actually talking about this question I said, we just don't go out to fast food.

He's like, but if you.

Come on.

No, I'm talking for what I'm saying.

Again don't you do it.

Any good restaurants that have drive -thrus like we just we got a Captain D's.

No, we got a Captain D's where we live and I'm just like who the heck is gonna go to this Captain D's.

I'm not going the only I will.

My neighbor works at Captain D's and he told me a secret about southern batter and country batter.

It's a pretty funny story, but we're gonna move on to this lesson, right?

No, I'll give you the country batter season better.

The punchline on that.

All right, yeah, I'm definitely on team.

Breathe through.

Yes.

Engineers on my side.

I can get way more out of that than the theme park.

I mean, I'll go more just cuz it's free.

Exact.

You know saying I'm like, oh, I want a drink.

500 pounds I would get too fat doing that.

That's my other thing.

No, trust me.

I would.

That's a discipline issue.

That's what I'm saying.

Don't put that on me.

I don't have to pay for groceries.

So how many times after I see fat?

So how so how much would you do to get to the theme park?

That's free.

But I'm on now, but it's not free to get there.

It's a vacation that we're talking.

No, but it's free.

So you're gonna do everything you can to get there.

Yeah.

No, that's money.

No, I'm doing it.

If I don't have to pay a full price for a Disney vacation, I'm missing.

But you're still gonna get to go once every two years.

Yeah, that's fine.

Never.

How can someone be so amazing like you but so illogical and something.

She didn't say fast food specifically she said.

That is.

Corky's not all drive -thru is Wendy's.

You know what I'm saying?

Come on.

I'm with you.

I'm with you.

Hattie B's has a drive -thru.

No, it doesn't.

Corky's does.

That's a notch up.

Tops barbecue.

Thank you.

Tops barbecue.

I spend 60 there a week.

Come on.

Gosh.

I have seven people in my family, bro.

What do you mean?

I want that CeCe's pizza drive -thru.

I'll just keep circling the middle of it.

Come on guys.

I'll take another plate, please.

You know what Lowell and I would do?

We keep going circling and then sell it for $2 .50 at the person in the parking lot.

Hey, what do you want since it's not free for you?

I'll give it to you for half price.

Now I'm going to Universal Studios.

On the neighbor.

You go to Pandora's box.

Can we do the same thing with tickets to Disney?

I mean maybe.

I think we just broke this question.

Let's cut it off.

I would scalp those tickets at a heartbeat.

I'm just saying it's a lot of scalping.

Those families still gotta pay to get there.

I can sell fast food to anybody in this room.

Anybody.

In four minutes, everybody in here would buy a half off combo.

I want you to try it.

I would.

You want a double cheeseburger with top barbecue for three bucks?

With three streets.

Sycamore View, Covington Pike, and Summer Avenue.

I could make my month's rent in one day.

Just with half price.

Come on, dude.

Hit the supply houses with sacks.

Bojangles.

My son's calling Bojangles Jingle Bells.

Because he's getting Taco Bell and Bojangles confused.

He's like, I want to go to Jingle Bells.

And they're side by side on Whitten.

It's hilarious.

It's so funny.

How long did it take you to figure that out?

My wife figured it out.

I was like, what's he talking about?

I'm putting the song on.

He's like, no.

He wants to eat Taco Bell and Bojangles.

That's Jingle Bells?

That is so freaking cute.

It works.

Alright, guys.

Let's get into what we're trying to talk about.

And that is, as Christians, which we all are here.

Amen.

Education.

How do we do that with our kids?

I think from the get, I just want to say one thing, and then I think Anna wants everyone to give some experience on how they were educated.

I want everyone to hear me on this.

This is something that people don't realize.

It is not the government's job to educate your children.

It is your job.

If you choose to use tools at your disposal, like a private school, like public school,

that's your prerogative, and that's you using a tool to make it happen.

But it is not their job.

It is your job.

Just like it ain't your preacher's job, or your children's ministry job, to teach your kids about Jesus and get them baptized.

That's your job.

You can use the tools at your disposal, but at the end of the day, it's your job.

That's what the Bible teaches.

Just so everyone knows who's listening, that's the background we're all coming from.

At the end of the day, no matter what Anna, or Mike, or Josiah, or Dalton

choose to do with their current or future children in educating them, we are doing it from a mindset that it's our responsibility

to teach them the things they need to know, not someone else's.

Anna, I guess you want to go first?

Yeah, I'll go first.

I was raised in North Mississippi, which you don't have a lot of good public schools.

Up where we were.

You don't say.

I think there was literally one school at the time.

That was good?

No, that was there.

That's what I was getting at.

You had not many to choose from.

Right, so that was the reason why my parents sent us to private school at this one school and then we ended up

going to another private school that was closer to where we were at the time.

I was in private school from kindergarten until 12th grade and then I went to a private college,.

Which was.

Stupid expensive, but that was fun to pay back.

And I didn't even get a degree, so you know.

Skingle times.

So we ended up doing that first through 12th.

I had Bible classes all through school.

We had chapel that we were required to go to.

All of that.

We had AP classes.

I was never in that.

I was in honors classes for English and some other stuff like that.

So that's kind of like, I've always been in private school.

Always.

And so with my kids, I don't know necessarily school -wise what we would do

besides homeschooling.

Just because of our location and not a lot of good options out where we are.

It's kind of like me in a nutshell.

Alright, Burkett.

Alright.

I'm the public school guru here.

I've been to every school this side of the Mississippi all the way up to Millington.

I wouldn't change where I came from because it made me who I was today.

All the trials and tribulations that I went through through school made me be able to withstand

or put up with a lot more that I wouldn't be able to that some of my counterparts that

have went to these schools or whatever think are a big deal.

Not just the teaching of the school, but it's a camaraderie that

everybody's going through the same problems.

Like, you're broke you're struggling to get your lights on you're struggling to get your checks or whatever and you still

got to go to school.

So school was like a getaway from that.

It was a guaranteed meal.

It was a guaranteed friendship.

And then there those people were relatable to you.

Like I told y 'all earlier I failed the third grade because we moved six to ten times.

Probably ten if I was to be really honest about it.

I didn't know the difference between adding or subtracting or multiplying.

Third grade is where they do the math in public school.

So I would go to one school that would be more advanced and I'd just be mixing it all up.

So my mom just held me back.

But for me growing up at public school, I wasn't a Christian until

later.

And now that I have children I would like the lessons to be more Christian based

for my offspring.

Because that's what I wish I would have had that's been removed from public school since I've

been there.

Like it was the Pledge of Allegiance and God was part of school to an extent.

But now it's completely been removed basically.

So I mean I'm for public schools as for me growing up that way.

But I'm on the fence about putting my kids through

private school or keep them in public.

I'm in an area that our elementary school is good.

Macon Hall has a good background.

They teach good stuff and my kids have good grades.

But the sixth grade is Mount Pisgah.

And that's a no for me.

A hard no.

That's a big no.

So we've got to figure something out.

So we've been looking at FCS which is a private school.

But in the same time Arlington has opened up and they're allowing people to come in because Lakeland's high school

has opened and they're wanting.

People to come in from outside.

If you're not from Memphis.

Let me tell you something.

It is a.

Battle zone.

It is a war zone.

I could explain it but I'm not going to.

But it is a strange set up we have here on school systems and this and that.

I was about to say Lakeland and Arlington.

Are their own.

They're their own.

Municipal.

So they can approve who comes in.

They won't provide you bus rides or a way to get there.

After school child care you've got to pay for those things because they know that it's a farther drive or whatever.

But at the same time if I do my research and I feel like Arlington is adequate for what I want my child to

have, I'm not against doing that.

But at the same time I will go to FCS like I'm trying to do and evaluate

their program and their curriculum versus what Arlington would teach and see if that's where I'm more

interested for my kid's life path.

That's fair.

Okay.

So I guess I kind of have experience in all three realms here.

I was homeschooled until the ninth grade.

I was homeschooled all the way through.

My mom homeschooled all five of us and she did an excellent job.

When I read the Bible when I read in the Bible

and other languages to say that I'm grateful to my mother and I probably should do a better job of telling

you this is an understatement.

I mean the way I learned because I had one woman who poured her heart and soul into five students

whereas normally it's one teacher trying their best, some of

them, trying their best with 35 kids in there.

And that's just one class.

I'll get to that.

In a minute.

I did that until the ninth grade.

It was an adjustment for me because in the ninth grade I went to a private school.

It was a Roman Catholic school of which I am not a Roman Catholic.

It was an all -boys school and them dudes were buck wild.

I worked with one of those guys.

That was a there was good and bad things with that.

There was culture shock there, some of which I needed.

It was good and bad there.

They all came from preppy middle schools.

We didn't have a laptop at home.

We had one computer we all shared.

The only class that I was behind in was typing.

The tower.

The only class I was behind in was typing.

That's the class I had to come early and stay late for.

Well it shows what.

Your mom did for you.

Right.

Every other class I went in and I looked around and without any we did this three years ago.

What am I?

Typing was the one that they all left and smoked.

I'm sitting here like okay hold on.

Q -E -R -T -Y.

It's party up.

I took that class.

What was your qualm?

Your general words of the day.

56 words per minute when I graduated.

I'm at 26.

I got up to 70.

I'll be straight.

That's helped me with writing lessons now.

From there I went to a public university.

I went to the University of Memphis.

I loved that experience.

I loved that experience.

Then I was a public school teacher for Memphis.

City Schools.

He loved that experience.

I was a public school teacher for Memphis City Schools for four years.

Home school, private school, public university and public school teacher.

I did that from 2016 to 2020.

I do have some experience in all.

As far as my children, we are currently home schooling.

Your oldest, right?

My oldest.

She is learning at an incredibly rapid rate of which I can, and

this ain't a knock.

It's just the reality.

I can guarantee you because I've seen it.

She would not be learning at that rate in the other scenarios that are at my disposal right now.

At your disposal is what's really important though.

What do you mean?

When I grew up, I didn't have the option to be home schooled.

A single parent going to have to go to work.

Let me tell you something.

My wife and I made that decision before we had our first child.

That's how we were going to set it up.

Knowing that we would have one income but that this was worth it.

You prepared for it.

I've worked my butt off for it.

That's what we're doing.

As far as will that be all the way through?

Probably not.

It's going to be for a while.

I'll say that.

That's where we're at with that.

I have the perspective of two.

I was home schooled through 7th grade and then I went to private school 8th through 12th.

Don't touch the mic.

Get it?

His name is Mike.

Home school,.

I'll be honest with you, I can't remember a lot of it.

Was it that traumatizing for you?

No, I loved it.

It just wasn't that fun.

The grades, when you're home schooled, the grades merged together for me.

You mean the years?

Not what you're making.

First, second, third.

It all merged together.

You don't know when you're getting to the next grade.

Did you have summers off?

I did.

We would start early sometimes.

We didn't start when the regular school started.

Sometimes, one thing that I really loved about it is you could double up.

I say, I want to have the day off.

I can double up on it.

I do encourage home school.

If people ask me, I'm all for it.

There are a couple things that I don't like about it.

One, I had my brother and sister when I was younger 1st through 4th.

They left because they graduated.

Then there was just me.

Where I lived, there was no one.

Legitimately, I only had the people from my church.

There really wasn't a lot of people my age group.

I did not have any social.

Interaction at all.

That is one thing that was not good.

That's one thing I hated.

My parents hated it.

That is the main reason I started going to private.

They saw that my interaction was really low.

I was smart.

I was advanced in all my classes.

When I got to private school, my grades were higher than a lot of others because I was so advanced.

I could just double up.

My mom could focus only.

On me.

You had the one -on -one.

You didn't have to worry about everybody in the class.

They usually base the.

Curriculum.

Not the curriculum, the speed of the progression of the class on one of the slowest kids.

I was probably that kid in math.

I was never good at math.

My husband and I were talking about homeschooling our kids.

I'm like, I can teach our kids math up to third grade and then you're going to have to take over.

You might want to watch your mouth.

Third grade math has gotten crazy.

I'm going to be real with you.

It's algebra, bro.

It's like X and Y.

It ain't like what I had.

I'm going to be real with you.

This is public school math?

I might need to stick to public school.

No wonder it's 80 % under the grade level.

Geez, this is crazy.

Where's your book at?

I need your book.

I need to read this lesson.

Back on the private school thing, did you feel like you maintained that

progression while in private school?

Once you had to go with the flow of other students in that curriculum?

I didn't.

I didn't maintain the advancedness.

I maintained what my...

I was top of my class, sort of.

I was fourth in my class.

I wasn't advanced because the teachers...

I was so used to one -on -one that when everybody got into the mix, one,

I was super nervous because I knew nobody.

You can noticeably see the difference, but it still was like...

I still got great education.

You could also see that.

Did you ever do co -ops and stuff when you were in homeschool?

Did you feel like that didn't help?

It was with people way older than me.

It was in my brother's age group.

There's no one my age.

How old are your brothers for the group?

He is... 24 right now.

I'm 19.

Six years in that area is a big difference.

They were in upper high school.

I was in elementary.

You failed third grade.

I did fail the third grade.

Let's just keep harping on that.

I think we could do this whole point taken on that right there.

I'm 16 in the fourth grade.

Have you ever seen The Office with Michael Scott?

He goes, I eventually aced the third grade and I was the biggest kid in my class.

100 % of the time.

You and I still weren't.

We were still the shortest.

Give me another year and I'm still the shortest in the class.

Even though the advanced knowledge kind of went away, I still was having

a great academic.

I was still learning a lot.

My social, my interaction and becoming friends and learning how to deal

with people and learning how to take jokes.

That was my main thing.

I was so sheltered.

I would get my feelings hurt over one little thing.

Going to that school, even though it was a small Christian school, everybody is supposed to be Christian.

I still learned.

I thought I was getting bullied because they were messing with me.

I am so grateful for that because I have learned and grown so much

and just matured because I learned how to deal with that.

Going to a real school versus being homeschooled.

Private school.

I'm not dishing on homeschool because I loved it.

With my kids, I would rather private school because.

The interaction.

One, I was huge into sports.

Love sports.

Homeschool, you can have rec sports and stuff.

It's completely different.

You're not in class with those students whom you're playing on a team with.

You're not constantly with them and growing in relationship.

That's one thing that I loved.

I absolutely loved that.

I wouldn't want to take that from my kids.

I personally plan on private school.

I'm at homeschool for a couple years but private school for me is the way to go.

Some private schools, no.

It just depends.

I also grew a lot in biblical because I was constant.

I had Bible class every day.

I had chapel once a week.

That was just a constant every single day thing.

We would pray every morning and all that stuff.

I love homeschool and private school but in my opinion, I think private school

that's what I would do with my kids.

Okay.

Mike, for your experience with public school, how do you feel like that helped you?

Why do you prefer public school for yourself versus your kids?

It's basically the exact opposite of what Dalton was saying.

There wasn't no sheltering.

You take it on the chin.

You learn how to take a joke or stand up for yourself.

There's nobody there to defend you.

You have to grow up.

The.

Biggest thing is where I grew up I was the only white kid in the school

in my grade.

You had to prove yourself very fast, very quickly.

It was either checking somebody, making fun of somebody, whatever to know you wasn't going to put up with what they're dishing

out.

That's what they're doing.

They're chin -checking you.

They're like, we're going to see what he's about.

What is he even doing here, first of all?

He don't belong.

As you grow in that same circle they realize that my skin has nothing to do with anything.

We all are going through these same struggles at home.

This is my getaway too.

But at the same.

Time.

I didn't have a problem learning.

I feel like the curriculum when I grew up was decent.

I learned a lot.

I was smart.

I didn't have a problem making good grades.

It was just easy to me.

It came easy.

Like I was telling you earlier, I would get in trouble for being a class clown.

Because you would get bored.

Bored and you want to be liked in those circles.

If you make people laugh or whatever, it just makes you feel a false confident that you're

building friendships or whatever.

But at the same time, for public schools, it made me who.

I am.

But I think that's not just school in general.

I think that's the lifestyle.

The school is just a reflection of what we're talking about today.

But for schooling.

Purposes,.

Connecting with people, knowing how to interact with people, knowing how to interact with different

age groups.

You're not in school with first graders.

You've got 7th graders.

My school was K -8.

In 3rd grade, you've got an 8th grader on the bus messing with you sometimes.

You've got to learn how to deal with that.

Learn to adapt and overcome.

For me, I think it's made me a stronger person going through the

struggles of dealing with a lot of adversity in public school.

Going on Dalton's thing about he would prefer private school for his future kids.

Being in private school my entire life, I realized that I was almost sheltered in a way.

Even though I never did, but I knew which kids we could buy drugs from.

Drugs are.

Not.

My brain.

Christian schools are not immune to drugs.

You can get.

That crap wherever.

That was some people's misconception.

There's no bad kids.

We have kids that sell drugs.

We have kids that would literally come to school high, driving in their cars, hotboxing it, all this stuff.

I was just always so sheltered anyway.

I had to learn things.

Well, I didn't have to.

I learned things at school that I would never have known about without somebody else

telling it.

That's everywhere.

Even when I left school of not having that bubble of the shelter of like, oh,

it's a Christian school.

Of like, oh, God is present here.

This is a Christ -centered school.

We actually had a policy like Christian schools can have because they're not worked

by the government of no homosexuality.

We had a gay kid at the school.

It actually made the news at one point because we were telling this kid he couldn't be gay.

It's just like, well, it's a private school.

You have certain things that you can and can't do, whatever.

You're not being paid for by the government.

But I feel like that's something I really struggled with was getting out of that sheltered box.

And then now it's like I never go anywhere besides home and church and Costco.

When you speak on drugs, that's another big topic for me.

I grew up, it's like weed is the only.

Option.

Yeah, that was it in school.

Or like bars of Xanax.

That was later.

In high school.

But see, growing up in school, weed was something that was prevalent, smoking, getting high like that.

But as I get older and start getting private school friends, that's when I get introduced to cocaine

and Xanax.

I knew somebody on cocaine.

And other things like that.

So I didn't ever look at private schools as Christian schools, like a God -centered.

They got the money.

That's where the money's coming from.

They got the rich people drugs.

But growing up where we came from, we don't do that.

That stuff's wrong.

You can smoke some weed or drink some beer or whatever, but you don't mess with cocaine.

You don't take pills.

That was our mindset.

And I wasn't introduced to those other drugs until I met a private school kid.

So it was like a culture shock.

We would look at him like, you got money or whatever, but you ain't welcome here with that.

That ain't cool.

We ain't about that.

You need to go be with your private school.

Friends.

Even like you said with the culture shock of you explaining that school was an escape for you guys.

You guys were all going through the same thing.

You knew you were going to get fed at school.

I never worried about that.

It's just a different thing.

That's something my husband and I have even talked about because he did public school all through school.

And he was on WIC.

There was a time when he was living with his mom.

She would be in an apartment and you pay the deposit.

And then you're moving a couple months later.

Doing all that stuff.

So he was always back and forth.

And for him to do so well in school was actually like a miracle.

Because like you said, when you move so much that one year you ended up failing because you were just so far behind.

And so just like having that culture shock of like, I never had to.

The only thing that was like going on with our kids at school were parents were divorcing

or parents were losing their jobs.

We didn't have parents to divorce.

It was single parents, mom, you're living with your grandma.

That kind of thing.

I knew like one kid like that.

And so it's just the culture shock was just so large.

And so that's why I was just so surprised by that.

But I wanted to touch on that before we moved on.

But you can go ahead.

You have something to say.

We can see it in your face.

Your face is definitely saying I have something.

To say right now.

Hurry up.

I was anticipating.

Her coming to me next.

So I was just getting ready.

It looked like it.

So for me, I think one thing

we talked about culture shock.

We have all experienced that.

We all just use that phrase.

One, and I experienced that too, several times.

Like when I went from homeschool to private school.

I'll tell you.

Some.

Positives and negatives of all, I think.

First off, man, people aren't going to like this, but I got to say it like it is.

The school system is set up the way they're at and the hours it is to have parents both be able to go to work.

It's been like that since World War II.

That's why it's set up the way it is.

To breed workers.

Yes. I think that is so

wrong.

Children, especially boys, were not created to sit still.

For seven straight hours.

And then go to aftercare for three hours.

That's not who we were created to be.

That's not healthy.

That's not healthy.

So the reason especially my daughter.

Is like...

God bless her.

Which one?

Ava.

Ava has more energy than the Energizer bunny.

But let me tell you something.

I love Ava.

Oh, I do too.

Because she reminds me of me and my brother Jeremiah.

But here's the thing.

That's why especially for little kids like if someone asked me Josiah,

if I can only afford to have my wife homeschool them for

four or five years, what's it going to be?

I'm going to say first through fifth grade.

I'm going to say first through fifth grade.

Here's why.

They're not meant to sit still.

Do you really...

What they.

Learn...

They're going to prescribe them medicine to sit still.

Let me tell you something.

If you think I'm playing...

It's not a joke.

They tried it for me.

You know how common that is right now?

No, I'm saying... I was supposed to be on Ritalin.

Let me tell you something.

What I'm getting at is that's not healthy.

That's not good.

I understand.

You've got to learn to sit still.

What it takes to teach a first grader what they need to learn in first grade can be done in two hours a day.

If you don't believe me, I can show you.

Proof's in the pudding.

We do school with Ava on average 40 minutes a day.

She is in kindergarten, but we've already started on the first grade stuff.

40 minutes a day.

It's really because Rachel's awesome.

Now look.

It comes a time where what Dalton said is exactly right.

What Mike said is exactly right.

Let me tell you how my parents did it.

When we moved back to Memphis from Nashville, I was 10 -5.

I was getting a little older, and my dad decided it was time to make sure I went ahead and had that culture shock.

We were moving back to his old city, so it was time to go ahead and get that over with.

Here's why I say I was prepared for it.

It took me nine weeks.

That was a hard nine weeks for me.

I'll be straight.

Those first nine weeks.

My father, what he did, he didn't teach me all the ins and outs.

He said the three most important words he ever told me were, I love you.

The second most three important words were, figure it out.

Those three words, figure it out.

I was taught that at the house.

Figure it out.

Well, I took that mentality and I'm like, hold on.

So I have to sit in here for seven hours and learn half as much as I used to.

That's what you need me to do.

And then you're going to give me work to take to the house after practice?

With a 50 pound.

Backpack?

After practice?

And all these other kids have all these laptops and all these things and I'm sitting here handwriting

this stuff?

And yours response to me was, figure it out.

And that's what I did.

Football was different from going from the S .Y .S. community school stuff.

Hey, figure it out.

Now, it wasn't in a cold, figure it, I don't care.

It was a, you can do this.

I've bred you to figure it out.

And I did.

And I'm grateful for that experience.

What Mike said is true though.

Having just ended my tenure as a public school teacher, I can assure you

that it has gone downhill.

There, what is taught

and promoted as good is wrong, and what is good you're not allowed to say.

It's the craziest thing I've ever seen.

I'm serious.

The exact opposite of what Anna was saying.

The things that I got in trouble for as a teacher.

Were...

Disciplining your students?

Man,.

It'd be stuff like this.

Man, I don't want to say too much, but I'll just say this.

We are raising a generation of people who are being taught that there's absolutely

no consequences for your actions, and you should look for people doing the right thing to get

one over on them, to get them in trouble.

And it's just a backward system.

Soft as Charmin.

Dude.

That's what you're raising.

You're raising kids to be thinner than a coffee filter.

And here's what I would argue.

Mike is right in that one of the benefits of public school is you get thick skin.

My other additive is it's another way to get that thick skin where you don't have to go through that.

Amen.

And I'll be straight with you.

I think I got that.

But that took some tough stuff, but that's part of growing up and maturing for all of us.

We all had to come up with.

That at some point.

You had four brothers?

Yeah.

Your household.

Your dad.

What I'm saying is in general.

And I think.

Here's the answer, and this is the part people won't like, and then I'll shut up and let someone else talk.

The answer is a Biblical family unit.

Come on.

Look, I know it's going to hurt some feelings, but I got to say it like it is.

When God said for this reason a man shall leave his

father and mother.

Don't get me started on in -law stuff.

A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

When God said fathers do not provoke your children to wrath, but raise them up and nurture them in the admonition of the Lord.

People don't understand what that verse means.

I bet 90 % of Christians will quote that verse and say parents, raise your children and nurture them in the admonition of the Lord.

It says fathers.

You don't know what a wife.

Is.

Help mate.

Help mate.

She is a tool in the toolbox for raising the children and she is your best tool.

She is your crescent wrench.

That's what she is.

That's not an insult.

That's a place of honor.

It's the father's responsibility.

Let me tell you something.

The number 10 socket.

Let me tell you something.

Number 10 socket will fix any small engine it did.

Let me tell you something, ma 'am.

Bubba's school teacher.

Memphis City Schools.

We had something called Power School.

Told us all the demographics of our students.

Hey, Power School.

Let me tell you something, ma 'am.

Ready?

Student 1.

Guardians.

Mother, grandmother, auntie.

Student 2.

Mother, grandmother, auntie.

Student 3.

Mother, grandmother, uncle.

You know what I never saw?

And I had 191 students.

Saw about 4 fathers.

You think I'm joking when I say them.

Numbers.

I'm not.

I know you're not joking.

I believe it.

God set it up a certain way and he wasn't playing.

He was not playing.

Most of our issues in the school systems, we

like to blame the school systems.

We gotta look ourselves in the mirror and saying, are we set up as a family unit the way God said it?

Am I as a father doing what I'm supposed to be doing?

Don't get me started on this culture not cherishing fatherhood.

Don't get me started on that.

But it starts there and when we take that responsibility on, it's

Mike's job to teach Jameson how to read even if Mike never opens a book with him.

That's the idea behind it.

It's my job to teach Ava even though 90 of the time Rachel's

sitting down with her.

That's what we've got to come to and we gotta quit blaming the government and the mayor and the superintendent when we gotta look

ourselves in the mirror.

And if we choose another way other than how God set up, we can't expect different results.

If you send your kids to Caesar and give them no way of knowing that they're in Rome,

they're gonna come back as Romans.

Come on.

I'm gonna say it again.

If you send your kids to Caesar, the government, and you have given them no tools to recognize who Caesar

is, they're gonna come back as Romans and you're gonna act surprised.

That's the reality of the situation.

Well, and too,.

I think that a lot of parents who might want to...

Go ahead.

No, tell Josiah to shut up.

No, I was gonna ask you.

Some of the parents who might want to homeschool their kids can't afford to take one income.

It's a huge sacrifice.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Yeah, tell me about it.

That was one thing that my husband and I really talked about when I went back to work after our first son came.

I did not want to go back to work and we didn't think that we were gonna be able to afford being on a single

income.

And we prayed about it and prayed about it and I was back at work for seven months, well, like five, six months, and I told my husband, I

said, I'm like, I cannot do this anymore.

I know that God has called us to...

If we know that God has called us to stay at home with our kids, then why are we not doing it?

And so we took that leap of faith and like, you know, we made it work, you know, the first year and stuff.

And God has been very gracious and blessed us with many

things over.

But it's like we don't have the same...

Not everyone has the same...

The same...

I can't think of freaking words, y 'all.

Please forgive me.

Well, we don't have the same.

Options.

Let me fill it in for you.

It's three things to keep in mind with that.

Number one, a hundred percent, you're right.

First off, I don't mean...

I'm not talking about Mike.

When some people say they can't afford it, it's a word I want to say.

Let's just say that's not true.

Okay?

Well, that's what we felt.

Yeah, I've heard that.

Number two, first thing you need to do, if

someone says, Josiah, I hear all that about the family unit.

I've already screwed that up.

What do I do now?

Fix it.

Okay.

What do I do now?

That's a different attitude than someone who doesn't even recognize that anything they did was wrong that got them in that situation.

You know what I mean?

Like, you can have compassion and help someone in that situation, but until they in their

heart recognize this is how God was supposed to have it set up, and I've goofed that up a little

bit.

Some my fault, some not.

That's the reality.

How do we move forward with that?

Third thing is this.

This is one of the main reasons God made a church, is to help for people like that

who didn't do it right the first time and now are trying to get it right in the background.

Let me tell you something.

This church right here, there was a young man.

Public school wasn't working out.

Didn't have money for private school.

His mama couldn't quit working.

So you know what happened?

Someone from this church volunteered to come up here every day with him and finish his schooling up.

I love both of them.

Dude, me too.

That's why God made the church as a support system.

Because let me tell you something.

It's very few things that I am not confident in any situation.

Single mom, two kids, the school's teaching this and that you can be this and, hey boys, you can be a

girl tomorrow and all this stuff.

Hey, let's do the pregnancy stuff with the boys and the girls since you can all get pregnant.

Bull crap.

Yeah, let's put tampons.

In the boys' bathroom and the boys immediately throw.

Them out.

Yeah.

Okay.

Let the 17 -year -old boy in the bathroom with the 13 -year -old girl, and I dare someone to tell me that didn't happen.

Okay.

We can find a solution because let me tell you something.

Spending $40 ,000 a year to send your kids to a private school won't make them no Christian.

If you think that makes them a Christian, you've.

Lost your mind.

Well, it's like sending your kids to church and expecting them to become Christians.

It doesn't make your kid a Christian.

The solution.

In the scenarios that we were talking about when someone's stuck is first recognize where

you erred and repent of that and then this is why being in a covenant community

there is always an answer.

Always.

Now, that might mean for a time.

Might be for a time.

Alright, so here's how we're going to do this.

We've got a plan for the next two years.

Buddy, you're going to suck it up.

You're going to be here.

But in two years, we're going here.

There's always a way to fix something.

That's kind of how I see it.

One, I think, too, we're not condemning people who send their kids to public school.

Heck no, we're not.

Like I said, everyone has different opportunities.

And not all schools are the same.

Not all schools are the same.

Especially in Memphis.

Right.

Especially in Memphis.

Especially in Memphis, bro.

You drive.

Five miles that way, you're like, oh my goodness.

Bro, I drive past three high schools to take my son to the school he's districted in.

You know why you do that?

Because you know about.

Them three high schools.

Yeah.

No, they're.

Actually decent, but they just got built.

It's just kind of frustrating that I'm going 30 minutes past the school that's there when I could

just be right there.

But it's their little zone system.

Yeah, the.

Zoning system.

But it's like you said, there are good public schools out there like where my mom lives.

They have great public schools.

But it's like at the same time, it's like, I don't know, what are you teaching my kids?

That was the main reason my husband and I decided to homeschool.

It's like, I'm not letting somebody tell my son that he's a girl.

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

Those are things that I did not have to deal with.

Exactly.

We didn't have to deal with that.

That's why my vision...

Because it was.

Different back in your day than it is your kids' day.

So my children, it's my duty, as Josiah just said, is to raise my kids up

how they should be led in a Christian family as a spiritual leader of my household.

If I'm not going to get that from the school that we're zoned to, it's my obligation to do

whatever I need to do to make that happen.

Whether it's financial problems or work harder or reach for help, I have to

do that because that's what I'm called to do.

I was thinking about the co -ops and stuff that Dalton did, even though it was

all kids older than him.

There are other co -ops.

If you're having the same issue.

Like Dalton had...

I've seen successful ones.

The one at this big old church over here is pretty good from what they're doing.

They're doing teaching Mandarin and AP Calculus.

I was able to look on their schedule and I'm just like, oh my gosh.

I did not think that's what they were doing at co -ops.

And they're doing it in four hours.

It's amazing.

I could see groups because we take our kids up to the playground up there a couple of times a week.

You can see at lunch time everyone has their little groups that they sit and have lunch with.

So you can still get that interaction.

That was one thing my brother and I have talked about.

We talked about homeschooling our sons.

Congratulations.

We got one in the oven.

Yeah, he's in here.

Have we announced that through the podcast?

Did you mean to do that?

No.

Surprise!

I'll be much bigger.

I'll be much bigger.

I won't be able to sit.

This close to the table.

I'm going to be fat with this baby in my belly.

Especially with another DJ.

Not fat, big.

Thick.

Going back to that.

Two C's.

Going back to the whole co -op thing.

That was one thing my brother and I were talking about.

I just don't want my kids to be that weird.

We all knew a weird homeschooled kid growing up.

We had one in our youth group and love him to this day but he's still pretty awkward.

He was almost like Dalton where his older siblings were 10 years.

He was an afterthought.

He was 10 years younger than all of his siblings and then he would only see

Donovan, my husband and then another one of our friends at church.

Those were his friends.

That's one thing.

I'm going to put our kids in sports.

If he wants to play sports, hopefully.

I don't want him to be a little nerd.

Just kidding.

If he wants to be a nerd, I don't want him to be a nerd.

I want him to interact.

I want him to play.

I want him to learn teamwork.

How to work with somebody.

Sports is bigger than just the sport.

It's camaraderie.

You can make it what you want.

We don't believe in participation.

Trophies.

At public schools.

You either win or lose, buddy.

They do now.

I'm talking about when I grew up.

One way.

My parents...

I was exposed to all types of people long before I ever went to school or anything like that because of the

ministry.

At my house, dude...

Y 'all had a ton of people living with you.

Man, there's not a type of person you can think of.

My parents did an excellent job in that regard.

No, that's on me.

In that regard, that's why it wasn't as big of a culture shock for me as it was.

I want to say something about the weird kid thing you said.

That one weird homeschool kid.

That is prevalent in public schools quite a bit now.

We had some kids like that at our school, too.

People think it's a homeschool thing.

It's not.

Let me tell you what that is.

It's easy to do it in homeschool.

Here's what that is.

I'm not talking about mental issues.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying.

When someone's life is only ever centered around them.

You talking about like an only child?

It could be.

In public schools now, we'll have so many individualized education programs not

just for legitimate things.

Anger.

Let me tell you something.

I'll look you in the...

17 years old.

She had an IEP.

Not for mental retardation.

Not for those things.

Not a 504. Individual education program.

Sorry.

Public school.

For anger issues.

If.

Person X stood up and said F you Coach Shipley.

That person.

You couldn't do it.

If she did, she got to skip the assignment that day, walk to the

principal, and her caseworker, say how she was having a bad day.

Come back in the classroom that day and finish the day out and not have to do any work and I had to give her 100 for it.

That pisses me off.

That is ridiculous.

It's like you had won an IEP program for yourself.

I got an anger issue.

I got a hunger issue.

You know what you have to do to get it.

Have a doctor to fill it out.

Have your mom fill it out for you.

Have your mommy.

My kid has a very hard time dealing with teachers.

Telling them what to do.

When I worked at the pediatric office we would have to do IEPs or 504 plans but most of the time when we

got them it was a medical thing.

I think it was autism or ADHD.

What's 504?

Educate me here.

504 is like wheelchairs.

Like disability.

I'll be in a classroom and it'll be 7 kids with an IEP and I'm never allowed to reveal for privacy reasons.

HIPAA.

2 or 3 of them might be something like.

Public school.

2 or 3 things might be like autism or mental retardation.

4 of them will be behavioral and the same credit.

The same treatment.

I'm just looking around and I'm like, you've got to be kidding me.

That and that, when we make things so individualized.

Think about those words.

Individual education program.

In a public school individual education program.

That's why Mike said sports are such a big thing because it's teaching you that the team is bigger

than you.

The team is bigger than you.

It's the team, sir.

Put your helmet on and go get to work.

Grab your gloves or whatever sport it is.

It's not about you.

It's about us.

We have to teach our children that it's not about them.

They're not the center of attention.

The greater good of everybody.

There's a lot of ways to do that but sports is definitely one of them.

Definitely.

Sports are great.

Any other comments?

Concerns?

I think it was a good discussion.

Do we actually need a part two to this?

Probably not.

I just want to make it clear that I had

good leaders in my household.

My mom did what she could do.

So when you talk about options, we just didn't have any.

But as the older son kind of like your dad told you, you figure it

out.

If that means you take one on your chin for your little brother or you show him how to do this different

or you move a certain way to show him how to move a certain way to get through said struggles.

It's all about what you're able to do as a parent.

In a church family, which I didn't grow up in, my mom leaned on the public school system to help

her get to work or get us to school.

Public school is not only just we didn't have a car so you get to go to the school bus.

And there's lunch.

And listen, it was free lunch.

There was options.

You had free lunch, reduced lunch.

All of ours were free.

When we grew up, if you were in a certain thing, food stamps, whatever, you had free lunch or reduced lunch.

Almost all in Memphis are free now.

Did y 'all do breakfast at your school?

It was 40 cents, I still remember.

It was 40 cents for lunch.

Now it's almost all free and almost every Memphis school breakfast and lunch.

In that saying, I just want to make it super clear that I'm proud of

how I came up and my mom did what she could do.

And like you said, it was on me to figure it out.

But it's also on me as a parent to figure out what's best for my children.

That doesn't mean the same thing I went through has to be the same thing my kids go through.

If I can protect them and let them not wear the scar tissue that I have and also provide the

adversity that they need in their lives to be social, then that's what I'm going to do.

You don't have to get beat up or made fun of or whatever to get thick skin.

But I'm not going to cauter you either.

I think the key that we've tried and I think we've succeeded in conveying is

to answer the question directly, public school, private school, home school, doesn't matter.

Your job is to educate your children and those are all tools at your expense and it's your job to

figure out how to do that.

The simple biggest thing I want to make sure is if you think sending your kid to private school

makes them a Christian, you don't have to do anything about it, or makes them educated, you're a fool.

If you think, man, I've seen home school where the mom or the dad or whoever is doing it is being

lazy and that's not going to work neither.

If you think sending them to private school, public school, whatever, all I'm saying is those are all tools and if you are

trusting to passively trust any of those, it's never going to work out the way it is.

It is your job.

Whatever tool you use.

For Mike's mom, if that's the one tool she had in her option, you are to use that tool

while recognizing the responsibility is still on you.

That's the main thing that I was trying to get at today.

I think we all did.

I enjoyed being here today.

Good job, guys.

We loved having you.

We'll see how the views look, I guess.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

Everyone's like, Mike, I gotta click on this.

You've got Titans and Grizzlies on.

I'm a Memphis Titan.

You remember for that one year?

It's the Super Bowl.

All about Taylor Swift today.

There's a kid on 49ers that went to Millington High School.

Who?

Samuel something.

He's a DB for the 49ers.

We're rooting for him to bring the Lombardi back to Millington, Tennessee where I graduated high school.

Public school.

It's exciting.

We played sports there, football, wrestling, cheerleading, everything like that.

It'd be nice to see that in my little school.

That'd be fun.

Very cool.

Anna, anything else?

Nope.

What do y 'all do?

Oh, the deuces?

That's exactly how we do it.

Right there, right?

Until next time, deuces!

You know the sun's not in here, right?

These are prescription.

It looks good on TV.