Tim Tebow Says Parents Homeschooled Him to 'Instill Love for God'
Christian sports star Tim Tebow opened up about his homeschooling experience, saying that his parents, Bob and Pam, wanted to make sure he and his siblings had love for God above all other things.
"They wanted us to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, but it wasn't No. 1. It wasn't the most important thing," Tebow told Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza for ABC News' "Good Morning America."
"They wanted to instill love in our hearts, love for God, love for one another. They wanted us to be able to learn a work ethic, a dedication."
Tebow, who went on to become a football and now baseball star, said that he has "a heart to encourage the homeschool kid."
"To let them know that they are loved, and they are special, and they might feel different, and sometimes might feel alone, sometimes might feel afraid. There might be those times where you go through that," he stated.
The athlete, who was homeschooled until college, explained that his days were filled with Bible study and doing chores on the farm.
He had some difficulties when interacting with children who attended regular schools while playing sports, however.
"I was brand new at this place and you could tell that that group just, it had so much disdain, you know, because I wasn't part of them," Tebow recalled of his football playing days.
"I went to work on it, and eventually we became friends," he added. "But people are going to view you as different, and that's OK. And sometimes I think it's pretty good to view yourself as different, and that's OK."
Tebow noted that children being homeschooled need to know that there is nothing wrong with being different.
"You can be homeschooled and you can be the cool kid, and you can break the trends and you can show that, yeah, you're different, you're unique, but in a good way," he offered.
Speaking of his parents, he said: "I'm so grateful that not only they're my parents, they're my teachers, and also my mentors, and also my role models."
"And they were all those things in one, and I think that's the reason that it had such a big effect on me and my life," the athlete explained.
While he noted that a lot of public and private schools still do an "amazing job" in educating children, he said that many parents also want to have a part in the journey.
"The amazing thing about homeschooling is that you get to love on your kids, you get to embrace them, you get to believe in them, you get to share that with them over, and over, and over and over again," Tebow said. "And the chances of them believing it are so much higher, and that's what we want our kids to be ... not be afraid of the world."
The Christian sports star has released a number of books that have highlighted the importance of faith in his life, including a book in 2017 focused on homeschooled children, titled Know Who You Are, Live Like It Matters: A Homeschooler's Interactive Guide to Discovering Your True Identity.
"As a homeschooled student, I know the effort, time, and work involved in choosing to educate your family. My parents were true pioneers in the homeschool movement," he wrote in the book's introduction.
"They took responsibility for educating their children before the general public even knew it was an option. I'm so grateful they were willing and committed to answering the call. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you for doing the same for your children!"
Watch Tebow's interview on homeschooling below:
