1.
God's Word is taught
The
place to start is at the beginning, with
the first nation, the first educational
system. When deciding how to manage your
children's education, it only makes sense
to ask the One who invented education.
"You
shall therefore impress these words of mine
on your heart and on your soul .... And
you shall teach them to your sons, talking
of them when you sit in your house and when
you walk along the road and when you lie
down and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy
11:18-19)
.What
we have here is a clear biblical mandate
to saturate our children's minds with the
Word of God. It's a difficult task under
any circumstances, but virtually impossible
in a public school setting. Once inside
those doors, children spend 30 to 40 hours
a week being told that God, if He exists
at all, is no longer relevant. No matter
how spiritually grounded your child may
be, the repetition of such destructive ideas
can't help but have an adverse affect.
The
harsh reality is that our Supreme Court
kicked God out of the public school system
more than 40 years ago. A generation later,
scientific naturalism and a host of other
anti-God values are not only being taught
in American classrooms, they're being championed.
Christian
schools offer a refreshing, biblical alternative.
Not only is the Bible taught for what it
is - the inspired Word of God - but it forms
the foundation of all other texts. In math,
in social studies, in biology, all academic
roads lead to God, in whom all knowledge
has its origin. Your children won't travel
that road in the local public school.
"I
advise no one to place his child where
the Scriptures do not reign paramount.
Every institution in which men are
not increasingly occupied with the
Word of God must become corrupt...I
am much afraid that schools will prove
to be the great gates of hell unless
they diligently labor in explaining
the Holy Scriptures, engraving them
in the hearts of youth."
|
Martin
Luther
|
2.
God commands us to teach kids through the
Word
It
is a sad but true irony: public schools,
the self-proclaimed shapers of the human
mind, have chosen to ignore the God who
created the human mind. To their chagrin,
they have robbed themselves of their most
valuable "textbook," and the only
available source of absolute truth.
"The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,"
writes Solomon. "And knowledge of the
Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs
9:10). As students pursue the knowledge
of math, biology and music in a Christian
setting, they're chasing after the knowledge
of God. And the by-products of such an endeavor
- wisdom and understanding - are the God-given
rewards for which every good student strives.
God
expects you, as a Christian parent, to plant
and nurture His Word in the hearts and minds
of your children. This is best accomplished
in settings where home, church and school
all send the same message, teaching God's
truth with clarity, conviction and consistency.
And while the benefits of such a commitment
are often realized much later, here's one
you'll notice in relatively short order.
An education that uses God's Word as its
foundational text does more than produce
spiritually-mature Christians. It makes
them wiser and more knowledgeable. It forces
them to be better thinkers. And isn't that
the goal of education in the first place?
"The
school system that ignores God teaches
its pupils to ignore God; and this
is not neutrality. It is the worst
form of antagonism, for it judges
God to be unimportant and irrelevant
in human affairs. This is atheism."
|
Gordon
H. Clark
|
3.
The school shares your values
If
you're like most Christian parents, you've
taught your children about God since the
day they were born. You've taken them to
church, read them Bible stories, sung "Jesus
Loves Me." Imagine their shock and
dismay when they're thrust into an environment
in which God is hated, ignored, or both.
Even
the best public schools are prohibited by
law from reinforcing the values you teach
at home. They either compete against them
or disregard them altogether. And because
you care about the mental and spiritual
development of your children, you may spend
countless hours trying to bridge the philosophical
gap between Christianity and humanism -
a gap that would never have existed had
they attended Christian school.
By
entrusting your children to educators who
share your values, you'll have more time
for ball games and bike rides and meaningful
conversations. Instead of debriefing your
children, you'll be getting to know them.
"To
commit our children to the care of
irreligious persons is to commit lambs
to the superintendency of wolves."
|
Timothy
Dwight
|
4.
Safety
With
thousands of students roaming their halls
and taxpayer dollars funding their bankrolls,
public schools can only go so far in the
area of discipline. The result? More frequent
occurrences of theft and physical violence,
not to mention course profanity and open
rebellion in the classroom.
Simply
put, Christian schools are a safer place
for your children to receive an education.
While not devoid of problems - even severe
ones like drug and alcohol use - they are
far less likely to occur, and far more likely
to be met with firm disciplinary action.
In
addition to physical well-being, Christian
schools offer a much safer emotional and
spiritual environment. Verbal insults and
hazing, things that go largely overlooked
in a public school setting, are less likely
to be tolerated. And the politically-correct,
socially-tolerant attitudes that pervade
secular classrooms never see the light of
day at distinctly Christian institutions.
Anti-Christian behavior such as homosexuality
and abortion is exposed for what it is,
which helps guard your children's minds
against the licentious attitudes fostered
by popular education.
"Fathers,
do not provoke your children to wrath,
but bring them up in the training
and admonistion of the Lord."
|
(Ephesians
6:4)
|
5.
Academic Achievement
Contrary
to popular opinion, students at Christian
schools consistently out-perform their public
school counterparts. Their standardized
test scores are way above the curve, and
they're better prepared for college upon
graduation. Even in the areas of math and
reading, subjects that are
prepared
for college upon graduation. Even in the
areas of math and reading, subjects that
are "less spiritual" in content,
students at Christian schools have proven
their superiority.
The
sad truth is, despite their claims of excellence,
our nation's public schools are far less
academically rigorous than they once were.
Only 67 percent of all public school students
entering ninth grade graduate with a regular
diploma four years later. United States
competency in math and graduate with a regular
diploma four years later. United States
competency in math and science lags behind
a host of other countries. And despite the
vast amounts of government money being funneled
to public education, our SAT scores continue
to slip.
Christian
schools are far from an academic liability.
In fact, in the aftermath of 2002's "No
Child Left Behind" Act, college recruiters
are more likely to view public school transcripts
with a skeptical eye. The best colleges
are likely to pay your children more attention,
not less, if they attend a Christian school.
For more information, including some test
score numbers that may surprise you, click
here.
"A
truly Christian education is possible
only when Christian education underlies
not a part, but all, of the curriculum
of the school. True learning and true
piety go hand in hand, and Christianity
embraces the whole of life - those
are great central convictions that
underlie the Christian school."
|
J.
Gresham Machen
|
6.
Teachers love and fear the Lord
Part
of the reason why Christian students perform
so well in the classroom is that they have
a higher percentage of teachers who genuinely
care about them. Most of these dedicated
men and women sacrifice greater monetary
rewards to serve where they can do the most
intrinsic good.
In
addition to the passion they feel for their
students, the vast majority of Christian
educators love God with equal intensity.
And unlike some of their well-meaning public
school colleagues, they are not prohibited
by the United States government from making
overt claims to that effect.
Teachers
are a school's heartbeat. Its pulse. They
are also among the most influential role
models in students' lives. And while you
can certainly find Christian educators at
a public school, the best of all academic
worlds exists when everyone - the school
board, the principal, the teachers and the
parents - is operating under the same educational
paradigm.
"For
by wise guidance you will wage war,
and in abundance of counselors there
is victory."
|
(Proverbs
24:6)
|
7.
Individual Attention
In
addition to having a higher percentage of
caring teachers, Christian schools can almost
always offer more individual attention than
public schools, many of which are overcrowded
and hopelessly understaffed.
Even
in cases where the ratio is virtually identical,
class size is not. Christian school classes
generally have fewer students. They're smaller,
more intimate gatherings that encourage
students to be participants rather than
spectators. Students learn how to think
quickly, and gain valuable experience sharing
their thoughts and opinions in a public
forum.
"Iron
sharpens iron, so one man sharpens
another."
|
(Proverbs
27:17)
|
8.
Success after graduation
Because
Christian school students perform at a higher
level in the classroom than their public
school counterparts, it only makes sense
that their options upon graduation are more
abundant. Therefore, they are more likely
to be better prepared to handle the rigors
of higher education. They have also received
the spiritual foundation they need to excel
in areas of ministry, whether they are career
or volunteer-oriented.
In
addition to these practical advantages,
there is at least one intangible benefit.
Students who have been grounded in the truth
of God's Word day after day during their
formative years - both at school and at
home - are better-equipped to handle discrepant
ideas upon graduation. Whether in a secular
university or in the work place, young adults
with a solid biblical foundation are far
less likely to fall victim to the subtle
lies of our post-modern culture.
The
question remains however, how do you define
success? Does success equal an Ivy League
education for your child, or a certain salary
level, or even a prestigious title? Then
again, how does God measure success? A healthy
marriage? An understanding of biblical truth?
These are important issues to pray about.
"All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness."
|
(2
Timothy 3:16)
|
9.
Peer Pressure
If
only the Bible had told us that good company
improves bad morals, many of us would have
a welcome reprieve. Unfortunately, the opposite
is true. Bad company corrupts good morals
(1 Corinthians 15:33), the Apostle Paul
tells us, and we can assume he was writing
to a predominantly adult audience. You can
imagine what he might say to a group of
impressionable children and young teens.
Make
no mistake: your kids will be exposed to
bad company no matter where they go to school.
Sometimes they may even be the bad company.
But in a Christian environment, they'll
be much less likely to find themselves surrounded
by destructive influences, and far more
likely to find positive ones.
"Bad
company corrupts good morals."
|
(1
Corinthians 15:33)
|
10.
The State of Public Education
One
final reason to consider Christian schools
can be found by taking an even closer look
at the alternative. If you study the origin
and history of modern government-sponsored
education, you'll find
some
alarming facts. Its founders were atheists
whose hatred of Christianity is a matter
of public record. Its current agenda - the
propagation of humanistic ideals that render
God irrelevant or non-existent - can be
easily spotted in its curriculum.
The
Nehemiah Institute has put together a list
of nine reasons why Christians shouldn't
place their children in secular academic
institutions. (Click
here to read the article from the Nehemiah
Institute) It may be useful information
as you consider the educational future of
your children.
"The
United States system of national popular
education will be the most efficient
and wide instrument for the propagation
of Atheism which the world has ever
seen."
|
A.
A. Hodge
|
|