|
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
|
What’s Wrong With Public Education?
Some Background
“The Hebrew-Christian tradition is committed to moral education to enable
people to love and serve both God and neighbour. The Wisdom literature
illustrates moral education (Pr. 3:1ff.). According to Jewish tradition,
local schools were first organized systematically in Palestine by Simeon
ben Shetah in the 1st century BC. In the NT, teaching and learning are of
great importance: Jesus teaches his disciples (Mt. 5:2); and in the early
church, teaching was regarded as a gift (Eph. 4:11; 1 Tim. 4:11-14).
Learning is an important part of Christian pilgrimage, and learning is
perhaps best understood in the light of the model Jesus gives of
apprentices learning from the master in an active and personal way.
“Public education in the West grew from this Christian tradition of
teaching within the home and the church. In Europe and the USA the
earliest schools were founded by Christians. Historically the Judaeo-Christian
ethic underpinned most Western education. The 20th century has seen a
dramatic shift towards a more secular approach, presenting problems both
for parents desiring a ‘Christian’ education for their children and for
Christian educators.
“Education takes place in many different contexts, and the crucial home
influence on learning is widely acknowledged. The Judaeo-Christian model
emphasizes the importance of a partnership between home and school, but in
reality parents often abdicate responsibility to schools and there is an
unhealthy denigration of the role of parents on the part of some
teachers.” (S. E. Alsford, “Education,” in the New Dictionary of
Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology [Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1995], 334-35).
Public Vs. Private Education
Recently I got into a conversation with a Christian friend of mine who
used to be a public school teacher. Although she does not teach now, she
does volunteer much time and effort to the public schools her two children
attend. She had absolutely nothing good to say regarding homeschooling and
very little good to say regarding private schooling. In her estimation,
Christians have a solemn duty to enroll their children in public schools
as early as possible. Why? So that their children can have a positive
influence on the non-Christian children in the public schools.
While I did not (and will not) say that all public schools are of the
devil, I did point out to my friend that in the vast majority of cases the
reverse is actually the case: rather than the Christian child having a
good influence on the non-believers, the non-believers have a bad
influence on the Christian child. Her response? Children have to learn to
stand up for themselves. True, certainly. But when a child is literally
surrounded by other students, teachers, and administrators many if not
most of whom are actively promoting a lifestyle that is antithetical to
biblical Christianity, how is a child to stand up against that type of
pressure?
The Purpose
In discussing both the advantages and disadvantages of the public
education system, I think it’s vital to begin with a fundamental question:
What is the purpose of public education? If you believe, as I do, that it
is to provide children with a foundational understanding of basic subjects
– i.e., reading, writing, and arithmetic (“the 3 R’s”) – then you will
have to admit that the public education system is receiving failing grades
when it comes to meeting or exceeding its primary purpose for existence.
This fact alone has led some parents to either enroll their children in
private schools or else choose to homeschool them. It is also a major
reason that, interestingly enough, public school teachers are nearly twice
as “likely to send their own children to a private school than are the
average parents”:
“The results of a new study from an education-reform group uncovered a
revealing and sobering fact: public school teachers are much more likely
to send their own children to a private school than are the average
parents. In fact, almost twice as likely, according to the
Thomas B.
Fordham Institute. In Rochester, New York, for example, while nearly
15 percent of all families have a child in private school, almost 38
percent of public school teachers do. The reason, according to an
editorial in USA Today, is that public school teachers believe that
religious and private schools provide stricter discipline and achieve
higher academic standards than public schools. ‘For good investment tips,
you might ask a financial planner where he puts his own money. If he bails
out of a fund, you might want to do the same,’ the editorial said.
‘Likewise, how better to learn about the quality of a public school system
than by asking the teachers where they send their own children?’ [AFAJournal]”
(Agape Press News Briefs, 12-7-2004). Which, I suppose, is somewhat
like a soldier in the Army advising people to join the Navy!
Discipline problems and low academic standards are only part of the
problem, however. In far too many cases the public education system is
being used as a platform for socialization. While some socialization –
i.e., “to fit or train for a social environment” (Webster) – is healthy
and very much needed, there is ample cause to be alarmed when literally
millions of our children are being forcefully, deliberately, methodically
socialized away from a Judeo-Christian value system and toward a secular,
humanistic one. The end result is children of all ages who can barely
write a coherent sentence and yet can explain in great detail the
(alleged) benefits of gay rights, saving the whales, and using condoms.
While such is certainly not the case in all public school systems, it is
the case in enough of them for Christian parents to be very concerned.
Salt and Light
But what about Christians being salt and light in a world in dire need of
both? Certainly a negative consequence of private education is less
participation in the public education process on the part of Christian
parents. (To be fair, however, even Christians who have their children
enrolled in public schools participate far too infrequently. And by no
means do only Christian parents send their children to private schools.)
At least one possible solution, particularly in our bureaucracy-laden
public education system, is for Christians to vote in representatives who
share their values and who will push for reform if not a complete overhaul
of the system. In a twist of irony, it would seem that these days there is
a better chance of those types of representatives coming from the ranks of
private schools and home schools.
But what about my friend’s point that Christian children need to be given
the opportunity to influence their non-Christian peers? The answer here is
something that we Christians need to be doing anyway (regardless of where
our children attend school): community involvement. E.g., field trips to
public places and events, children playing and interacting with the
non-Christian children in their neighborhoods, and Christian parents
looking for ways to minister to their non-Christian neighbors.
It Starts At Home
The author of the below article, Dr. Matt Friedeman, makes a basic point
seldom (if ever) covered by the mainstream media and seemingly often
overlooked by parents themselves: a child’s education is centered on his
or her home. What a child is taught in school – be it public or private
school– must be either reinforced or refuted by that child’s parents.
Painfully obvious implication: parents must interact with their children
to find out what they are learning in school, challenge it if it is
steering them in the wrong direction, and steer their children in the
right direction – i.e., toward a biblical understanding of right and
wrong. Rather than seeing school as some type of glorified baby-sitter,
parents must take the time and make the effort to find out what their
children are learning. If they don’t, their children will suffer
immeasurably.
For children who come from troubled homes, single-parent families, etc.,
parental participation in the education process can be problematic, to say
the least. But that is more reason, not less, for the parent or parents to
make the necessary effort to be involved. Irrespective of the exact
situation at home, at no time and in no way should the public education
system – or any other government entity, for that matter – be looked
upon as a type of surrogate parent tasked with helping to raise our
children. I fear, however, that in far too many cases that is precisely
what it has become.
The Real Problem
In a very real sense, the mess our public education system is in is not
the problem but, rather, a symptom of the problem. The real problem is
that we as a nation have turned away from God and have abandoned the
standards of right and wrong espoused in His inspired, authoritative Word,
the Bible. Some otherwise sensible parents say they want their children’s
educational environment to be simultaneously free of any type of religion
and a good moral influence. The truth remains, however, that there can be
no morality without religion. The only question is whose religion will our
children be exposed to. In far too many public schools today, the religion
known as secular humanism is fast displacing personal faith in the
Almighty God whose wisdom and guidance the founders of this country sought
with all due diligence. Unlike so many in today’s America, they knew that
without God we are doomed.
A Personal, Prayerful Process
The educational option that you choose for your child deserves and demands
much prayerful thought. Whether you choose public school, private school,
or home school (or some combination of the three), I urge you to be
involved in the education process. Challenge your child to learn and grow
into a person who loves and serves God and other people. Know what your
child is being taught, and either reinforce it or refute it – by helping
your child to know and apply the wonderful, life-giving truths of God’s
inspired, authoritative Word, the Bible.
December 18, 2004
Greg Williamson has been married for 11 years and is the father of two small boys. He has a B.A. in Biblical Studies and maintains a website designed to promote and foster Christian discipleship, “A Century 21 Disciple of Jesus” (ShakinAndShinin.org).