"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!"" -Romans 10:14-15
If the title caught you off guard and made you read this, good, that was sort of the goal. Anyways, I read this interesting article that a friend of mine posted, and I was going to share it on facebook, but it was turning into more of a blogging topic the more I sat on it. The article was entitled, "Is public school an option?" The link is below.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v8/n4/is-public-school-option?utm_source=aigsocial09302013publicsch&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebooktwittergooglelinkedin
I will go ahead and say that I agree with a lot of the things this article says. I think that education is not the main focus of schools sometimes, that much time is wasted, that it is the parent's job to invest in the child's education, and I think that the school system is becoming ever more corrupted by politics. However, the point that Christian families need to homeschool/private school their children if they want them to grow up and live out the faith is one that I think is dangerous. One of the very last sentences says "Is public school an option? For Christians who take the Christian worldview seriously and who understand the issues at stake, the answer is increasingly no. The number of Christian parents coming to this conclusion increases each year."
To this I have to say that school is supposed to be an education center, but nonetheless, it is a mission field. There may be awful curriculum, and unnecessary/unwarranted pressures put on children, but more importantly than the "bad things" in the public school system, there are people. Having grown up in public school my whole life, I can attest that it is a dark place, especially middle and high school. But I must ask those parents who feel so strongly about homeschooling their children for the sake of protecting them from the school system, why would you take what may be the one candle out of such a dark place? I have seen Christians radically change lives and make differences through their interactions that could not have been facilitated outside of public schools.
What I am not saying is that homeschooling is bad, especially with young children. There are many reasons to keep your child home and give them these interactions in other forms, and that is up to the individual parents. I do not think any less of you if you homeschool your children, because I have seen products of homeschooling make differences for the kingdom in other ways. However, keeping children sheltered for the sake of them being sheltered or simply because you don't trust the world is a decision that I think is costly. If your child is a Christian and you keep your Jesus-proclaiming child to yourself, and their only interactions are with children with the same minded parents, they are of no use to the kingdom. God does not urge us to withdraw from the world and to hide from it when it gets dark and ugly. He urges us to communicate and interact with those who are in dark places. He tells us to go, and He prepares us with the tools to go and to make a difference, so why would we keep our children from doing such? Prepare them, give them a solid foundation, and send them. I feel like I could say so much more on this matter, and maybe I will in another blog, but I am going to halt it here for now and leave with one final question and cliche.....What would Jesus do? Would Jesus send his kids out, despite the perceived danger and political dictatorship over public schools, or would he keep them to himself to keep them safe?
I challenge you to just think on this...not the whole homeschool vs. public school debate necessarily, but more importantly the idea of drawing away from the world because it is too dark or messed up. Is our comfort, safety, and fear of being offended more important than the those who need hope? No child is too young and no school is without need of a light. Just as your kid may be involved in everything but public school, there are some kids who are involved in nothing except public school. If you (your child) doesn't go, who will? Prepare and send.
DISCLAIMER****I realize I do not have kids. I realize I know little about homeschooling. I realize I may be biased towards public schooling. I realize there are other ways of reaching these people than sending your kids to public school. I realize my views on this may change over time. Feel free to share your opinion/experiences on anything I have said even if you disagree with me. I'd love to hear them and think on them.
