Nothing pulls at my heart strings more than my children. Or induces more guilt. I want to do everything I can to ensure their safety and well-being. It's easy to be guilted by well-meaning but misguided sentiments of the day. Which, if you're a homeschooler, you hear a lot. "They'll be deprived of so many social experiences." "You wouldn't want them to be weird and unsocialized, would you?" The socialization misconception runs deep, y'all. Even among Christians. There seems to be a lot of concern that our kids won't fit in if they aren't forced to interact with other children their age. People say they won't be normal, or relatable. In other words, we're afraid of them being unlike everyone else. I want my children to be ... Read More...
3 Education Myths Christians Believe
Nobody wants to be accused of having weak faith. But there it was, staring me uncomfortably in the face. In a conversation with someone, I had stated my belief that it's not wise to put kids, whose worldview is still forming, into a place that teaches things contrary to God's Word for 30 hours a week. I thought this was a pretty reasonable conclusion to draw, given the current state of our nation's education system. But then she asked me, "How small is your God?" That one little question packed a pretty big punch. It suggested that I didn't trust God with my children enough to put them in public school. But, it also revealed a few myths about education that we've come to believe as Christians over the past several ... Read More...
Why We Should Rethink Our Children’s Education
A mother from my church recently asked me about the pros and cons of homeschooling. Her son will be entering Pre-K in a few months, and while he is still over a year away from starting Kindergarten, she is starting to consider schooling options seriously. Moms usually take factors like high test scores, lots of extracurricular activities and nice, caring teachers into consideration when making this important decision and call it good. But think about it. We all go to great lengths to make certain that our child's pediatrician's practices correlate with our values. We interview several preschools, to ensure their philosophy of learning matches up with our desires. We even read food and soap labels, on the hunt for "parabens", "thiamin ... Read More...
10 Problems With The Salt & Light Argument In Education
Several months ago, our church held a Missions Night. There were all the usual presentations for missions trips to third-world countries, but then there was an organization that stood out from the rest. It was an organization that ministers to the public schools. I applaud them for recognizing that our nation's schools have become spiritual battlegrounds, in a sense. The video they presented was shocking, full of troubling statistics on the number of children bullied, engaged in promiscuous behavior and violence, using drugs & alcohol, and failing classes. It seemed like the video, intended to show that schools need to be evangelized because of just how bad they've become, also showed exactly why our kids have no business being ... Read More...
Why The Public School Shouldn’t Be Your Child’s Mission Field
"Where will the light be if all the godly kids are pulled out of public schools?" That question seemed to settle the argument. An old friend from college had responded to a comment I made, stating that it is unwise to place children for 30 hours a week in an environment that teaches a humanist, anti-biblical worldview. She seemed to agree that the public school system today is a rather ungodly one, but then asked the loaded question above. It is one that many Christians have wrestled with over the past several years, as American schools continue to deteriorate both in morals and academics. In 2002, even armed with the research saying that 70-75% of Christian youth leave the church visible after high school, the Southern Baptist ... Read More...