These are the children that homeschooling will not work for. They’re lost in the system and there really is no way out for them. A young woman who at 15 attempted suicide because she saw no other way out of an abusive relationship. A young man who writes of his previous addiction:
becomes a victim of the game,
Many things change.
People see your face and turn away.
They wanna love ya,
They wanna hug ya,
But they simply can’t trust ya,
Because you’re filled with an evil product.
This is why I do not feel the church can give up on public education. Not that we can somehow change the system with its inherent flaws. However, unlike many, I do not think children going away from home to learn is necessarily the root of the problem. Children in Jesus’ day were educated outside the home in the synagogue (scroll to the bottom). The difference was in accountability and purpose. The father was the authority in education and the purpose was to learn Torah.
There are working solutions out there. Earlier today, I highligted the Carver Academy. That is a model I sincerely believe that churches should consider as they spend millions of dollars in building projects, including youth gyms, private schools and coffee bars.
There is a second model gaining a bit of attention recently. Community schools, such as Blue Ox, are being highlighted as Bill Gates and others have come behind them in support. And they are producing some impressive statistics. Some of these schools accept only youth who have been expelled from a tradtional school and still somehow maintain the same, and in some cases higher, graduation rates. Their purposes are wholly secular: to prepare youth for the workplace.
But shouldn’t the church offer something? At the founding of our free and public education, the goals of equipping the youth with knowledge of the scripture was at its core. Several laws required communities to offer schools so that all of its citizenry might have the opportunity to learn to read the scriptures. These schools were not necessarily set up by the church or run by the church. The problem is not so much that the church stepped out of education and let the state take over, but that the state began changing its goals in the early 1800’s.
As a Christian, I agree whole heartedly that we should not leave our children in the system which has developed. Most Christian schools sadly have gone the same way. They generally service a clientele a little higher on the socio-economic ladder so are often not plagued with quite the same problems as the public schools. Still, they are oftentimes no different from secular schools in their character and methodology. And what of those who cannot afford it? Or whose situation precludes homeschooling? Most of the children in my class came from Christian homes. 100% were minorities. 98% were on public assistance. 20% lived with someone other than their biological parents. Several lived with only one parent. And that one parent quite likely was a teenager when she gave birth. I don’t think homeschooling would have been a viable option for any of them.
We set up missions all over the world and educate youth in the gospel of Christ. We pay for classrooms in Africa, India and South America where teachers instruct indigenous populations in the scriptures as well as academic subjects. Why don’t we show any interest in this in our own communities in our own nation?
homeschooling, home school, education, school reform, public school, Christian, community schools
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I think the church needs to provide for the education of those children. However, a public (read government) involement in that effort is not a good idea. The academy you cited is the world’s answer to helping these children. It benefits them in some ways but neglects the spiritual education. Any education involving the state will by nature do so.
Children in Jesus’ day were educated outside the home in the synagogue (scroll to the bottom).
Yes. A very good point. And the father had authority but the rabbi had spiritual authority (important point).
Very thought provoking post. Honeschooling is not the answer for everyone. I personally know of Christian families in which homeschooling was disastrous (I don’t say that lightly).
Here we have some Christian schools which are privately run. They have a good name. Our situation is different but I really am thinking about the principle you’ve put forward. The church could have a role, although that may differ in different countries and contexts. Carver sounds very innovative.
oops…noticed a boo boo that caused my comment to say the opposite of what I meant. Here’s my correction:
By the way, when I mentioned “public” I did not meant state involvement. I meant open to the public but run solely by the CHURCH (not state). I don’t know that they should even seek accreditation.
In my perfect little world where I am supreme dictator and get to make these decisions. Yikes…we might be better off just sliding slowly into socialism…
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Catez! I am only highlighting things I find interesting because I think there are workable solutions out there. Even some of what the “world” has to offer is better than our current state of affairs. I love homeschooling. Now, I don’t know that there is a solution that would lure me back into another form of education, but that does not mean that I believe that the idea of public education is bad.
At its conception, it was to teach all to read so that they could read the scriptures for themselves and because education is necessary to maintain our liberty. That would be my primary goal in education, as well. And it is why I don’t feel comfortable just leaving the vast majority of children in our nation to flounder in a system that has progressed far away from its founding vision.
btw, I’m not so sure that when I said that the father had/has the authority that it was entirely accurate. He has the responsibility which is a little different. I’ll have to research and reflect a bit more. I’d love to study a bit more on the synagogue and how Christ and His disciples would have been educated. At the moment, it would be nothing but a rehashing of the site I linked to, though.