What’s a Christian parent to do in the when it comes to School Choice? What is the correct thing to do for your children? What is the Godly solution to the wide range of choices?

Unlike some clothing choices: one size does not fit all. I would like to suggest that there is not one correct answer for all. From a spiritual perspective alone, if we all spiritually flourished in the same setting, we would not have so many denominations worshipping the same Lord…in fact we would all worship with the same style…organ backed 19th century hymns; electronic, upbeat praise songs; or "rockin" rap.

Just like adults, children are all different and flourish best in different types of environments.

This comment comes from my personal philosophy and personal experience with a foot in all three camps. I am a product of the public schools, yet after seeking the Lord for direction, placed both of my children in Christian Schools K-16 where both flourished academically and spiritually. I also served in public schools for 32 years as: teacher, counselor, building level administrator, and superintendent. The decision for my children was walked out while I was working as a public school administrator…at times a politically unpopular decision. My children went to a school that had a support system for home schoolers and I later created the same in the public school where I served eleven years as a superintendent.

During these years I saw some students clearly flourish in all each environments. I saw home schoolers that became Godly men and women who were well rounded and fully functioning in both religious and secular culture…but also saw some unable to deal successfully in the “real” world.

I witnessed some children sent to Christian Schools who today are empowered men and women of the Lord having a powerful impact in our society…including my two children who we decided to train at home, in church, and at school to be part of the Last Day’s Army. However, I saw others openly rebelling against their “forced” training while in school and now in their adult lives rejecting the teachings that surrounded them.

I observed children from strong Christian families attend public schools and truly serve as “Salt and Light” to those around them. They were missionaries to a schooling culture bathed in darkness. In the same hallways, I saw young tender Christians tainted by the Godless philosophy of peers and educators as they walked away from the faith of their parents selling out to exposed pressures.

Bottom-line, there is not a right or wrong answer to the schooling choice issue. Each parent should seek the Lord’s will for their child(ren). Every child is created in the Image of God, but every child is different and has different needs. In fact, at times a combination all of the above may be the answer. It is a decision that each parent must make for each of their children. However, as they stay in touch with the academic and spiritual development of their children, they may need to adjust their educational plans to meet the current individual needs of their child. I’m not suggesting this decision should be left up to each child; however, listening to a child’s concerns and dreams as they mature can be a great barometer for psychological and emotional pressures.

The key to raising children in the knowledge of the Lord may not focus merely on the location where formal education takes place, but where the informal education takes place as well: in the home during non-instruction time.

Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, and when you lie down or get up. Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9

Parents need to saturate their homes with the Truth of their faith 24/7 and play a major role in the daily formal education whether that training takes place exclusively at home, in a Christian School, or in a public school. In Proverbs 22:6 parents are promised that they “train a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not turn away from it.” Training does not merely come from isolated formal training, but is the sum total of the life experiences.

Home Schools, Christian Schools, and Public Schools all have benefits and weaknesses, pros and cons. I’ve listed a few below that I have personally observed over the past 50 years. Feel free to weigh the wisdom of these opinions.

Home Schools

#1 Benefit: Education can be controlled and delivered by the parent who intimately knows and truly loves the student

Choosing home schooling can be a viable option for some. Educational research verifies the benefit of one-on-one education that is the ideal individualized education. These students are not held up by others in the class since this model is direct delivery from the teacher/parent to the student/child. The traditional classroom model was developed during the industrial revolution and resembles the assembly line: line up the product and expose all parts to the same experiences. In such a setting, it is impossible to individualize to the extent the home school model can. Home schooling is not bound by the clock as flexibility is a reality. In the traditional model, students are exposed to certain subjects for a minimum amount of time with the expectation that they will grasp the concept which is later assessed. Unlike the home schooling model where the focus is on the child’s immediate need with evaluation being on going through the close relationship of the parent and child.

#1 Weakness: Education limited to the ability and gifting of the parent

The home schooling environment can be cloistered and limiting. At worst, it can be a sheltered environment where dysfunctional lifestyles cannot be contrasted with healthy ones. In such a model, students often are not exposed to expanded learning opportunities and are limited to what the parents can offer them. Some are unable to function well in public situations due to their lack of social skills being underdeveloped in an isolated setting.

Christian Schools

#1 Benefit: Education lines up with Christian Worldview and educators can role model the Christian Lifestyle

Choosing to send your child to a Christian School can be a viable option for some. Lining up the religious beliefs taught at church, at school, and at home tends to send a clear message to children as they are formulating their own beliefs. This model sets a positive environment that lines up with family values and creates peer groups with the same belief systems reducing many of the pressures that children are exposed to in their formative years and through adolescence.

#1 Weakness: Educational experiences are sometimes inferior due to low levels of funding

All Christian Schools do not provide the same quality just because they carry the name. As is true of most classroom experiences, they are dependent on having a good teacher…not necessarily guaranteed in any schooling model. Inadequate facilities, equipment, and staff can result in poor educational programming. Some Christian Schools also merely try to duplicate public school programs and add Bible study and prayer rather than deliver a true Christian Education based on a Biblical Worldview. This may result in a watered down education with little spiritual impact.

Not all students attending Christian Schools are necessarily there due to their relationships with the Lord. Some are there because of their parents faith or just because the parents wanted them out of the public school. Therefore, some of the problems present in the public schools are just as real: drugs, alcohol, sexual activity, disobedience, etc.

Public Schools

#1 Benefit: Education has the benefit of local, state, and federal funding as well as the best educated and trained teachers in the history of this nation.

Public schools are usually well funded and have an extensive state and federal system of accountability. Students are exposed to well-developed academic, athletic, and social opportunities far beyond home schoolers and Christian School students.

For students with special needs, the services are almost endless.

#1 Weakness: Education is designed for the “masses” and planned and delivered from a secular perspective which is sometimes hostile toward Christians

Although not the intent of the 1st Amendment, many public school educators believe that they must make their schools God-less under the banner of “separation of church and state” to the extent that an environment is created that is hostile to religion. Since public schools often reflect current culture, behaviors and philosophies, the sin nature of mankind is accepted and even promoted. Forces are at work to control the minds of our children by systematically promoting such things as sexual orientation being genetically driven and same sex marriage being acceptable under the banner of tolerance.

In many states, school employees’ unions have such control that student needs become secondary.

In conclusion, we, as Christian parents, should seek God’s guidance and will for the children He has loaned us to insure they are educated in the environment He deems best for them.