Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this. I appreciate the work you do to fight for improving public schooling. Here are a few of my thoughts on a Christian case for Public Schooling.
1) The claim that public schooling is responsible for the decline in Christianity in American children is an excuse for failed parenting and the failure in our churches to raise Godly children. This is not the responsibility of schools and thinking it is will only give cover to the real problems.
2) We are meant to live in the world, with all its warts and all, not build an ivory tower to shield us from the world. What lesson are we teaching our kids by pulling them out of public schools, avoiding contact with the world when they inevitably will be working in the world? We are called to be light bearers, and the light only shines in the darkness. What about all the kids souls that cannot afford private education or who’s parents are not Christian themselves? Are we to keep our kids from being light bearers to these kids?
3) Shifting public funds to private schools will only further widen the wealth gap in our nation. Property tax funded public schools is already problematic enough with disproportionate funding across the nation. Pulling further funds from public schools to private will do nothing to address this issue. Do Christians only care about the well-being of their children, even if it means fewer resources for those kids who live in impoverished areas?
4) We are already a divided nation with Sunday mornings still being the most segregated hour in America as King said 60 years ago. Many of the fears white evangelical have about “woke” education is manufactured fear mongering, meant to further divide our nation. This is evident by the fight against CRT that intentionally mischaracterized CRT and makes it into a boogeyman they can fight. Even Christian thought leaders like Voddie Bachman who has been amplified by white Christians, completely mischaracterizes the words of Critical Race Theorists to make his point, that is meant to raise the fear in white evangelicals. Private Christian texts are some of the most flawed literature in schools, so leaning into this will do our children no good.
We are called to be the head, not the tail. Called to be light bearers in a broken world. Privatizing schools will not only fail setting an example for our children but fail the other children who don’t have the luxury of choosing private school. A good public education is part of the American dream, a part that we have failed to deliver on for all our kids.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this. I appreciate the work you do to fight for improving public schooling. Here are a few of my thoughts on a Christian case for Public Schooling.
1) The claim that public schooling is responsible for the decline in Christianity in American children is an excuse for failed parenting and the failure in our churches to raise Godly children. This is not the responsibility of schools and thinking it is will only give cover to the real problems.
2) We are meant to live in the world, with all its warts and all, not build an ivory tower to shield us from the world. What lesson are we teaching our kids by pulling them out of public schools, avoiding contact with the world when they inevitably will be working in the world? We are called to be light bearers, and the light only shines in the darkness. What about all the kids souls that cannot afford private education or who’s parents are not Christian themselves? Are we to keep our kids from being light bearers to these kids?
3) Shifting public funds to private schools will only further widen the wealth gap in our nation. Property tax funded public schools is already problematic enough with disproportionate funding across the nation. Pulling further funds from public schools to private will do nothing to address this issue. Do Christians only care about the well-being of their children, even if it means fewer resources for those kids who live in impoverished areas?
4) We are already a divided nation with Sunday mornings still being the most segregated hour in America as King said 60 years ago. Many of the fears white evangelical have about “woke” education is manufactured fear mongering, meant to further divide our nation. This is evident by the fight against CRT that intentionally mischaracterized CRT and makes it into a boogeyman they can fight. Even Christian thought leaders like Voddie Bachman who has been amplified by white Christians, completely mischaracterizes the words of Critical Race Theorists to make his point, that is meant to raise the fear in white evangelicals. Private Christian texts are some of the most flawed literature in schools, so leaning into this will do our children no good.
We are called to be the head, not the tail. Called to be light bearers in a broken world. Privatizing schools will not only fail setting an example for our children but fail the other children who don’t have the luxury of choosing private school. A good public education is part of the American dream, a part that we have failed to deliver on for all our kids.