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Molested by the Curriculum
Or, what man is there among you, when his son sall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, will not give him a snake, will he? (Matthew 7:9-10)
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill which requires even Christian colleges (where students receive state grants) to condone perverse sexual perspectives such as: transsexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. It is becoming increasingly clear that children of Christian families are being given a "free" education based on how to be a submissive, politically correct atheist. This is a free ride to hell for many children. The fact that a few children retain or acquire faith in Jesus after going through the government education mill reveals that the system has not yet reached its full power. There are still some heroic Christian teachers who find ways to communicate faith. There are still a few parents and churches who can counteract the effect of the atheistic evangelism built into the curriculum of most public school systems. But, the system is constantly working to reduce the effectiveness of these "subversive" elements.
California Christians are being encouraged to pull their children out of the government schools and to educate them in Christian or Home Schools (see news article). Even though the agenda of all government school systems is not as obvious as in California, the results are still pretty uniform. Studies show that for children of Christian families, most (over 90%) believe in Jesus when they graduate from a Home-school, but only a relatively small percent (less than 40%) retain their faith after graduation from the government school system. Somewhere around 80-90% of Christians parents send their children into the government school system. Some are ignorant of the danger, others have conflicting priorities and many just don't think about it. Many Christian parents need to stop acting like a bunch of lemmings who thoughtlessly send their children off to public schools where they can be molested by the curriculum.
Project:
- Diligently seek God's direction for how best to fulfill your responsibility to educate your children.
You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." - God (Deut 6)
I would have to disagree with your assertion that public schools cause children to lose their faith. I don’t think that just hearing the wrong message sends a child straight to hell. Obviously there are many great Christians who have attended public school and did not lose there faith, my wife being one of them. Also there are many Christians who currently work in the public school system, for example my brother in law. You say that parents have the responsibility to educate their children, but then you say public school is not an option because you think it is wrong. If it is the parent’s responsibility then they can choose a public school if they determine that is what is best. I personally plan on sending my children to public schools. I agree there are dangers at the school, but no more than in Christian Schools, or Home Schools. After all the teen that was educated in the ATI home school program shot and killed the parents of her girlfriend. Also many home school programs teach wrong information. For example, ATI teaches that the musical rhythms in rock music is harmful to your body even though there is no research to support that, or that a certain persons version of courtship is the only way to find your wife, which I have personally found to be wrong. So yes it is the parents responsibility to raise a child as a Christian, not the public schools responsibility, Christian Schools, or home school programs.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Boyd
I disagree with the assertion that children in public schools are on the road to hell given that I went to public schools as did most of my friends and extended family, who coincidently stayed Christians all the way through college and into their marriages. I don't believe that my parents didn't think about my welfare or know any better or had conflicting priorities when they chose to pub me in public school. My parents invested time and energy into making sure I had a spiritual foundation at home and through the church so that I could be a strong Christian in ANY environment and make the right decisions in ALL situations in my life. I was able to spread my faith in public schools and invite friends to attend to church with me. It also tested and challenged my faith. When we studied Darwin in biology, you can bet I had some great conversations with my parents about how this worked with the Christian faith. I came out as a stronger Christian because of those discussions and questions that I had about my faith. If I had not had these tests when my parents were around to help guide me at that young age, I wouldn't have been able to handle bigger issues later on in life that you find in the workforce and in society. Parents won't always be around to provide a sheltered and protected environment. You have to teach your children how to make the right decisions as they are approached with these situations. By placing kids in home school or private schools, it could make them ill-prepared for making the right decisions as an adult since they have no basis or prior guidance on how to deal with it. Basically kids could potentially come out with "book learning" on faith, but no "street smarts" on how to apply it in a real society. I feel that public school gave me the confidence and strength that I have in my faith today.
ReplyDeleteI think the key isn't the school that the kids attend, it is the parental involvement that makes the difference. Communicate with your kids when they come home from school about what they learned. Take them to Sunday school. Be a spiritual leader to your children when they come home. Encourage them to view public school as a potential to reach out to others with the gospel. Be an active participant in your children's lives so that you can guide their spiritual development and teach them how to make the right decisions.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.
Mandy Boyd
I certainly agree that there are no guaranteed outcomes. And, I also went through a public education. It almost worked on me but I began to discover some of the lies I was believing while in my early twenties. And, there will always be exceptions no matter how good or how bad the system that is involved. But, each educational system is designed to produce a target product. And, as I said, the current government system still has Christian teachers and involved parents interferring with the goal of a purely secular education that produces people that believe the textbooks that ignore, attack or factor out the concept of God. The government system makes it almost illegal to talk about Jesus. There is a reason for this and it's not to encourage more and stronger Christians. Thankfully, more and more parents are recognizing the problem. Hopefully, either the system will work well for you because of your strong impact on your children or you will find a successful alternative when the need arises.
ReplyDeleteApparently, my article communicated the idea that all children in public school are destined for hell. That was not my intent. But, the system is currently producing more and more graduates who lack faith in the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. There are many Christian teachers working in the public schools and some of them are finding ways to impact their students. Many parents are currently able to counteract the influence of the schools. But, there are many Christian parents of adult children that wonder what happened to their smart, cute little toddlers. In many cases, what happened was the prevailing culture and especially the impact of the schools.
ReplyDeleteThere is an unstated problem in most church youth programs. The problem is that many young people spend 35+ hours on school, 25+ hours on TV or Internet and 2-3 hours with their church youth program. Studies have shown that most parents effectively interact with their school-age children for only a few minutes each day (at best). There is a huge disproportion in time and the advantage belongs to the culture communicated by our media outlets and to the schools. This might be okay if the curriculum in the schools supported the values of the parents. But, this is not the case now for Christian families. In addition, many parents find meaningful communication with their teenage children to be a significant challenge. The combination of conflicting influences, lack of parent-child time and lack of effective communication can be a potent mix that leads to serious problems for many families. Parents that can anticipate these challenges may be able to prepare strategies to counteract the potential negative influence and power of the culture as manifest through the media, school curriculum and peers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a very thought-provoking article, Gerry, and thanks also to those whose comments followed. My husband and I had always planned to send our future children to public schools. We chose our first home carefully, based on the reputation of a certain school district. Even after God dramatically rescued and saved us and called us His own, we “knew” our children would go to public schools. After all, it was good enough for us. And still I felt uneasy as we sent our firstborn off to kindergarten. After that year, I began to ask God what He would like us to do regarding our children’s education. Why hadn’t that occurred to me before? About midway through the 1st grade, I made a lunch date with my husband to tell him I believed the Lord wanted us to find a Christian school for our boys. I had been earnestly praying for months about it, and I knew my husband would be opposed to the idea, but as God is wont to do, He had gone before me and prepared my husband’s heart. He listened to me and agreed immediately and suggested we begin our search right away, that very afternoon.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to what I have learned from our experience today… Our boys are now in 9th and 6th grade at the very same school where the Lord led us 8 years ago. The school has been a big blessing to us, but it is not a perfect place. There are some of the same problems plaguing families enrolled in this Christian school as there are plaguing the ones who choose public schools. I know firsthand that there are kids who graduate from public high schools who are strong in their faith; it CAN happen. But the atheistic public schools can also work to steal and stomp the faith out of a kid, whether alongside the parents or in spite of the parents. And the dangers appear to be increasing. Just the other day, I heard of the new curriculum mandated by the state of Tennessee, which requires 4 yr olds in the Head Start programs to be taught about pedophilia and molestation in appallingly graphic ways, and the specifics of this curriculum are not to be revealed to the parents.
Here are the main differences as I see it: our curriculum is Scripture-based, our children are being taught a Biblical worldview, and prayer is important and is practiced in the classrooms. By far, the biggest advantage is that the school is working with us and not against us. It is not difficult to spot the parents in our school who are not drawing on the grace and power of God in their lives. Sometimes this is the reason their children are not doing well in life. However, there are plenty of scary examples in Scripture of godly people whose children go astray, like Eli’s and Samuel’s sons in 1 Samuel. All I can do is what I know I have to do: keep my eyes focused on Christ and my ears listening for what He wants me to do. I am open to any change God would have us make regarding our children’s education, whether it means public school or home schooling. Every year I ask Him to show us what He wants us to do. The key is for parents to keep an open mind to what the Spirit of God would have them do. In the end, I have to continue to cry out to God to protect my children and grow them into strong Christian men who will be able to give an answer for what they believe. As parents and as children of God, my husband and I are constantly being corrected by the Holy Spirit, and it is only by God’s mercy and grace that we could succeed in raising warriors for Jesus.