Reasons to Exit the Public School System
The news is aflame with horror stories from behind the curtain of the public-school classrooms, and more and more parents are considering removing their precious children from this toxic environment – but they have questions, such as:
- Is removing my children entirely from the public schools the right thing to do?
- What if I’m not qualified?
- What if the school my kids are in has many Christian teachers and that stuff isn’t happening here?
These are all reasonable questions which have reasonable answers that will be addressed in this article. Let me begin by zooming out to take a look at the issue through a wider lens.
The Big Picture
If our culture continues to rot from within at its present rate, our children will face a future void of the most basic freedoms and rights that we and our forefathers in America have enjoyed, especially if today’s Christian parents continue to send their children to public schools void of God and Biblical standards of morality.
For a healthy society, the proper moral and practical education of its citizens, from child to adult, is absolutely fundamental to the success of all individuals, families, churches, and cultures within that society.
Consider the following classic quotes supporting this principle:
“If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslaved. This will be their great Security.” – Samuel Adams, February 12, 1779
“The best means of forming a manly, virtuous, and happy people will be found in the right education of youth. Without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail.” – George Washington, 1784
“For avoiding the extremes of despotism or anarchy . . . the only ground of hope must be on the morals of the people. I believe that religion is the only solid base of morals and that morals are the only possible support of free governments. Therefore education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God.” Gouverneur Morris, Penman and Signer of the Constitution.
“I feel ashamed that so many of us cannot imagine a better way to do things than locking children up all day in cells [age-segregated classrooms] instead of letting them grow up knowing their families, mingling with the world, assuming real obligations, striving to be independent, self-reliant and free… It is time that we squarely face the fact that institutional school-teaching is destructive to children.” – Educator John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, 2004
You’ll note that each of the quotes above refer to the end goal of all education, i.e. to build virtue and character into ourselves and our children. This cannot be neglected or dismissed. If we seek to win an archery tournament, we will aim for the bullseye, not the perimeter. Virtue and character are the center of the target of education. It is not how much we know that matters, but whether or not we apply the knowledge we have with Godly wisdom. Thus, in answering the second question above, being a good teacher doesn’t require a degree. In fact, a college degree in today’s culture can be more of a detriment than an advantage. Statistics bear this out. Homeschool parents without college degrees fare far better than those with.
When building a home, every contractor knows that the most important element of the entire structure is the foundation. If the foundation is faulty, it will not matter how masterfully the house is built. The entire structure will eventually collapse, and sooner or later it will have to be torn down and rebuilt. Jesus was quite clear on this point in the parable of the wise and foolish builder (Matthew 7:24-27).
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The Bible emphatically states that the foundation of the Christian faith is knowledge of God through His Word and His Son, walking according to God’s commands. Obviously, this doesn’t happen through osmosis. It takes a concerted, consistent, daily commitment to educate, and to be educated, in the truth of God’s Word. Spending only one or two hours a week in church can’t begin to build the moral and intellectual footings needed to combat the daily attacks on Biblical truth that are waged by the media and the state education system. For this reason, the Bible clearly states that it is the highest priority of parents and the church to educate each new generation (as stated repeatedly in Deuteronomy). Fulfilling this command is beneficial to both teachers and students. Learning together, pursuing God together, and sharing a love for Truth builds strong familial bonds and a firm foundation of knowledge and faith. Leaving education primarily to the state will result in a faulty foundation, one that won’t hold up under the stress from the winds and waves of life.
There is no higher responsibility and no greater privilege for Christian parents than to raise their children “in the ways of the Lord” (Proverbs 22:6); and there is no greater ambition for youth than to seek a well-rounded education based foremost upon the moral and practical principles of Scripture. Obeying the Biblical directive to teach our children is not optional, it is essential.
Likewise, we must follow the Biblical directive to seek wisdom like fine treasure (Proverbs 2:4-6). This is the foundation upon which all successful families and societies are built.
Again, this doesn’t mean that every parent must possess the complete knowledge and ability to personally teach their children every subject; but is there a biblical precept that encourages parents to send the children off to countless strangers for twelve years of their lives for their entire education – and all within a setting that censors the Bible? Could it be that we find our society in its current predicament because the Church – and the families who make up the church – surrendered the education process into the hands of the state over one hundred years ago?
The good news is that we are still able – especially in America – to turn the tables on the radical declines we have seen in public morality and practical functionality. We start by realizing that all children are unique creations made in the image of a loving God who has gifted each one in ways that will complement the purposes for which He has created them (Eph. 2:10).
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Children are capable of learning far more and considerably faster than we imagine when they’re not forced to be taught at the same pace as others of the same age, to fall-in behind those who do not have the same moral code, or to blindly obey the instructions of those who have no vested interest in their lives.
Our Father is true to His promises. If parents follow His ways, and obey His instruction to teach their children His ways… when sitting at home and when walking along the road, when lying down and when waking up… He promises, “That it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.” (Deut. 4:40)
Therefore, I ask, are you concerned about what’s going on around us? Are you concerned about the education system that continues to put radical and dangerous ideas into the minds of the children and all of society? Are you concerned about the rapidly declining moral conditions that we find all around us? And lastly, are you concerned that your children aren’t going to be able to enjoy the same freedom and benefits as those of us who came before them?
If these issues are concerning to you, it’s important to realize that a well-rounded Biblical worldview education is the key to peace, safety, and security for a society, and this cannot be attained in today’s public schools. Proverbs 23:7 states, “As a man thinks, so he is”. What the people are taught to believe, they will, in large part, become. Therefore, those who hold the responsibility of teaching, also hold power to guide the direction of the future of our culture – affecting every part of our children’s lives.
Don’t doubt this truth: Taking responsibility over your child’s education is the right thing to do!
For further questions, contact PublicSchoolExit.com.
This article was extracted in large part from the Biblical worldview booklet titled, “Christianity and Education”, available at GTImin.com.
Republished with permission