SBC to continue sacrificing children?

gb93433,
Yes, I have seen Christian schools do that.
It is not as bleak as you describe.
I send my kids to Christian school, and they are not cocooned from the real world. But this school has helped prepare them. And no, we have not abdicated our role as parents to this school.
They each are in a number of situations in which they interact with "the world". I have been very proud of some of their efforts.


Phillip,
I am an employee of the public schools. Those kids have to compete in the real world, too. Many of them are less prepared academically and less well-socialized than many home-schooled kids I know. There are many variables. And my school system is a good one.

Philip,
Lots of people have questioned. Homeschoolers take standardized tests. They have to pass college entrance exams. There are lots of statistics out there.

Karen

 

You know, many times, those people we think are just rotting in the pew are in need, and we should be helping them.

Now that I have been a member of my present church for 20 years, I think I see people differently than if I had just been a member for a couple of years. It is so easy to look at people and think they are doing nothing.
When I look around, I see people on chemo who could barely crawl to church, but they did. I see people with several little kids doing their best to raise a godly family. I see people that have to rush home because they are caring for elderly family members. I see people struggling with grief because somebody died. I see people in all other kinds of situations. It would be really easy for me to say they are just once a week pew sitters. I challenge you to really get to know some of the people that seem so problematic to you.

Karen

 

Karen is right. (generalization :laugh: )

Seriously, Christian schools can be a wonderful blessing and help. They do not have to be a dumping ground for all the public school drop-outs, at least not if the administration watches who is coming in. Our church has gone to a policy of having the school be only for church members, but I know of others who allow anyone of "like faith and practice", which works well also.
The question is not whether we ought to let our kids interact with the world, or at what age should it happen. The question is in what capacity should they be interacting with the world. The problem with placing them in a public school is you are letting the world become who they normally interact with on a daily basis. You are letting the world become an influence on them....through the school curriculum, through the friends they WILL make, through the things they will hear other kids talking about around them, etc. Some kids are naturally strong leaders, and will thrive in this sort of challenging environment. But those are the exception to the rule, I believe. The vast majority will be influenced by the public school culture more than they will influence it.

OTOH, this does not mean that we keep our kids in a little bubble and never let them out until they are 18. We ought to expose the kids to the public school culture by MINISTERING there. We ought to let the kids serve in some sort of church ministry where they can see the END RESULT of sin and rebellion. When they see these things in a ministry capacity it puts an entirely different light on it. They see public school kids as people who they can help by teaching them about Jesus. The best ministry Ive ever seen do this is the Bus Ministry.....but Im sure there are other types of ministries that churches are doing which would be able to include the kids.

For example, my oldest daughter started working on a bus route when she was 9. Yes, she saw kids cussing, and acting awful, and she saw some of the places these kids were living. She saw drunkenness and riotous living.......but all in the mindset that these people needed Jesus, and she was there to help the kids learn about God.

 

My child is going to attending a Christian day care until he's old enough for kindergarden when he will transition to public school in the same public school system I attended. This school system allowed us to have a semester-long Bible education class and we got an English credit for it. It is one of the top public school systems in the country, and unlike most of the ones ahead of and behind it in the rankings, you don't have to pass a test to get into it. I will be guiding him in his Christian education.

One thing we can do to improve public schools is support initiatives to get Bible education classes into our public schools. More information is found here:

http://www.bibleinschools.net/sdm.asp

 

One of the Attenboroughs did a documentary on a family once that moved in order to get into a better school district, and they either rezoned or the family made a mistake, or something, and they weren't in the school district.

Now, none of the people in the film are exceptionally brilliant or anything, but the parents decided to start homeschooling their first child. With the second one, the first child helped. With the third one, the first and second child helped. Etc. All of these children excelled in school, and by the time they got to child number eight (or ten or however many), he had his PhD when he was 19.

All it took was effort from a couple of parents who were pretty average. I wish I had done that with my son, but I bought into the whole "public school is fine" mentality, because I did fine in public schools. (Of course, my father was a teacher, and God blessed me with a good mind.)

He also did a documentary on how a family of 14 (2 parents, 12 kids) made it in a 3 BR home with an attic. But, that's a different documentary.

 

I can't believe this is actually posed this way on a thread. (sorry to come in at the end like this)

I'm a public school product and am serving in a vibrant, growing ministry that is reaching our community and world with the Gospel. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me going to public school and I will probably send my kids there too.

The tithe thing isn't even an issue. I can't believe you think I was sacrificed by my parents...that's just funny to me

 

I disagree, preachinjesus. I think this is an incredibly important subject to discuss.
Also, I went to school in the 1960's in a small, rural town in MO where if you didn't go to church you were ashamed to admit it.
99% of my public school teachers were Baptist deacons or Sunday School teachers or a few Presbyterian Sunday School teachers.

I think that it would ill serve my children for me to assume that because I turned out just great LOL, that therefore, 40 years later in a different state and completely different kind of town, that public school is automatically fine.
I hope you will investigate very carefully the individual situation in which you and your children find yourselves, with all of your options.

Karen

 

If the SBC isn't suposed to tell parents how to educate their children (which the SBC did not even try to do) then who do you think you are, that you should question whether parents are "'capable' of providing a good educational to their children"?

Yes, many people question whether parents are capable. Usually it is those who feel threatened by homeschooling or who think that they stand to lose something when parents choose to teach their children at home.

 

I agree. I grew up in a non-Christian home and went to public school. I also attended three public universitities and one seminary. Frankly, I was shocked at the number of students in seminary who had never discipled anyone or ever shared their faith with anyone. I did not find that same experience when I was in the Navigators in college. Every person who I knew who was in the Navigators for very long had begun to share their faith and make disciples. One of my professors in seminary told me that it was not until he was about 55 and after reading some material put out by a parachurch organization that he began to personally disciple someone. The gentleman who taught me carpentry sdaid the same thing. He had gone ot a Christian university and told me the same thing. It wasn't until he read some of the Navigators material that he began to make disciples. If I had one choice I would recommend that someone learn to make disciples from whomever will teach them.

 

That is a mischaracterization of the resolution. Al Mohler in no way is telling parents how to educate their children. He was encouraging everyone to prepare for the worse if it were to happen. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is called being responsible parents and it was good advice. Shame on the SBC for caving to emotional political correctness and not watching out for the best interests of the kids.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Bravo. As parents it is OUR job to raise our children in Christian homes.

I am a public school teacher and I see both sides of the coin on this story. But, ultimately, I have left both of my children in public schools. (12 and 14 years old) They are both strong Christian people and are doing well.

I believe in public education. (minus no child left behind which is a whole can of worms itself) The day I stop believing in public ed, I will be out the door. I've been there for 18 years....and plan to stay. Will I retire in public ed? Only God knows.
There are good public schools...there are bad public schools. There are good private schools...and bad private schools.

:wavey:

 

Do you believe in all public education?

Apparently your answer is no. I agree with you. Bravo. I, too, am a public school teacher of 9 years. Let me ask you a question: Would you leave your kids in a bad public school that shows no signs of improving, or make plans to make a change? If you answer with the latter, then welcome to the fold. You agree with Al Mohler and disagree with the SBC's rejection of his resolution.

Joseph Botwinick

 

If my children were in a public school that held nothing for them, they'd be gone. My children, our children, are our future. I have had back up plans for my own if something had not worked for them.
:wavey:

 

Bravo!
One of the reasons, one of many, that I stay in the public system as a teacher is to witness to my students. Will I ever be fired for it? Perhaps. If so....then so be it. A lot of children in my area don't have the $$ or the mothers/fathers to home school or send them to private. From 8 a.m. until I walk out of my building I wear many hats. Being a teacher is just one of many hats I wear. I pray that I positively influence my students as well as foster the opportunity for them to grow in Christ.
:Fish:

 

Christian public school teachers provide a different perspective for the public to see. Their light is not hidden under a bushel.

Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, came to Christ through two women public school teachers. I came to Christ through some fellow university students who were involved in the Navigators.

 

Re: home schooling

Below is a link I found while doing research on another topic, but I thought it might add to your discussion. I am not SBC but have enjoyed reading the thoughts presented.

http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=7505

thjplgvp

 

One thing that I must say is interesting is that many of the home/Christian schoolers I've interacted with (please note, this is not all of the home/Christian schoolers) are not well adjusted for society when they end up at college. My undergrad days were at a school that drew many home/Christian Schoolers out of very conservative families because of the theological/political disposition of its founder. Many of these kids did not know how to interact well with other, had problems adjusting to life on their own, ran with scissors, encountered many pressures they weren't equipped to deal with, and had never been able to have extended contact with other brands of Christianity.

This has led to a couple of issues in m observation. The primary of which is a higher degree of vulunerablity to falling into temptation because of lack of exposure to, supposedly, worldly influences. Another issue is their inability to cope with other, perfectly legitimate, viewpoints. Also in some cases those who had been exclusively educated through these means were more carnal than my most pagan friends at high school, just because they live in a supposedly Christian bubble doesn't mean they don't venture out at night. Again these are my observations on some of the home/Christian schoolers I've run into. I have some great friends who have been educated either, or both, ways who are vibrant Christians. I just believe that route criticisms of public education institutions for their lack of "religious" education is misguided because it is not the place of the public square to offer any religious education and I would be suscipious if they started offering such. Thanks for the convo

 

Hello preachinJesus,
Thanks for your comments.
I am a public school employee, and I send my kids to private Christian school.
We could trade anecdotes all day long, and I could show you lots of kids who have a tremendous positive impact in public school and kids who are harmed by it. My church has kids from all three educational styles, and every kid is different and has his own challenges.
The point in my view is simply that a parent has the duty to evaluate his own child and the available opportunities and make the best decision possible for that child. Doesn't guarantee results. And evaluation should be based on present circumstances for the child, not what it was like for the parent 20 plus years ago.

I don't criticize the public school system for not being a Christian school. I simply want training for my children in school that the public system cannot provide, no matter how good a public school system it is.

Karen

 

No church or Christian school will ever provide what you should be providing. What you should be providing is a healthy example of what a real Christian loks like. You should be one whose children see and hear them share their faith, make disciples, and do good deeds while at the same time loving people God brings your way.

 

Yeah, but by the time they get so caught up in *needing* two incomes, they have already got so financially dependent for worldly things that tithing may not be a priority.

If one is financially disciplined enough to tithe, they usually aren't the kind of folks that are the "two career, chasing the toy" folks anyway.

Of course... these are generalizations with exceptions.