Friday, 17 October 2008
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Public School or Private Christian School?: Follow-up
Guest blog submitted by Amy Wright
(a follow-up to Public School or Private Christian School?: part 1 and part 2)
Some time ago, I was studying and I came across I Peter 2:12 – Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Among the pagans.
The life of the American Evangelical Christian isn’t exactly set up to “live such good lives among the pagans.” Around the pagans, maybe. In front of the pagans. Parallel to the pagans. But certainly not among.
In fact, as a practicing Evangelical, I don’t really know any pagans. I see pagans – on my way to church and Bible study. I know OF pagans. I see them on TV, they talk about them on that Christian radio station I listen to. I hear the stories about what’s going on in the public schools... But in terms of living a good life among them, I am failing. I Peter 2:12 – and its context – convicts me.
So, God sent us to public school. How do we know it was God? Well, for one thing, we were chosen. Literally. We are in a magnet school that randomly accepted 11 new students out of more than 100 applications. I’d applied so that we’d have a “backup” option if homeschool or private school didn’t work out for us. (We are NEVER chosen for anything.) Another reason: For about 8 years, God has had us directly involved with a ministry that takes the Gospel to public school campuses. To not take advantage of the opportunity to get our hands dirty in the mission field we’ve been supporting for 8 years would be, well, hypocritical. There are more, but I’m trying to keep this brief.
It is very tempting for a parent to feel like the one part of our lives we’re allowed to keep under our control is our child. We have a “responsibility” to keep them “safe” and to “bring them up in the way they should go.” Sure. But I was trying to think of Biblical examples where God asked the parents’ permission before carrying out his plan, and I came up short. Eve? Abraham? Jacob? Moses’s mother? Hannah? Mary?
What kind of Christian am I if I can’t trust God to work out His plan in the life of my family, if we are seeking to serve Him? How big do I truly believe God is if I don’t think He can protect my child in a public school – especially if all signs point to that being His plan for us?
The night before the first day of school, our family was reading some books together. One of the books said something silly about a snowman living in the heart of every child. The amazing 5-year-old that I have on loan from God said, “What? Snowman in your heart? No mom, Jesus in your heart.”
I don’t know what God has in store for our future, but I know that, for now, He doesn’t want that heart to shine brightly in a place that is already light. Within two weeks of school starting, Jesus’s compassionate little girl became the only friend to a girl confined to a wheelchair – an opportunity she would not have had, if we’d chosen to keep her to ourselves. Every day, she gives a hug to the crossing guard and shares her stickers and coins for ice cream on Wednesdays – without mom & dad suggesting it.
I’m not worried about what the school is going to do to her. I’m excited about what God is going to do through her. Among the pagans.
Are you allowing your Christian life to shine in places without light?
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Comments (13)
You may be surprised about being "among the pagans"...I'm a pagan parent who is currently sending my son to a Catholic school for many reasons, and not a single person has any idea. Of course, it may help that it's the same Catholic school that I attended and I know many of the parents and teachers because of that, but still...you honestly never know.
I allways wanted to goto private school I never got to sadly. Some of my neighbors went I was jealous
I homeschooled all of our kids from Pre-K through 12th... it wasn't to keep them away from people but was a choice due to our moving every three years.... Although they were schooled that way they always seemed to have friends from various backgrounds (differnt religions, ethic groups, etc.) that they met through their outside activities and from the neighborhood... I'm glad they met these kids and I'm blessed to say that these kids, some from terrible family situations, found comfort, safety, and peace in our home. They didn't always 'find' our faith, but they found a haven from their storms. Who knows, maybe some have found relationship with Christ now, maybe not... the important thing is that they had us and we had them for a time....
This is a great post.... thanks for sharing and blessings to you and your family!
...how come public school cannot be Christian school?
...how come Christian school has to be private?
I went to a public Christian school before. Fusion is really good for the society, and school too (the micro society)
It's really God's words that form this society and the laws.....but now we are so into getting that so called 'politically correct' (how correct anyways....)
All my children have gone to public school through 12 th grade. I have one in 1st grade now. Whenever we hear about anything happening to someone, he says "I hope he knew Jesus!". God has blessed you with a wonderful, sensitive daughter, and I'm glad you are "sharing" her. I help out at my son's public school and believe that sharing love and compassion with the children I come in contact with and showing respect and appreciation to the teachers is a part of the ministry God has called me to at this time in my life.
Blessings to you and your family :)
God does many things. If you are called to put your child into a public magnet school, then I hope you've done so after prayer and meditation on the scripture. We have Christian friends who send their girls to public school. A lot depends on the community, the teachers in the school and the strong foundation of your Christian home.
That being said, I do question your interpretation of I Peter 2:12. I am sensing that you may feel pressured because you are choosing to send your child to public school, and you may feel compelled to justify your decision.
Pagan does not have to equal "Wiccan." One definition of "pagan" is anyone simply not a Christian (Jew or Muslim can also be part of the definition). Many modern Americans certainly worship something other than God: money, success, physical appearance, power or just themselves and their comfort. Early Christians met pagans, as we do, while shopping and almost any time they went out in public.
And most Christians I know definitely live "among" pagans in the context that Peter describes. Early Roman-era Christians were within the pagan culture, but they definitely did not participate in some of the aspects of it: such as Emperor worship, eating food sacrificed to idols or going to gladatorial combats. I believe (I don't have my History of the Christian Church right here with me) that Early Christians also did not send their children to the non-Christian schools of the day, as the children would learn the stories of the pagan gods there. To them, being "among' the pagans didn't mean that they had to send their kids to pagan schools. However, if the magnet school your child will be attending is anything like the one at which I attended High School, you may very well run into teachers and families who are Wiccans, anarchists, communists, etc.
I grew up in a Christian home and went to a nominally Christian school and still did not grow up with a completely Christian worldview....I have to fight it constantly. Seeds of doubt, pride, fear and worldliness were sown too early in my life and encouraged by others. Intellectual ability, scholarship, popularity and materialism were what were REALLY valued, not true godliness or holiness, my church (although very Biblical) did not offer a strong course in Christian apologetics. My sin (even as young as I was) was not fighting these corrupting influences. Part of the problem was my innate sinfulness (that we all have) part was childish ignorance and innocence that could not reason and debate scriptural truth.
God certainly CAN protect your child (as He could during a natural disaster), but HE calls you to guide her and provide reasonable protection, too. This may mean arming her against the world, the flesh and the devil and preparing her to be light among the darkness.
Our friends who send their girls to public school are very strong Christians. One is a law officer and the other was a manager for Neiman-Marcus. They purposefully live a simple, almost homesteading life and they actively try to counteract what their children pick up in school (Our friends raise their own meat. This caused a problem when one of the girls was taught vegan concepts in school.) These parents have NO trouble confronting a teacher or the school system when questionable beliefs are being taught and they have no patience with wishy-washy moral ambiguity, materialism or worldliness. These girls see baby animals born (so they at least know the physical outcome of promiscuity) and they know the outcome of drugs and crime.
Will your young child be able to withstand her friends telling her that she needs to see the latest video by a popular pop star who is worshipped almost like a goddess? How will you help her see through the superficial exterior of such a lifestyle?
Will she be able to maintain her convictions when her teacher or textbook subtly disparages Christianity as old-fashioned, or simply as one-of-many-equal-paths?
Will she respect your convictions about religion when her "teacher" (authority figure) says that religion is the cause of most major wars and conflicts?
How will you counteract the theory of evolution that is all-pervasive?
Will she have any other Christian friends, or will she have to stand the tide alone and ostracized? (I was teased because I once sang a hymn at school.)
How will you help her understand Biblical morality when the parents of many kids in her class are involved with live-in-companions, may do drugs and may be involved in prostitution and when their older siblings are sexually promiscuous and vulgar? We tend to become desensitized to whatever we're around. At first it's shocking, and then it slowly becomes okay and normal. You may be having to talk about the birds and the bees a little earlier than you might otherwise have had to.
Can you logically give a defense of Christianity, explain its origins and history, and the history of early manuscripts of the New Testament so that your child will see that Christianity isn't just a "religion of the ignorant and fanatics?"
The name of Jesus will be a real point of contention. He is the stumbling block.
Anyway, these are just a few questions to consider beforehand. Be strong, be prepared, and pray.
public school rocks. I would never want to go to a private school. But it's all personal preference.
I'm attending Teachers College right now, and I am looking forward to teach at PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I believe kids have hung out with enough Christians at church, and they need to realize not everyone in the world are going to be Christians. That's a place for them to practice accepting differences, sharing faith, or at least demonstrate how Christians show love to one and other =)
Amen. And, i would nearly always recommend that parents leave their children in Public School.
I'm really glad you followed where you felt God was leading you. Your little girl sounds wonderful, and I'm sure God will use a tender little heart like her's to do amazingly wonderful things.
Some of the advice offered in these comments is interesting, and I'm sure some of the questions posed are a bit frightening to think about. I'll be praying that God will guard your daughter's heart and mind and that He will give you the wisdom to impart His truth to her while her heart is still tender (Proverbs 4: 23). The philosophies of the world seem so powerful, but Christ gives us the comfort that "the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever." (Isaiah 40, I Peter 1).
I'm glad God's giving you the strength to do what you feel is right, and I sure hope you see God doing crazy things through your step of faith!
Of course I understand and even respect some of the comments made in regards to the post, however, and with all due respect, Ms. Wright, clearly stated both in the first post and 2nd post that it was a very difficult decision that she and her husband deeply sought the Lord in. Am I the only one slightly annoyed at the some of the questions posed? Insinuating that these questions were not adequately thought about....or that Ms. Wright wouldn't know that "pagan" could be something other than wiccan? How elementary. In addition, as believers shouldn't we be more concerned about the hearts of our children and others rather than the ins and outs of if our church gives a good course on "christian apologetics" or not?
I am more concerned about what ministries my church is involved with that have to do with feeding the poor, fathering the fatherless...and befriending those who need befriending.
Just a thought.
ive gone to public school my whole life and am a senior at a local liberal arts public college.
ive also been a christian since i knew what it meant. i grew up in the church and had a network of support through friends and an involved family.
ive made mistakes, dealt with lots of sin, had some heartbreaks, did a lot of compromising, but at the same time made my mark in peoples' lives. everyone knew i was a christian. just by watching my mouth. they always asked why i never cussed. asked me out on wednesday nights (but i couldnt bc i was at church). wanted to have sleep overs on saturday nights (but i couldnt because i was at church on sunday morning) and wanted to go trickotreating but... sigh... i couldnt. because i was at church. and in no way am i complaining. ive had a very fulfilling life. i made amazing friends. a few of my best still do not believe in God but they respect my stance as a christian.
i hung out with potheads in high school yet never once did they ask me if i wanted to do it because they knew the answer.
when parents keep their kids away from public school it is so disheartening. the private schools around here have crazy kids who are constantly on drugs and going to parties because they use their parents money and dive into the family liquor cabinets. so really... its just as bad.
and what happens when your sheltered kid goes to college? alone? or with one or two friends? freedommm.
but i digress and say its TRULY about the household. so its your responsibility to raise them in a christ-centered environment. teaching them not to judge but to correct and encourage. to pray and be a light. to be a true christian. bc its not just a title. its a lifestyle. and it shouldnt matter what school they go to but what is being fed to them the other 17 hours of the day.
I am saddened to see the negative comments about private Christian schools and the encouragement to attend public schools. Kids are influenced and encouraged by the teachers and friends that are in their lives. I would not trade my childrens' experiences with the most incredible people in our private christian school. Loving, kind, Christ-following. You would never find this influence in public schools because Jesus cannot even be mentioned. I love how these Christian leaders care about my kids and show them by example how loving christians live their lives in this world among believers and non-believers. We have sacrificed financially to give our kids this christian school opportunity. The truth is that more christian kids are led to negative influences in public schools than influencing public schools positively. More info can be found in the book The Harsh Truth About Public Schools.