Public Schools and Discipling our Kids
October 16, 2009 by Carter
I may have inadvertently created some confusion in last week’s sermon regarding public school. I wanted to take a moment and try to clear that up. When we look at the Scriptures, we find that parents are God’s primary design for discipling children. That means no other institution has that role. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a role for other institutions in the development of your children. Public school can play a role in developing your children, as can youth workers and Sunday School and even peer groups. The danger is in letting any one of these things become a substitute for you in your role as discipler. Our culture’s “modus operandi” is to leave your children to the experts and believe that you’ve done what’s best. So children are sent away at the earliest possible age. As it just so happens, this enables parents to chase after careers and grow further and further out of touch with their children.
The gospel changes all of this in the transformation of a Christian’s mind. The gospel “returns the hearts of fathers back to their children and the hearts of children back to their fathers.” Public schools, peer groups, youth workers, or any other influence in our children’s lives aren’t to blame or be bucked - just put in perspective. They can all provide value and should be looked at as valuable, but they aren’t disciplers. As you tailor your children’s preparation, whether it utilize public school or homeschool, you must keep in mind your objective to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. That’s why you educate. No matter what educational approach you take, as a discipler you are called to train your child to discern what is true and what is false as you rely on the Holy Spirit and use a Biblical worldview as your guide.
While homeschooling is a lot of work for parents (and not for everyone), public school is too. It’s just a different kind of work. Rather than spending time preparing the lessons for your children, you’re called to spend time finding out what lessons your kids are learning and train them how to discern the presuppositions hidden within the lessons (true and false) and the implications of them. If you simply adopt our culture’s approach, this hard work never gets done. While your children may be taught Biblical truth when they attend Bible studies or participate in worship, this truth remains separated from the lessons learned at school. As a parent, you must learn to bridge that gap with your children so that “religious truth” isn’t redefined as merely a private belief that has no relevance in the public sphere.
The good news is that the gospel does have the power to radically change you as it renews your mind. God is gracious and can even work wonders in your children through your failures as a parent. Thank God for that! But isn’t it exciting to find out that God chooses to work through your faithfulness too? So whether you choose public or private or homeschool, let me encourage you to faithfulness in your task as discipler of your children. Depend upon the Lord through prayer. Lean on the broader covenant community. Trust in the Holy Spirit. And love your children.
Carter, I missed your sermon last week because I was ill. But Allen and others said it was outstanding. Anyway, I went to sub teacher training this week and I was shocked by what I was “taught.” In fact, I reacted so negatively that I think I have been fired before I even worked one day. Anyway, I am proud of my homeschooling daughter and our Cornerstone friends who DO homeschool and, I believe that in today’s system, even Katy’s outstanding ISD, believers have to take control of their children’s education. I didn’t do homeschooling, but we lived in a very small town and we carefully monitored the girls’ classes. But today, I WOULD homeschool, no matter how challenging it would be. You know some people say that if your sermon doesn’t upset someone, it must not have said much….
Blessings abound.
Pat
PS Please pray for Allen. The interview for the HBU position would be next Friday and he is suppose to fly to Almaty on Wed. Ask God to give him peace and wisdom about what to do. They may not even want to interview him, but if they do, he has to decide what to do about rescheduling his flights.
I think there is a danger in stereo-typing any particular education method. It is easy to pick out examples to support just about any position you want to take. Homeschooling can be a detriment to some children just as public school can be a detriment to some children. Much of it depends on the perspective and involvement of the parent(s). There simply is no way around the work that we must do as parents to raise our children. That’s what it means to submit (as parents) to our children. We are called to set aside our selfish interests to give the time and energy needed to bring our children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Public schools, especially in Katy, have many fine qualities. While there may be underlying presuppositions that don’t stem from a Biblical worldview (some subjects more evident than others), there can still be found truth. Learning to see through a Biblical worldview doesn’t just expose the things that are false around us but the things that are true, too. Moses provides us with an example of a child raised in a “public” school system that wasn’t built on a Biblical worldview. The education Moses received in Pharaoh’s house flowed from Egyptian mythology. And yet, when you read Egyptian mythology you can still find truth - truth that is beneficial in preparing for life. Moses was better prepared for his calling to lead God’s people out of Egypt because of his Egyptian (public) education. But it wasn’t just his Egyptian education that prepared him. That’s the key. Moses spent another 40 years in the wilderness before Going back to lead the people out of Egypt. It was during this time that he meets God in the burning bush and begins to have his worldview shaped and molded by God. Any education that doesn’t stem from a Biblical worldview left unattended is the danger.
There is always overlap with a Biblical Worldview. For example, public schools teach science, mathematics, english, history (social studies), art, and athletics. These are fundamentally important for living in today’s culture. Science is the pursuit of knowledge by understanding God’s world. Public school textbooks may not give credit to God as the creator, but they are still making observations about God’s world. Mathematics works because God is a God of order. Using mathematics to find better technologies or manage finances or understand the universe fits into God’s call to subdue the earth. English teaches us to communicate, history teaches us about human nature and progress and gives us a sense of our place in the grand story, art teaches us to appreciate beauty, and athletics helps us learn teamwork and appreciate gains that come from hard work. These are not bad things. It is up to us as parents to help our children learn to discern the truth and virtue as well as the error and idols that can come out of it.