The Lost Art Of Cursive

According to this article, cursive handwriting is being deemphasized in Florida public schools.  When looking for a school, be sure to ask whether cursive is employed in the elementary school.

Florida Pastor To Defy Ban On Praying For Students On School Property

The secular establishment continues to tighten the noose on Christian visibility in or around public schools.  See this Fox News article about a Green Cove Springs, Florida pastor who has been told he and other members of his congregation cannot gather around the public school flagpoles in his community to pray for students and teachers.

Christian Teacher Persecuted For Her Faith

Does anyone still think it can't happen here?  In New Jersey, a Christian teacher is being "investigated" - and has been suspended from her position - for her faith.  What was her offense?  Calling homosexuality a sin on a private Facebook page.  Read about it here.

If the trend continues, no Christian teachers will be able to teach in the public schools.

They're Coming.

Here is a recent news story about the anti-Christian establishment effort to remove all references to God and Christianity from California public schools.  If you think they won't do the same in Florida, think again.

Christianity Today Surveys Students

According to a recent survey by Christianity Today, where your children go to school is vitally important in determining their future.  Here is a summary:

New Survey found that Christian schooling makes a difference—and that different kinds of Christianeducation produce different results among their graduates. The large study from Cardus, a Hamilton,Ontario–based Christian thinktank (formerly the Work Research Foundation), examined the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of Americans ages 23–40—that is, 6 to 21 years after high school graduation—and took into account more than 30 variables known to influence development (such as frequency of religious service attendance, race, and educational attainment).

Do you want your child to grow up to like new and exciting experiences, even if it means breaking the rules?  Send him to a non-religious private school.

Do you want your child to grow up to get divorced and lack clear goals or direction?  Home school him from a religious perspective.

Do you want your child to grow up to feel least prepared for a vibrant spiritual life?  Send her to public school.

Each option has its good points and its drawbacks.  You should learn which option has which positives and negatives and which option best fits your child.

Here is a link to a summary of the survey's findings.

Going Public

Tim Challies is a well known reformed Christian blogger who lives in Canada and who has his children in public school.  His blog, always worth reading, is promoting a new book, Going Public:  Your Child Can Thrive in Public Schools, by David and Kelli Pritchard.  In reviewing the book, Challies makes the following important point:

The most valuable lesson of all, at least in my view, is that public schooling is a family affair. The decision to place children in the public education system is a decision to have the whole family involved in this system. They say, “We should not think in terms of sending our child off by himself to ‘the mission field.’ We go there together. This is a family expedition. When we show up each August to enroll our kids for another school year, we are enrolling our family into the life of this institution. This is a joint venture.” This means that mom and dad are involved not just with the children, but with the school and teachers and leaders.

This echoes an observation Gordon Fuller, a public school teacher, made last year at our own Navigating the Education Maze event.  Gordon said that the most time-consuming option of all is public schooling, because Christian parents must make sure to know what was said and done throughout the school day every day and to be prepared to help children "unlearn" many things learned in school that do not match up with a biblical worldview.  This requires a tremendous investment.

You can read Challies' article here and find Going Public at Amazon.com.  

Distinguishing Principles and Methods

Sometimes, we Christians get caught up in the little things.  We classical Christian school parents recoil with horror at home school parents who don't teach their children Latin.  Home school parents shun Christian school parents who use Bob Jones University curriculum.  I don't like you because you send your child to, you know, that inferior school.  You don't like me because my kids' uniform has a button down collar and a string tie.

Silly, isn't it?

We get hung up on methods and lose sight of the fact that we agree on principles.  This article makes the point abundantly clear.  Here is an excerpt:

Principles are the things that God lays out for us. Love your children. Serve the Lord. Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Children are a blessing. Be fruitful. Methods are the tools we use to try to accomplish these things. 

Methods vary, even when the people involved are all following God. Do not get caught up in method camps and chisel away at the number of saints you can fellowship with every time you read a new article about that thing that has become the most important thing. Do not build for yourself an arsenal of inflammatory topics. Do not be quick to fire off heated comments.

The thing about principles and methods is that if you agree on the principle, the method is not such a big deal.

We who are "navigating" the education maze need to remember the difference.  If friends and family are educating their children from a Christian perspective, that is the main thing.  Whether it is through a home school or Christian school is a dispute about method.  Not principle.