The World of Academia

Alright everyone. After talking with my mom I've come to the conclusion that my post "Public School=love" may have come across as a bit harsh. I'm so sorry if it seemed that way to you! My whole post wasn't meant to argue an issue that has so much controversy surrounding it (though everyone who knows me, also knows I love to debate). What I was trying to do was communicate the awesome experience I had spending the day with my aunt's 2nd graders. But I should have known such a subject can't be expressed without some sort of discussion. :D

So, first I want to make it perfectly clear that I do not dislike anyone just because they go to public school. What I meant in my last post was that from my experience on average (like I said before, I have a lot of friends who go to public school (or school in general but that's another issue), a whole lot of friends and family that I love) children who go to school, Christians and non-Christians alike, use foul words, don't express love for their siblings, don't respect their parents, and over all show themselves to have terrible attitudes. I'm sorry if this comes across as "un Christian like behavior" but whenever I see such traits I'm not moved to want to be that persons best friend. Do I feel sorry for them? Yes. Do I do my very best to love them (even though it's really hard sometimes)? I try, and with God's help I'll do better in the future. And I'm really sorry if that was not communicated clearly.



A friend of mine, MangyCat, wrote a reply to my post "Public School=love" and published it on her blog. Check it out here. www.amommasjournal.blogspot.com/2008/10/homeschool-vs-public-school.html





I was going to write out a reply, but I e-mail my mom and she just about summed up my feelings, so with her permission...





"I believe that when Christian students are placed in a public school environment they are ALWAYS (yes, I know I said always) influenced detrimentally by their peers. The Bible says that "foolishness is bound up the heart of a child." (Proverbs 22:15) It also says that "the companion of fools becomes foolish and those who follow after the wise, become wise." (I'm looking for the reference!) Children are influenced by what is taught in an institution that has declared war on God and on parental rights. I know that not all teachers feel this way, and not all local administrators, but the National Education Association does feel this way and so does the United Nations, which will probably eventually be our public education's ruling body. They will be taught that homosexuality is a choice, they will be taught totally false science and history (the theory of evolution merely scratches the surface of the lies).

They are also influenced by the children that they spend the majority of their day with 5 days per week, 180 days per year. That is a long time. Even the ones who leave with their faith still intact (latest studies show that to be about 14% of children raised in church who still have their faith when they graduate from high school) - even if they have it, it has undoubtedly been desensitized and compromised. According to those stats, most (86%) of them will not even claim to have a shred of faith left. Kindergarten may be one thing, but by the time middle and high school rolls around, they are faced daily with homosexuality, pre-marital sex, drugs, violence, crude language, ......the list goes on and on and on. I would not personally work or live in such a situation and I would never expect my children to deal with that on a daily basis. Many people do not want to believe that it is as bad as that, but if you spend any time at all on a school campus or talk to high school students who will tell you the truth (or teachers), it is as bad as that. I have done all of those things personally.

Finally, it is my belief after much study of scripture that God NEVER sends children into the mission field alone. If God called my family and I to service in a foreign country where there could be bodily danger, that is a different story. "Do not fear those who can harm the body, but fear him who can cast your soul into hell." (I'm looking for the reference!) I believe that sending them into a setting whose underlying premise is totally against everything I have already taught them to be true, and then expecting them to stand up to peers, authority, teachers, textbooks, etc...and declare the gospel of Jesus Christ is entirely too much pressure. Most adults couldn't do it, and most kids don't do it either. As for associating with others from every background - you can duplicate that with homeschooling, very easily and very safely. Within our homeschool group alone we have single parents, poor families who don't have enough to eat, rich families who live in multi-million dollar homes, black families, Mexican families, Spanish families, one family from the Bahamas, one from France......we have stay at home dads and we have families with one child, families with 9, and everything in between. We are with these families on a very regular basis. Over the years we have hosted foreign exchange students from three countries, we have spent time in nursing homes, we have led clubs for public schooled students in the afternoons, we have spent time stocking food shelves and organizing items in a center for needy families called Helps Outreach - we have come in contact with many needy families through this. We have played basketball at the YMCA, and baseball at Little League, we have done scouting for both boys and girls and we have hung out at the beach with retirees and moms with little kids. I could go on and on. We have had plenty of opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus with people from all socio-economic backgrounds, all ethnicities, and all ages. As a matter of a fact, I think homeschooling gives you a better opportunity to do that because you are not in a room all day with people who are the same age as you are.I'm sorry if you find my opinion harsh. You certainly have to do whatever God calls you to do personally, and I encourage you to seek Him and do just that. We have been homeschooling for 11 years and between family, strangers, and well-meaning curious people, I have heard the arguments against what we do. I have sought God, I have studied Scripture on the topic, and I have no doubts whatsoever about it. I think that homeschooling has a proven track record for academics, but more importantly, we have a proven track record for raising followers of Christ."





Just want to make one thing clear, my mom really didn't want to come across as mean, or harsh, or anything like that! Please don't think that about us! We really aren't mean people, I promise! Maybe we just have a slight tendency to thoroughly express our opinions when no one even wanted to hear them in the first place...

BRYCE