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Thanks to Sacrificing Christian School Parents
By mstrohm | June 27, 2007
If I may (and who is going to stop me?) I would like to dedicate this post to the many parents who provide a Christ centered education for their children.
Let’s face it. When children enter our lives everything changes. In most cases we are required to make drastic changes. All parents make sacrifices. However, I am more and more convinced that the levels of sacrifice differ greatly between parents.
In many ways the Loving Limits blog has attempted to bring validity and show appreciation for the sacrifices that Christian parents make. However, there is one group that makes added sacrifices. Parents who work at providing a Christian education for their children.
There are some Christian school parents that can easily afford a Christian education. I am not talking about that group. I am talking about the group, the majority of Christian school parents, who sacrifice day in and day out, to provide a distinctively different type of education for their child.
Some parents like to complain about inappropriate world views or anti Christian bias, but other Christian parents take action. They personally sacrificed such as deciding to live in a smaller house in order to pay tuition to avoid those inappropriate and damaging world views.
Other parents want pity that their children have to endure a lack of Christian role models, lessons that assume evolution to be the truth, Scriptures to be non-truth and the teaching of a host of assumptions that are squarely in opposition to our Christian faith. Yet another group of parents is willing to make major life adjustments such as driving cars for 7 or 8 years before replacement instead of 3 or 4 in order to do something about it.
Perhaps what grieves me most about the sacrifice of so many Christian school parents is the lack of respect from many in the church. Instead of praise for the added sacrifice many are given a list of reasons why the choice of a Christian school is “foolish” in the eyes of certain church members. Those who send their children to Christian school have heard the list! It goes something like:
• Our public schools are highly ranked
• I did just fine growing up in public schools
• I know of a child who went to Christian school and did not turn out very well
• You pay all those taxes, why not get something for it
• There is no Bible verse that says “thou shalt send your children to Christian schools
• We have chosen to send our children to be “salt and light” in the public schools
• We don’t want to be seen as “superior” or “separatists” so we send our children to the public schools to be a more positive witness to our community
I won’t spend time rebuffing those arguments but if you wonder about them I encourage you to visit: http://discoverchristianschools.com/.
Ken Tanis, Headmaster Emeritus at Delaware County Christian School, wrote the following for the Discover Christian Schools website which I think best represents the reasons parents make this sacrifice:
Big Ideas to Consider:
1. There are basically two kingdoms: a kingdom of light and a kingdom of darkness. It seems strange to have those who walk in darkness educate children of light. It doesn’t fit.
2. If Jesus Christ is Lord, then He is Lord of all. We cannot divide things into secular and sacred.
3. All truth is God’s truth, and God’s Word sheds light on our path. Only in His light can we see light. Education is not focused on possibilities but on certainties found in God’s Word.
4. Deuteronomy 6
tells parents that, in all they do, they should provide a godly education 24/7.
5. Three key institutions that shape a child are the home, the church and the school. Children are served best when all three institutions point them in the same direction.
6. Only an education that has the liberty to address the whole child — social, intellectual, emotional, physical AND spiritual — reaches the possibility of excellence.
7. The best preparation for effective service is to be well grounded in one’s mind before direct engagement of the culture.
So, let me say this very clearly to you parents who are making daily sacrifices to send your child to a Christian school: THANK YOU! Thank you for sacrificing in the face of indifference and little respect from peers. Let me assure you after observing children for more than 20 years, it is very likely your sacrifice and self denial will pay off. It will pay off to your children who will receive the benefits (even if they don’t realize it now), to other families who will see the example you set, to the churches who reap the benefits of our children who have a much higher likelihood of serving God as an adult and will be the future of our churches – for all of these institutions and individuals, I say it again – THANKS!
May God’s grace and peace be with you,
Mark Strohm, Jr.
Topics: From Mark, Parenting | 2 Comments »
July 12th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Thanks for your comment on my blog!
Mark, I would love, love, LOVE to send my child to Christian school. But one point that’s not addressed in your blog is this: the families of kids with special needs.
My son has autism. The nearest Christian school in my area does not provide the services he needs (speech therapy, occupational therapy, ect.) And because Christian schools are, by definition, private schools and not supported by state/federal funds, they are not required to provide such services.
We take our son to church, where the teachers there try VERY hard to include him; we pray with him every night, we talk about God with him. But right now we don’t have a choice other than public school. Private schools, we cannot afford (and yes, we do drive older model cars that are paid for!), and we are NOT cut out for the job of Christian home schooling. Although if the school system continues the way it’s been going, we may have to consider it. I don’t want my son learning “values education” at the expense of him learning to read, write, do math, and learning social studies and science.
Your arguments for Christian education are good ones. I’m just pointing out that there is another side to the story.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Tina,
You make an excellent point – the truth that not all children may attend local Christian schools. This is the exception, not the rule. Remember Joseph in the Old Testement was not able to get a “good Jewish education” and because of that God poured out His grace. My concern is for families who choose “things” rather than a Christian education. I doubt God will pour out His grace in such a situation. I suggest you specifically ask the Lord to give your son a special measure of His grace.
One more point. You state that “because Christian schools are, by definition, private schools and not supported by state/federal funds, they are not required to provide such services”
There are ways Christian schools can work with a wider group of children. However, many difficulties arise. First, the expenses are HUGE. My school does have children with Autism and learning disabilities. Where we provide services the parents have to pay an extra tuition. Where the state schools provide services they do not.
Another “hidden cost” of working with special needs children is not so easy to “add up” but is none the less very real. The huge amount of extra work on teachers is a very real cost. Unfortunately, the parents of special needs children are often over worked and just hanging in there. While they may be extremely grateful, they rarely show it. Instead, they will often be the first to share their concerns when things do not go right.
Many Christian schools attempted to work with special needs children but eventually gave up feeling very defeated and unappreciated after absorbing huge costs and fielding many complaints.
All that being said, at Delaware County Christian School we have a remarkable woman, Dr. Susan Hutchison, who through her persistence, expertise and sheer will power, has made it possible for many such children to attend our school.
May God bless you and your son and may He pour out a special grace for your situation!