There is still much to be prayed about and a constant, always nurtured hunger to know and learn more as we make decisions regarding our children's education and the purpose of it over the course of the next many years.
I did want to share with you several reasons that strengthen and ultimately end the argument on government education vs. christian education/homeschool education.
1.Waging the War and Building Armies
Voddie Baucham, a well respected Pastor, Author, Father of 6, Homeschooler, and Man of God has explained that as a Christian People, living in a secular Culture we are in a war. Andrew Pudewa, another well known speaker, author, and advocate of homeschooling states that the War is on three fronts:
1. Satan is at War against us (Christians)
2. War against the FAMILY
3. Social/Culture War (Relativism) in which we have Lost Christian Culture
It is our job as Christian parents to raise up an army in our children that wage war against evil and prevail in keeping Christian culture at the forefront.
Voddie explains that in this time Christians have, whether unintentionally or intentionally, turned over their families and children to the Government who has then taken up the task of educating, instructing, and raising our children. He calls it rendering our children unto Caesar. He supports a report called The Continuing Collapse which will greatly, in detail, and thoroughly explain why Government schooling, especially for Christians, is the wrong choice if we desire to raise up armies (our children) to fight the battle fronts against evil.
In Voddie's podcast "The Centrality of the Home" he states the following:
-We, Christians, are losing 75-88% of young people by the end of their freshman year in College. 2002 Southern Baptist Counsel of the Family
-Our birthrate is below replacement rate. Replacement rate is 2.1 children/family. We are at 1.9 Our culture is dying 1 generation at a time. We are not having enough children.
We see children as a commodity and do not take raising children as seriously as God commanded it.
-It will currently take 2 Christian families in this generation to get 1 Christian to the next.
-We only convert 1 person for every 43 Christians, we cannot convert fast enough.
One article in particular that I appreciate as it is simply outlined and easy to read is the one you can find here. Included is this quote:
No academic skepticism, no secularist authors, no blatant materialism can so undermine the spiritual life of the country like the completely secularized training of the child under the authority of the state... Bible-based education is mandatory for Christian parents. If we think we can keep our children in a secular school system and escape the dumbed-down, amoral, and immoral results of secular humanism in schools, we are sorely mistaken (emphasis added, see: http://daveblackonline.com/our.htm).
This is precisely the reason that this is number 1 in terms of reasons not to send our children to Government schooling. You cannot possibly battle the indoctrination, secularism, and political damage that is done while your precious child is subjected to government schooling.
How can we as Christian parents claim a desire to raise our children in the Lord, teach the ways that are built on Truth (God's truth), and prepare them for a life in the world all the while sending them to the very place in which we are attempting wage war?
Andrew Pudewa shared that in 12 years of government education your child will endure 14,000 hours of indoctrination, relativism (the lack of any 1 truth), political liberalism, and a complete apostasy from religion or faith of any kind. Teaching cannot be neutral of truth, it is either God's truth or another and in the article linked above you will read that Government education is anti-Christian.
We have been convinced that in order for our Faith to sink deep into the hearts of our children, to raise up armies of young men and women that will wage war against evil in this culture we must keep them from Government Education and place all things under the umbrella of FAITH.
FAITH---> EDUCATION---> CULTURE----> FAITH
As Christians, we must out educate and out populate in order to even consider winning the battle.
I will not allow my children to be subjected to government education. Rather we desire to ensure that our children will receive education under the Faith umbrella which will also teach Biblical worldview, biblical morality, God's truth, create appetites within our children for the things that honor God.
“This whole process of education is to be religious, and not only religious, but Christian…. And as Christianity is the only true religion, and God in Christ the only true God, the only possible means of profitable education is the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
-Charles Hodge2. Cannot rely on the Church
It is not the responsibility of the Church to raise my children, teach my children and keep my children close to Christ. The abundance of Youth Pastors is an insufficient answer towards keeping our children on the Narrow Path. Youth Ministry, although offering positive social alternatives, is anti-thetical (against what is taught in the scripture).
Voddie Shares Ephesians 6:1-4 which explains the Centrality of the Home in raising up Christian children. It is our job as parents to evangelize and disciple our children and any youth ministry that does exist ought to exist only to equip and assist the parents to do what God commanded them to do. God centralizes the raising and discipleship of children on the family and in the home.
The spiritual authority in a child's life are the parents. In turn, God is our spiritual Authority.
Continue to listen to Voddie's podcast "The Centrality of the Home".
3. Performance
You can read the statistics here, but the evidence is overwhelming. There is no more question regarding whether or not homeschooling can efficiently, productively, or successfully education children. In fact, the proof says that homeschooling will out-educate government schooling in almost all cases. That is what we want. Here are some bits and pieces of the research for you:
In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America." The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are homeschooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile.
This was confirmed in another study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 homeschooled students which found the homeschoolers who have homeschooled all their school aged years had the highest academic achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher grades. This is a good encouragement to families catch the long-range vision and homeschool through high school.
Similarly, the 1998 study by Dr. Rudner of 20,760 students, found that eighth grade students whose parents spend $199 or less on their home education score, on the average, in the 80th percentile. Eighth grade students whose parents spend $400 to $599 on their home education also score on the average, in the 80th percentile! Once the parents spend over $600, the students do slightly better, scoring in the 83rd percentile.
The message is loud and clear. More money does not mean a better education. There is no positive correlation between money spent on education and student performance. Public school advocates could refocus their emphasis if they learned this lesson. Loving and caring parents are what matters. Money can never replace simple, hard work.
Arizona
According to the Arizona State Department of Education, 1,123 homeschooled children in grades 1-9, on the average, scored above grade level in reading, language arts, and math on standardized tests for the 1988-89 school year. Four grades tested were a full grade level ahead.
You can check out more of the detailed info here. It is truly fascinating.
And another here.
There is no question Homeschooling works and works better all the while being able to operate under the Umbrella of FAITH while foregoing the secular humanism, political, social, liberal and anti-god "crap" my children are undoubtedly subjected to.
One last statement regarding our decision to either Home school or at the least Private School our children.
I'd like to mention that the 5th Commandment states, "Obey your mother and father" and it is the first horizontal commandment making it's order no mistake as well as the first commandment with a promise from God. We MUST diligently teach our children this commandment and they WILL NOT receive it from Government School, and it CANNOT be done in only a few hours in the evenings after both parents return from working in our modern culture where latch key kids are rising and raising themselves.
IT MUST be done through teaching, instructing, pursuing their hearts, writing upon our homes walls, displaying our own obedience to God as parents and Him as our Father. WE MUST incorporate this aspect into our children's education.
Voddie reminds us that Deut. 6 provides again the necessity of teaching by showing us HOW to do so. Scripture is not accidental. We must disciple our children in our HOMES. We cannot give it to someone else to do. We cannot turn our children over to a Government that does disciple our children in way that the Lord would not commend and see fit. He did not intend for someone else to teach and disciple our children.
How can we turn a blind eye to the complete failure that is our government school program. How can we subject our children to a government education?
I cannot see any reason as to why. Do the research you will agree!
1 comment:
Amen to that. We have been doing a lot of reading on this topic as of late as well. Really good information. Keep up the good work.
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