Posted under Christianity & Education
The last time this issue was raised the SBC rejected a call to remove Christian kids from public school. Hopefully, this time they will get it right. What more provocation do they need? Does Satan himself have to start teaching classes?
A resolution has been submitted for the upcoming business meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, which calls on parents to rescue their children from indoctrination in sexual deviancy in California’s public schools.
The resolution was submitted by Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., and Bruce Shortt, two well-known critics of government-run schools — or as Baucham calls them, “the pagan schools.” (See related article) It points to recent legislation approved in California, known as SB 777, mandating that all students in public schools be taught that homosexuality is normal and should not be condemned. Also, earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals determined parents in that state have no legal right to home school.
roho on 26 May 2008 at 8:23 pm #
Red……….The Christian School System has to figure out a way to be affordable? Last time that I checked, the Christian School option was 4x as exspensive….Here in the Deep South, the families are stretched badly before the college costs hits………It should not be an option for only elitist……….Any suggestions?
Weaver on 27 May 2008 at 12:04 pm #
Put the kids to work during and after high school. If they pitch in, they should be able to pay a good chunk of the heavily subsidised public college tuition.
Or perhaps the schools should find a way to cut costs… somehow.
Maybe parents could be encouraged to become certified teachers… somehow.
I guess the families could always move.
David Allyn on 27 May 2008 at 3:46 pm #
Sadly, too many “Christians” fail to comprehend the inherent danger of sending their children to government schools. This is just an extension of the ignornance of history and government which exists in the country and has grown exponentially over the past decade – especially since the “Reagan Revolution”.
What is more disturbing is that many self-proclaimed Bible believers would rather save the cost of private education (since public schools are “free”) and use that money instead for vacations, vehicles and/or adult toys.
Filmer on 27 May 2008 at 3:50 pm #
Roho, I think at least one conservative church in every community should start a school as a ministry. There are programs available, such as A.C.E., which are self-paced and require minimal supervision. Also, A BEKA has a program where small Christian schools can show the same DVDs that home-schoolers using the A BEKA DVD program use. These programs do not require a separate teacher for every grade and can keep costs down and work for small schools where there might just be a few kids per grade. (My wife isn’t crazy about the A.C.E. curriculum, but we use the A BEKA DVD’s, and they are really good.)
That said, Christian schools are not out to make a lot of money. It is just expensive to run a full-up school. Where I live the nominally Christian but really just private schools are much more expensive than are the more explicitly Christian schools.
shaneGriffin on 27 May 2008 at 4:10 pm #
This has nothing to do with ‘elitists’, it has to do with priorities.
There are numerous home school co-ops for single parent families. If they can make it work, certainly we should reevaluate the reasons as to why it is impossible for us.
Filmer on 27 May 2008 at 5:59 pm #
I went to public school and my parents were oblivious to the problems with them. (Admittedly, when I went, in the 80′s, and in our conservative community the problems were not as bad as they are now.) When we started sending our kids to private school, I remember that my mother thought it was uppity. But I think the idea that private school is only for the rich and snobs is fading as more realize the dangers public schools pose for everyone.
roho on 28 May 2008 at 12:23 am #
Weaver…………….I agree, but also think that David Allyn is on to something quite relevant. “Consumer Addiction” has replaced many a parent’s desire to do what is best for the decendant. More furniture, bigger houses, nicer SUV’s, swiming pools, etc, has to be a factor?
In my own family, I remember my aunt and Uncle explaining to my cousin that “He could have his extreme pigion toed foot surgery correction, or he could play little league baseball this summer?”
How nasty!…….Parents should guide their childrens decisions instead of manipulating them…….I just love it when I hear a parent say “We drive a big SUV so our children will be safer.”…..But, my favorite is when the single mom says, “The only reason that I’m a stripper, is to give my child what I never had, and it makes him feel good riding around in a Corvette.”……….Ha-Ha………as humans, we love to justify our decisions!
Sean Scallon on 28 May 2008 at 3:03 pm #
The problem with this resolution is that in many small and medium sized communties with large Baptist populations, such Baptists play a leading role in the local school district. Are you asking them to reject themselves and their own stewardship of their children’s education? That’s going to be hard to do. Don’t make the same mistake the neocons did with school vouchers and think that persons views of public schools outside the big, bad inner city (where most neocons are from) are unpopular. For many communities, the local school IS the community. It is its lone source of entertainment, it’s source to get kids to college, it’s source of employment. Take from me I know, because I live such communties. Any public institution, whether it be a school or a library or government, is going to be a reflection of it community. To believe that if the select few can just walk away into the private relam and somehow suddenly be made pure within our larger society presumes they also shut off the TV, the computer, the radio and don’t read modern books and periodicals. That’s an awfully utopian notion.
Like it or not, many communties like their local school and to mess with that relationship is like playing with dynamite. Ask yourself why school vouchers are not a big issue anymore.
Filmer on 28 May 2008 at 3:49 pm #
Sean, you are right that conservatives (not paleos) badly misjudged the voucher issue. Many people specifically move to a community for the schools, and those people did not want interlopers from all over, voucher in hand, invading their schools. (That there was an unspoken racial component to this is undeniable.)
And you are correct that the public schools in small communities are the center of much activity. One thing that would likely keep private school enrollment down is sports. But most Americans no longer live in small communities, unfortunately. Good Christian schools are available in most suburbs and medium size towns.
I think the stakes are too high. Especially in California. I don’t think Christian parents can turn their kids over to the public schools and not expect bad results. And they would do well to decrease the TV watching, computer using, and modern book reading of their kids as well.