Comments on: Public, Private, or Home-School?

By: Arthur Sido

Arthur Sido — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:41:00 +0000

I have to say that in reading Challies post, I was very disappointed. He manages to lay an enormous amount of blame at the feet of homeschoolers, and the entire onus to “get along” with public school parents and “prove our point from Scripture” while referencing none of his own. Not at all what I expected from Tim Challies. Despite his claims to not focus on the negatives of home schooling, his entire post focuses on perceived dangers of homeschooling, with nary a mention of the very real dangers of public schools.

By: john

john — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:08:25 +0000

good article. I’m a single dad and i’ve been homeschooling my 4yr old daughter (and my son after that) to see how it goes. I have to decide what option to take next year. so far it’s going good. I have help from my neighbor who does childcare while I’m working. She has home schooled some of her eight children and enjoys doing it. We are also involved with youth group at church and have some other activities so they do get out and interact with other children and adults. That along with most of the family being non-Christian there are opportunities to teach values and apply biblical principle.

By: Mark T

Mark T — Mon, 07 May 2007 02:58:54 +0000

I have to disagree with Mr. Hardy’s con list on home schooling. When home school is done right those issues are never a problem. We use a Christian cover school. It has sports teams, proms, a yearly dive trip in the gulf. Our kids interact with other kids at church and in the neighbor hood. Like in the work place in the real world where you interact with people of all ages they also do that on field trips.
While in schools they are around the same ages all the time. There are also many more pro’s I could list. My wife and I feel parents should educate as their convictions dictate.

By: Mrs. Burrows

Mrs. Burrows — Sun, 06 May 2007 12:50:45 +0000

It’s said that as the home goes, so goes the Church and as the Church goes, so goes the nation. That thought and a quote from 1679 ~ Most of the evils that abound among us proceed from defects in family government! ~ should cause one to take pause. The two clips from CrossTV.com(viewable by clicking the link below) on family worship are helpful in seeing what God desires for the home that so often is neglected for a different focus. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. He’ll sovereignly order what steps comes next(private, government, or home – school) for parents with children in their direct charge by His grace and mercy ~ and for His glory.

http://www.godtube.com/search_result.php?PHPSESSID=5a22ac9a6e991f196a31c9865db4e82f&search_id=family+worship&search_typ=search_videos

By: Arthur Sido

Arthur Sido — Sun, 06 May 2007 03:09:58 +0000

Very true Chris, and not just from Christian schools. Our former church has a large (for our area) youth program and it was disheartening to watch parent after parent drop their kids off on Wednesday night and yet they never darkened the door of the church. It was always that church was important for the kids, never realizing that the reason it is important for the kids is true for the parent as well. Parents cannot abdicate responsibility for their kids, whether in general education or in Christian education. Parents who expect the church to teach their children everything they need to know are doing their children a great disservice.

By: Chris Ellis

Chris Ellis — Sat, 05 May 2007 22:57:19 +0000

I teach in a Christian High School that my children attend. Let me be the first to tell you that it is not what outsiders might believe.

I am also in the ministry, so I feel some of what my children are exposed to here is preparing them for dealing with an unsaved world, only in smaller, more controlled doses.

Christian Schools can become a catch all, last ditch altenative for some. We get kids who have no other option, they have been removed from the public school by the school. We have kids who are not being raised by their parents. We have many who are being brought here because their parents feel that we will “clean up” their children.

Society at large has forgotten who’s responsibilty it is to teach morals to their children. If the parents aren’t taking their children to church, teaching them to pray, or providing some Christian example in the home, how am I supposed to do that?

I appreciate the comments above. I think that all three have their own merits. I just wish kids came with a billboard attached that explained the parents obligation to raise their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

By: Arthur Sido

Arthur Sido — Sat, 05 May 2007 03:05:12 +0000

We started homeschooling our seven (soon to be eight!) kids a few years ago, and while it is a struggle at times, it also is an enormous blessing both to them and to us. That is not to suggest that public school parents are evil, or that they are throwing their kids to the wolves, but I am saying that to homeschool our children is both a great blessing and a great responsibility.

It is not a decision to be made lightly. Neither side of our families have been very supportive. Ironically the most supportive member of our family has been my sister who has been a public school teacher for 20 years. Our last church had a pastor who was none to subtle in his condemnation of homeschoolers. As a pastor now, I am cautious to not make that same mistake by making parents who don’t homeschool their kids feel badly about it. This is an issue that is not going away.

By: Nate B.

Nate B. — Fri, 04 May 2007 15:58:03 +0000

Tim Challies has put up another related article today. It is definitely worth a read for those who are thinking through these isses.

By: Ann Baynham

Ann Baynham — Fri, 04 May 2007 10:33:01 +0000

Thank you for such a balanced article and for the reference to Carey Hardy’s notes. My children attend public (state ) school in the UK.