Students in Christian Schools: Transformation or Indoctrination?

I have attended or taught in private Christian schools for well over two decades.  I presently teach in a Christian School in Columbus, Georgia.  My experience teaching in Christian education has been overwhelmingly positive.  I walked away from public education twelve years ago and dedicated myself to educational ministry.

A common complaint I hear from non-Christian public school students as well as Christian school students is that there isn't a thimble full of behavioral difference between the two.  If this is true it is tragic, if it is not true then it is a perception that must be addressed.  This leads us to a most relevant question:  Are students who attend Christian schools being transformed by the redeeming truth of Christianity or are they simply being spoon-fed a well-learned jargon that brings no transformation but rather produces a generation that exhibits a "form of godliness but denies its power." (2 Tim. 3:5)

Students who have been spoon-fed a Christian worldview but have not been taught or permitted to ask the hard questions are often swept away when they get to college and experience an environment that is decidedly atheistic but one that encourages enquiry and contrary opinions.  They often mistake the falsity taught in an open and challenging  atmosphere as truth and conversely question the truth they learned in an atmosphere that discouraged consideration of the 'hard questions'.

What is the mission of a Christian school?  Is it to evangelize those who are lost?  Is it to disciple whose who have accepted Christ?  Is it simply to offer an alternative form of education and provide an escape hatch for those who are caught up in a culture saturated with promiscuous sex and illegal drug activity?  I think most Christian schools have elements of all of the above in their declared mission.

A statistic was released some time ago that rocked the Christian world.  80% of youth stop attending church after they graduate from high school.  Many reasons have been given:  They had planned to leave even before graduation.  They were sidetracked by atheistic professors touting PhD’s behind their names.  They were unprepared for the sudden flood of anti-Christian culture that simply swept them away.

After decades of involvement in Christian education, I have observed this phenomenon in Christian schools as well though perhaps not quite so prevalent.  I believe the real reason students leave the faith may well be that they never were in the faith to begin with.  Christian school students often spend an entire twelve years learning the jargon of Christianity.  They know what words to use and exactly when to insert just the right phrases to convince their elders that they are, indeed, followers.

After years of teaching, mentoring and observing young students in Christian schools, I have concluded that those many who leave the faith had never really enlisted.  Jesus gave a clear calling to his disciples to follow him.  Only a few became true followers.  Some began to follow but were overwhelmed by the sacrifices they were asked to make.  Others turned back because they missed the comforts offered by their families and culture. 

The call to “Follow me” is exclusive.  Christ wants us to follow him and no other.  A bird can’t fly north and south at the same time.  A bulldozer can either push or pull but it can’t do both simultaneously anymore than a person can follow Christ while simultaneously following a sinful, secular culture.   Most of those who ‘leave’ the faith were not saved in the first place.  They did not read their Bible regularly.  They blended in with their non-Christian friends rather than be distinguished from them.  They dated unbelievers and they rationalized a participation in sex and experimentation with drugs and alcohol.  They gave mental assent to the Christian worldview they were being taught but they never gave their heart to it.

Christian educators must strike a balance between simply being an educator and being a spiritual mentor.  It is not enough for students to learn the twelve tribes of Israel and be able to recite last week’s memory verse.  The fact that they have mastered Christian lingo doesn’t always indicate that they have accepted and embraced those truths into their hearts.  They are very skilled at reciting biblical truth but have they learned to make practical application of those recitations? 

Some Christian school students walk away from the faith because they never distinguished the difference between accepting Christ as their personal Savior and simply accepting Christ as the Savior of their parents or their teachers.  The paradox is that Christian educators want very much for their students to have a personal relationship with Christ but when we package the message in the atmosphere of the institution it is perceived to be very impersonal.

Students often make an unfortunate parallel between Christianity and the policies of the educational institution.  They are given a list of rules to follow regarding academics, dress code and behavior.  They can then make an easy transition to interpret Christianity as simply a set of rules to keep.  They attempt to experience a personal relationship with Christ by keeping a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’.  The rap on college students who come from Christian schools is that the ones who get wild get really wild.  It may be because of the exhilaration they feel when they are freed from the weight of trying to abide by the rules using their own effort rather than relying on the grace of God.

We often go shallow when teaching Christian principles to our students.  We want them to learn seven steps to successful dating or five ways to financial success.  In so doing we offer them no more than they can find in the self-help section of Barnes and Noble.  They can get ‘an inch deep and a mile wide’ anywhere.  We find ourselves giving them what they want rather than what they need.  We allow them to stay in the shallow end of the pool rather than explore the treasures that can only be found in the deep.  Those who learn and then embrace the deep truths of the gospel are those who become great warriors and kingdom builders for Christ.

Christian teachers are tempted, just like all teachers, to entertain rather than educate.  Students would much rather hear stories from your personal life than study trigonometry or Shakespeare.  But succumbing to this temptation in Christian education is perilous to their educational as well as their spiritual development.  More often than not, we fail to challenge them because we underestimate them.  They are usually capable of diving much deeper than we realize.  Make no assumption that their intellectual capabilities are limited because their behavior is foolish.

I have learned over the years that there are treasures deep in the souls of my students that are not revealed in mere words.  Some are actually unaware of the gifts they harbor deep within.    As an educator am dedicated to helping them discover what they are capable of but as a Christian educator I also want them to dedicate these discoveries to Christ the Savior.  They will then become great warriors for Christ and skilled builders of his kingdom.

I am so blessed to be a Christian educator.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Why Not Abolish The Department Of Education?

Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution lists the Powers of the Congress.  There is no mention of education on the list.  Because education is not on the list it seems the 10^th amendment applies:  "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."  The law of our Creator assigns the responsibility of educating our children to their parents and families.  Deuteronomy 6:5-9  " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

            Notice the first command is for parents to love God with all their heart, soul and strength.  That is the preparation phase for instructing your own children.  Then, parents are to teach children a biblical worldview.  The Department of Education has no constitutional or biblical grounds for mandating what our children should learn or by what methods they should be educated.   Government has trespassed into the family domain when it attempts to supersede our rights to educate, train and discipline our own children.

            The Catholics have a law called the Law of Subsidiarity.  This law declares that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization that could be done by a smaller and simpler organization.  In other words, the local government should do only those things individuals cannot do for themselves.  The state government should only do those things local governments cannot do and the federal government should only do those things the state governments cannot do.  When it comes to educating our children, the family should be the first option and the government should be the last resort.

            The intrusion of Big Brother in the area of education was spawned by the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957.  A paranoid fear of falling behind the Soviet Union in science and technology gripped the nation and the government jumped in.  The National Defense Education Act of 1958 was a reaction to the Soviet advances.

            A greater tool for intrusion was the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's.  Brown vs. Board of Educational declares segregation in our schools to be unconstitutional.  There was very little disagreement that it was necessary for the government to intervene especially due to the southern resistance to desegregation.  A one time forceful attempt by the government to right a leaning ship was entirely justified but after constitutional law had been declared and enforced, the government refused to go away.

            Even more government intervention was forthcoming.  President Johnson declared his War on Poverty and he directed government to address black-white economic disparities in public schools.  The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act were formed to level the playing field.

            The ugly duckling floating on this pond of government intrusion is the fact that test scores and academic achievement have decreased since Big Government rode into town.  Government may not necessarily be the cause of the decline but more government spending hasn't done one iota toward improving test scores.  The decline began in earnest after the decade of the '60's and it may have more to do with the new worldview embraced by that generation.  The passivity, 'do your own thing', Bart Simpson response to existing authority may have contributed greatly to the decline.

            Title 1 was a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  $1 billion ($7 billion in today's money) was provided to upgrade schools in poor neighborhoods.  Years later, George Bush sold out to big government advocates like Senator Edward Kennedy when he signed the No Child Left Behind Act which is a part of Title 1.  There is no evidence that this act has improved education performance among American children.  Try to find a politician who will even talk about the No Child Left Behind Act.  They blush at the very mention of it.  The stated goal of achieving reading and mathematical efficiency among all school children by 2014 is now only a foggy fantasy.  This mandate has failed in its objectives and, once again, our government is left unaccountable for flushing billions of dollars down a dark, mysterious hole.

            Parents should evaluate the benefit for investing so much money in their children's college education.  Because of the availability of easy, wimpy courses and the trivial academic requirements prevalent at nearly all institutions of higher learning a Bachelor's degree is now the equivalent of what a high school diploma used to be.  It's hard to get a good job without a BA.  The average cost of sending a student to a public college is $7,000/year not including the cost of meals, textbooks, and boarding. 

            The federal government submitted $125 billion in new loans in 2010.  35% of college students drop out before graduation.  There doesn't appear to be any correlation whatsoever between increased spending and student retention or academic achievement.  The U.S. government invests $200 million yearly to improve education.  That improvement is non-existent or too miniscule for detection. 

            Ending on a high note, there are some good things happening in education.  The homeschool and charter school movement is experiencing great growth and much success.  Government educators continue to be mystified by the high test scores of homeschooled children.

            We should credit government for addressing racial and economic disparities.  Once that mission was accomplished the government should have retreated but like the local drunk, once the government draws a draft from the keg of intrusion it never stops.  It becomes intoxicated with power and blinded to its own ineffectiveness.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

Failing Schools: Focus On Symptoms Or Find A Cure

Grading our government schools.

There are people all over the country who are enraged by the fact that our country has recently been leaning more and more toward socialism, or perhaps more accurately, toward fascism. These same people who rave against the socialist policies enacted in government and business seem to be just fine and dandy when these same methods are being used in the behemoth American educational system.

Public schools are often referred to as government schools.  The government has a monopoly on the establishment and enforcement of laws in this country.  Government schools enjoy a monopoly when it comes to educating our youth.  The system is supported by public taxation.  There is always a large pool of money available.  If parents choose to withdraw their children and enroll them in a private school or educate them at home they are still required shell out money in support of their local public school.  Parents who make this choice end up paying twice.  Public education’s dependence on compulsory taxation explains a lot about what is wrong with government schools.  The quality of the product is always improved with competition and quality always declines in its absence.

The methods of educating public school children are similar to the assembly line of an early 20^th century factory.  They are to report to the same place at the same time with the same teacher every day.  They all sit in identical seats and each one must remain in the same seat day after day.  The teacher unpacks a prepared standardized curriculum which rarely changes from year to year.  All the students are evaluated in the same way at the same time on the same day.  This method of factory produced pupils will frustrate the gifted child and discourage the struggling child.

The most important element in the politically correct philosophy of the government educational system is the self-esteem of each child.  Some schools prohibit teachers from using red ink to grade papers because a paper with many red marks on it could prove devastating to the self-esteem of the child.  Children can no longer measure their athletic skills against their opponents because competition has been eliminated on the playground.  Everyone is a winner, everyone gets a trophy and everyone leaves feeling good about themselves.  Do you wonder why the Occupy Movement is inundated with millions of 25 year olds who think very highly of themselves and wonder why the government hasn’t already paid off their educational loans and provided them with a house to live in?

Real achievement is attained when students grasp the intrinsic values of striving for excellence, when they understand that competition will be a permanent part of their adult life and hard work and a healthy dose of innovation will be the path to success.  Are educators doing our students an injustice when they dump truck loads of praise on middle school students who still use their fingers to add and subtract and on high school students who think Chicago is the third largest state in the union? 

One of the more disturbing things I experienced having worked fifteen years in public education was watching certain students march across the stage and receive their diploma even though I knew and all the other teachers and administrators knew they could not read.  They gripped their diploma with smiles on their faces, the principle shook their hands, their parents hooted like owls and they experienced the euphoric feeling of having finally finished a twelve year educational marathon.  They were done a disservice, they were socially promoted and they were lied to and many of them became very disillusioned and distressed when they discovered they couldn’t fill out a job application.  Most of them lacked the simple math and language skills to work at McDonalds.

Tax payers have shelled out trillions of dollars to educate American youth.  You would expect some outstanding results after making such an investment but the truth is that poor academic achievement and the high school drop-out rate remains a huge problem.   Drop-out rates are measured in different ways.  Some districts don’t count those who dropped out during the summer or those who dropped out to get married.  But rates have consistently been between 10% and 20%.  Anywhere from 40% to 80% of our students fail the standardized tests first time around.  U.S. students are not being prepared for the global economy as evidenced by the fact that they scored 25^th in math skills among 34 countries tested while China ranked first.  Obviously there is little correlation between the amount of money spent and academic achievement.

 

This is a common argument used against public education along with the accusation that government schools are breeding grounds for promiscuous sex, venues for excessive violence and they are used as vehicles to indoctrinate our children with theories of evolution and socialism.  Perhaps when we observe these things we are really only viewing the symptoms rather than the actual disease itself.   Perhaps the real problem is that we as Christians cry out vehemently against socialism in any other area of our society but we incomprehensibly continue to tolerate socialism in our educational system. Perhaps the real problem is that we have abdicated our God-given responsibility to educate our children to an anti-Christian government.

Christians are against murder.  We don’t oppose murder by fighting against certain methods of murder.  We protest murder in all its forms in every situation.  Perhaps we are failing when we disapprove of the methods of public education rather than the institution itself.  We combat the symptoms instead of the disease. 

The Bible clearly grants the state very limited power (Romans 13)  The government’s responsibility to its citizens is to protect them and punish those who would do them harm.  That’s it.  That’s all the Bible says about the obligations of government to its people.  There is nothing in the Bible that states that it is the government’s responsibility to educate our children.  The responsibility to educate children belongs exclusively to the parents. (Deuteronomy 6)  Government schools are often governed by the greed of those who can’t wait to get their grubby hands on the public coffers and by parents who love the idea of educating their children at their neighbor’s expense.  Would it be too extreme to say that government schools are not scriptural?

The government has successfully removed all evidence of the existence of God from public schools.  Teachers will be arrested for uttering the name of Christ.  R.C. Sproul, Jr. said, “All of reality exists so that God’s name would be known and the government school says you can’t name his name.”  The government sets schools up to be anti-Christian.  If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7) how can our children learn wisdom and knowledge if the foundations for such learning have been removed? 

A civilization finds itself in great peril when its institutions blatantly ignore God and wink at evil.  “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20)  Parents must counteract what their children are learning in government schools.  God loves life and it is immoral to kill a baby still in the womb.  God meant for men and women to enjoy sexual relations and to use it as a means of procreation, he is angered when we use his gifts for our own perversions.  God created the earth and we must never be so blatantly bold as to take that glory away from him and give it to another.

The state schools have crossed the line into territory where they have no business being.  Parents,  don’t let the government teach their values to your children. 

 “We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done…which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”  (Psalm 78:4-6) Government schools have no commitment to the truth in these verses.  This responsibility belongs to parents and the body of believers who call themselves Christians.

Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.