Modern public schools are a terrible choice for giving kids a Christian education because of their secularization. The two best alternatives left are private Christian schools and homeschooling. Which, though, ought parents to select?
The Perfect Christian Education
Parents find an excellent Christian school to be a very appealing alternative. Sadly, a lot of Christian schools are only Christian in name. With the addition of prayer, chapel, and creationism in science class, they resemble public schools.
The fact that many private schools are nonetheless subject to state laws is one aspect of the issue. They employ textbooks that have been approved by the state, base their curriculum on state education standards, and mandate that teachers hold official teaching certifications.
These “private” schools ought to be avoided as they serve the interests of the state.
Rather than marginally altering the public school paradigm, Christian schools ought to reconsider all facets of instruction in the context of biblical values. A genuine Christian school ought to prioritize offering challenging coursework, a biblical perspective, and a Christian sense of community.
In addition to being competent in their fields, teachers ought also serve as positive role models for their pupils. The administration needs to mandate excellence in the classroom, helping students become college ready and promoting Christian behavior.
This implies that in order to foster a supportive atmosphere for each student, they will be selective in who they admit. Curriculum-wise, the Bible, systematic theology, apologetics, and church history should all be taught at Christian schools. But they should also incorporate a biblical viewpoint into their science, math, history, and literary curricula.
Even if such a school were to exist nearby, there would still be the difficulty of financing it. Christian private schools are not free. They don’t have a lot of tax money to spend on infrastructure and teacher pay.
Christian institutions must thus charge tuition, which is often in the neighborhood of $10,000 per student year. For Christians, not wanting to pay for private school tuition is probably the main reason they choose public education.
Moreover, attending a Christian school does not, of course, guarantee a de facto Christian education. The purpose of the Christian school is to assist the parents, not to replace them.
By sending their kids to school, they give the administrators and instructors covenantal authority. Additionally, if parents don’t contribute at home, this will become much weaker.how well the Christian school works.
Benefits of Homeschooling
The private Christian school model has difficulties. The challenge of instructing a large number of pupils at once, all with varying skill levels, exists in private schools. In this situation, a teacher cannot give all of his attention to the best or the weakest students since doing so will harm the other group.
As a result, teachers wind up teaching the entire class at the same speed, which causes issues for everyone. A personalized education, in which each topic is completed at the student’s own speed, can prevent this issue.
And who is more qualified to provide a child such a customized education than its parents? One of the main benefits of homeschooling is this.
Not only is homeschooling far less expensive than tuition at private schools. A growing number of books, workbooks, and online videos are produced each year, contributing to the growing collection of materials accessible for homeschooling.
The increased market size also implies a decrease in the price of these resources. As a result, homeschooling parents may educate their kids for a far lower price than they might pay for a private education.
Since someone must stay at home with the children to educate them or supervise their independent study, the primary cost of homeschooling is time. This may, of course, be a very positive circumstance.
In addition to saving money on daycare, a mother who homeschools her kids may spend more time with them. If she so chooses, she can work from home part-time, especially as the kids become older.
Homeschooling isn’t a substitute for formal Christian education, though, much like Christian schools. Many parents would rather send their kids to school since homeschooling takes a lot of work on the side of the parents.
In addition, parents who homeschool need to ensure that they have a Christian worldview so that they may share it with their kids. For Christians, homeschooling is therefore a perfectly reasonable alternative, although it does necessitate that parents work hard to educate their kids.
Compared to private schools, these organizations might offer excellent instruction at a lesser cost. They can even offer chances for sports competition and help kids develop a sense of community.
Most homeschooling organizations adhere to a university type of education, in which students complete the most of their work at home and meet with their teacher either one or two times per week. Compared to putting kids in an educational setting for seven hours a day, this is significantly more efficient.
In conclusion, homeschooling and Christian schools are both excellent choices for giving kids a Christian education. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Nonetheless, homeschooling organizations offer an excellent answer that combines the greatest aspects of both educational approaches.