I am immensely grateful for the freedom of school choice allowed in this country and particularly in the state of Virginia. I believe parents should be able to decide what setting is best for their child's schooling. I myself experienced various school settings throughout my education (private, public, and home education). I in no way think that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to schooling. In our many upcoming years of parenting school age children there is a high probability that we will utilize more than one means of education. But, (at least for the time being) our two school age children attend public school.
I would be misleading to say that there aren't challenges for those willing to step into the public school arena, but our experience has been that there are also many blessings as we mingle with those in our community and seek to be a light in a dark world. There seems to be a short supply of resources written specifically on the issues facing Christian families involved in the public school system. However, I have just finished re-reading Going Public (your child can thrive in public school) and I can't say enough good things about this book. The authors, David and Kelli Pritchard, write about their experiences raising eight children and sending them all to public school. They have some truly insightful things to say about involvement in public school and some inspiring stories of how the Lord has used their family through the public school system. The book actually says very little about test scores, report cards, gifted programs, or advanced placement classes but rather focuses on character development and how to use the experience of public school to stretch and strengthen your child's spiritual development and maturity.
Going Public is applicable to parents with children in any school setting. The Pritchards describe some very practical ways that they as parents have instilled Biblical values in the minds and hearts of their children and utilized the issues facing their children at school to guide and direct them in character development. One of the chapters that was particularly poignant to me was about training children in self-control. I have included some excerpts from the book in italics.
For the past few decades, our society seems to have become less concerned about cultivating self-control in kids and more interested in building their self-esteem. If we could just make kids feel good about themselves, they would perform better...right? At least that has been the theory....
Certainly there is value in upholding the worth of every human being. We certainly want our children to know that God made them in His image, and that they are intrinsically valuable to Him as well as to us. We tell them these things often. But in a very real sense, self-esteem is a by-product of self-control.
Anybody can claim their child has self-control as long as the environment is perfect and everybody's having a good day. But no one's environment is always ideal. School is not always going to run smoothly. Then what?
What a challenge! After reading this together, Brian and I have been more purposeful in training the boys in self-control. At this point it may be just waiting patiently in line at the water fountain after recess, not retaliating when the bully on the bus antagonizes them, dealing kindly with a brother who is being annoying, or doing homework before dinner when they'd rather have some free time. All of these things and a myriad of other everyday experiences are training opportunities in self-control. With four other siblings, there is always a healthy amount of patience needed in our home, but the classroom setting requires an even greater amount of restraint and self-discipline. We (and our children) have a lot to learn! But as we strive to grow in our knowledge and love of God our hope is that our lives will be abundant in all of the fruits of the Spirit, including self-control.
Another section of the book deals with parent/teacher conferences. I look forward to these meetings with my son's teachers. I appreciate hearing an objective assessment of how they are doing academically and socially in their class. Taking some tips from the book, I went in (last night, actually) to meet with one of my son's teachers with a list of questions. After she relayed to me how Bryce is doing academically I was able to move the conversation in a new direction. I asked her questions such as: How is he doing with you? How does he respond to correction? How is his tone of voice when answering you? Is Bryce patient with his classmates? Is he encouraging to the other children? Is Bryce a leader in the class? These questions seemed to surprise her a little, but she was helpful in pointing out specific ways that Bryce excels and areas that he needs some coaching in. The areas of character, attitude, response to authority, compassion, leadership are the real agenda. It's always easier to discover shortcomings sooner rather than later.
The Pritchards had many, many insightful things to say in this book. These are just a couple of things that resonated with me. God directs parents in different ways and there are many, many wonderful methods of education. I applaud all those that are obedient to God's leading to a different path for the education of their child[ren]. Going Public is an excellent resource for Christian parents who chose to send their kids to public school (actually, it's great for all parents!). Sometimes it seems that, especially in Christian circles, the negative things about public school get aired the loudest. But don't lose heart, there are neat things happening in public schools and God is at work through Christians willing to participate in this sector of the community. Public education can be a positive experience for your child and for your family and provide opportunities to impact your community that otherwise would not be possible.
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