I must say, I was struck rather harshly by the post in the Family Forum about Christian Education and Church Discipline. I would think that if parents were to be held to the fire for sending their children to public school, then surely the teachers should be incriminated too.
I do have strong opinions about this and since I am honestly curious as to what others think about it and what you think scripture teaches, I will hold my tongue in order to receive the wisdom of others.
My question is:
Is it better to obey authority and follow the rules about what I can and cannot say regarding religion?
Or should I disobey the authority and teach as some would call it, "the Christian world view?"

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Ashley H.
Member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church (PCA)
DeLand, FL
~Wife to Mike~
~All good which could be thought or desired is to be found in Jesus Christ alone. - John Calvin~

Ashley - this may be a bit off topic. I don't consider it sin for a parent to send their child to a public school. Parents have that liberty. But I would warn parents that their children will be exposed to humanism and the philosophy of this world and they will be held accountable if these teachings effect the child negatively.

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Bill Brown
Elder
Grace Baptist Church
Anne Arundel County, Maryland

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Visit my BLOG Theology for the Rest of Us

It all depends on where you live to some degree. If you lived in a place that required you to teach queer theory and that it's okay for little Johnny to have two daddies, then you would have problems. I live in the hillbilly south. Our problems are more along the lines of teaching our 14 year olds to read basic books.

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J. B. Atken
John Knox PCA
Layman, M.A. student at Louisiana College

And who would you want teaching in the public schools? All Christ-hating humanists?

Good point about who we would want teaching in the schools...
Mr. Brown - I very much agree with your point of view. My husband and I have not yet come to a clear determination about how we will educate our children, probably because we do not have any yet and therefore don't know their specific needs!

Where I live I am not forced to teach anything which goes against scripture, however I am also not allowed to teach anything which would be considered offensive or exclusive to Christianity. So my reaction was more to the notion that unless teachers are clearly teaching Biblical principles they are in sin.

For example, the teacher I interned with is a very conservative Catholic and she went to all Catholic schools growing up. She does not try to be politically correct or a moral relativist. When she was teaching literature to the class, she would teach morals very clearly in a way that did not leave the door open for discussion. No one ever said anything about that. She was just careful not to associate it with scripture.

What grade and discipline do you teach?

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Paul Weinhold, Colleyville Presbyterian Church

Currently Reading: Critical Theory Since Plato, Poetry by John Donne, Solon of Athens, and Wallace Stevens

1 Corinthians 8:2-3 "If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God."

6th grade Language Arts (Focus is mainly on writing methods) and 7th grade Reading (Focus is mainly on reading methods). I also have the pleasure of teaching students with the "Gifted" label, meaning they like school

The stand I have taken in the business world, which is as secular as a public school, is I provide the service I am paid to provide. In your teaching writing methods, teach writing methods. That is what your paid to do. When the subject of morality/eithic/religion come up I speak freely of Christ, Scripture, and my beliefs. If that causes me the loss of my job, so be it. I will not hide my Christian faith or make excuses for it.

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Geoff/Reformed Baptist
Acworth, GA
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.


"Show me your war face."

I would think teaching in a public school is being salt and light to an unbelieving world.

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Gail - I agree. And just as in the business world, if the school system requires to you to perform an immoral or unlawful act, you have the right to refuse even though it may cost you your job.

Of course, this leads to a different and slightly more complex issue of choosing between two goods: Continuing to be salt and light by keeping one's job, or being salt and light once, then losing one's job. There are too many contingencies to make a hard and fast rule, but politeness is always a good rule of thumb.

Besides being polite, I'll hazard another generalization that may be helpful. Consider that teaching a subject well, in itself, has the potential to be a powerful integration of one's faith in the academic community. Particularly in primary and secondary education, planting seeds is the objective. How does one witness in the public schools? By teaching well.

That is really an excellent point (Working as unto the Lord!)... I think that it is definitely true that as a Christian teacher, my faith is going to come out in everything I do whether it is subtle or not so subtle.
It seems like it is possible to teach in a Christian way without using overtly Christian curriculum.

Daniel served in an un-Godly Kingdom. Yes, he refused to do anything that was against his beliefs and suffered for it, but still wanted to point it out.

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Adam Leavelle
Westminster OPC
Roaring Spring Pa.

http://www.myspace.com/aleavelle
"Speak wisdom to a fool and he'll think you have no sense at all"

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Daniel is definitely a good example.
If they asked me to teach moral relativism or that abortion/ homosexuality is okay I would refuse... Those are hills I'll die on.
I'm not going to die on the hill to teach the Christian curriculum I want to teach or something like that.

On another note -
Adam, my husband and I just took a road trip last month and ate dinner in Hershey. We had to take pictures of the Hershey corporate offices/ chocolate factory.

Wow, did you take the trolley tour? They drive right by my house several times a day.

Do you not have church schools in the US funded by the state?

What about Public schools (in the UK sense) that are "Christian"?

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Richard
CofE
UK

No Church schools are funded by the government here and no "Public" Christian schools either. The ACLU would have a field day if there were such a thing.

I understand the UK "public school" to be what we would call a private boarding school. Adam is right--those don't receive state money either if they are a Christian school.

But private universities and colleges for the most part do receive federal and state money through grants and financial aid (there are a few notable exceptions that refuse any govt. funding). That aid comes with all sorts of strings attached which tend to make the institutions more secular, regardless of their charter.

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R.Vic Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

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Yep, Government money is a curse, even in my industry (Child care). Thankfully I work for a totally PRIVATE child care facility!

Interesting.

And in many states, teachers are desperately needed. So even if you take a stand, there is a good chance you won't get fired. A worst case scenario for a principal is to fire a teacher and then hunt for a new one in the middle of the year. It will make the school look really bad and will ruin the tenor of the classroom for the rest of the year.

So, teachers have a little bit of leverage in this regard.

I noticed in one of the polls that many of the people on the board do not support the concept of public education for religious and/or political reasons. Would it be hypocritical for such a person to teach in a public school? This is a dilemma that I have faced as one who wants to become some kind of teacher.

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DAVIDIVS DOCTVS VTRIVSQVE LINGVAE
Husband of Emilia
Member: First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham (RPCNA) - Durham, NC
Currently in the process of transferring membership to an as-yet-undecided church in Chapel Hill
Student: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, German Literature and Classics

It really depends on the reasons, case by case. Did Daniel really have a choice? In a sense he did, in a sense he didn't. He refused to compromise his principles, sure, but he didn't have a choice on taking a pagan job.

So considering that no one is forced to be one, would it then be hypocritical for one who is ideologically opposed to public education to become a public school teacher?

I think it would be hypocritical for the person opposed to public education to be a public education teacher, yes. In fact, I think that's the definition of hypocrisy.

I guess, I'm a hypocrite then, I find the public school system so problematic, it kills me sometimes, the waste, the agenda, the politics...I could go on, but I don't have time...

But, to be blessed with a job, that allows me to be in the lives of sometimes 100 different kids each year, have them see me read my bible at my desk, have them hear me debunk evolution, promote abstinence before marriage, have me promote at least the idea of a Theist world view, and since 6th graders learn World History, the Judeo/Christian World view...to bring to them a strong Christian Male role model where often they have no male role model, to teach Math, to host bible clubs...etc...I think the Good Lord has provided me a place to use my skills, to promote reason, education, and His name, in an environment, that many cross oceans to try to find...and call themselves missionaries...so if the state's going to pay me to do it (I have my own kids to feed). Do I agree with public education? No. Do I teach in public schools? Yes....so call me a hypocrite!

And really, Daniel, stood against the obvious things against his faith, but he allowed the "system" he was in,