My grandson is a little over three years away from entering school. At this point I can't see his parents being able to homeschool him. There would have to be some drastic changes for that to happen.

How do the posters on this board feel about Christian schools? I know some are good and others aren't so good. Off the top of my head I can think of four Christian schools in our area and the closest is going to be at least 20 minutes away. Also, of the four only one is what I consider evangelical. A couple are Pentecostal, one is Lutheran (conservative) and of course we have numerous Catholic schools. There may be others but I'm not aware of them.

What is a grandfather to do? How can I advise my daughter and son-in-law? How can I make sure my grandson receives a good education AND fears the Lord? I have no doubt that the public schools in the area are a serious problem. My daughters made it through but it wasn't pretty.

What to do?

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Ivan Schoen, Pastor * Maranatha Baptist Church, Poplar Grove, IL * http://maranatha-sbc.org/

"I want to assist churches and to assist pastors in training pastors. But, after fourteen years of service in this capacity, I am absolutely certain that the finest theological seminary on earth is absolutely incompetent at replicating the actual life of a Gospel congregation. I want to train a generation of pastors who will train pastors, and I want to help them in that task." --- Dr. R. Albert Mohler, President of THE Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

He'll probably get an excellent education at the Lutheran school and probably little of the brainwashing of the public schools. I knew some Lutherans who sent their child to a Christian school apparently run by Dispies - they were amusing us at work with stories of his teacher reading them Left Behind. It gave them a teachable moment with him about eschatology.

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The man who is disposed to think of his sin as a great calamity, rather than as a heinous crime, is not likely either to reverence God or to respect His law. - John Kennedy, 1873
Meg
Blog
Member, Intown Presbyterian Church,PCA, Portland, OR

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

Just be particular of the Christian school. But that is a given.

Also, don't give up...alot can change in three years. Parenthood matures alot of ppl, but it takes time and sometimes more than one child. Also, I have seen ppl that you think should never homeschool a child start homeschooling...and they start changing as they are confronted with their own failings...and they don't want to fail.

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JC
URCNA
PA, but homesick for SC

"Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact. There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home" Bon Jovi

The main thing is keep them out of the clutches of the Society for the Promotion of Public Ignorance.

Good people will argue about the "best way" to educate outside the "free" system (which is another way of saying "most expensive per student and returning the least value per $ spent"). The truth is there is a constant economy in effect between efficiency, effectiveness, ability, availability, materials, creativity, and division of labor (and probably a hundred other factors).

The main advantage of the institutional school (as I see it) is convenience. And, it often offers what some parents are simply incapable of supplying--either for lack of ability, or time, or conviction, etc. In situations where families are incapable of organized cooperation (for whatever reason) such an institution can fill a need. They also may serve (when associated in some way with a church) as a gateway to bringing families into a church. In many cases the argument for a Christian school is simply that it is far better to have this alternative than to surrender even more children to the Beast (because homeschooling simply isn't going to happen).

Advantages of homeschooling are manifold. Along with challenges. And drawbacks (if compared to certain advantages found in an institutional setting). Homeschool cooperatives, or hybrids, typically spring up in homeschool settings in order to address these issues, with varying degrees of success.

The trade-off that think is most true about HS vs. Institutional is time and money. All education costs money. HS gives a lot of bang for comparatively little buck. But many who prefer institutional think the costs are worth it. Even then, the teachers are not paid much, when compared to their typical workload.

I'll just end this meander where I began: the key issues are with the parents--first convincing them that they must take 100% responsibility for the education of their children, no matter what system they choose; then helping them to see that the State is challenging them for ownership and control of the minds of their children.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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