By Bill Shiell
My greatest hopes, fears, etc. for the school year are related to the uninformed Christian parents who pull children out of public schools on faulty logic and reasoning. We are public school people, and we’re committed to the program here. We have a good school and a good school system. It’s not perfect, and no school is. Just as the private school I attended as a child seemed perfect but wasn’t worth the cost in reality. In my world today, our problem is not whether a denomination pronounces that it’s time for an “exodus” or that homeschooling is somehow morally superior. We really don’t have very many homeschoolers. We do, however, deal with laziness. We would accept the word of an email or an innuendo in the neighborhood rather than to rigorously engage faculty, discuss issues with principals, and volunteer to help out in the classroom. We would rather drive across town to a Catholic parish to avoid perceived dangers of a middle school. I know that my son will do well this year, and I’m quite confident we’ll make sure of it. And even if he struggles, that’s good for him too. But I really hope that in a few years, we’ll have some other people with us in the school system who want to roll up their sleeves and go to work too.
Bill Shiell and his wife Kelly have two sons, a 3rd grader at Rocky Hill Elementary named Parker and a 2 year old named Drake. He is the senior pastor of First Baptist Knoxville and the author of 2 books.
September 7th, 2009 - 9:15 am
I, too, am gearing up for the first day of school, as I am a public school teacher. And I do think my junior high school is excellent, but I’m biased since I graduated from there!
However, I do want to say that there are emergent couples, like my husband and I, who still plan to homeschool our kids. Not on the basis of faulty logic and reasoning, but on the basis of the fact that we can both give our kids the kind of education we wish we had. As I said, I’m a public school teacher, so I’m not bashing it. I’m not even saying homeschooling is the best and most Biblical way (even tho I heard someone preach that a few yrs ago and I wanted to spit in his face =P). It’s just a decision my husband and I made even before we started dating each other. I love to teach, and I cant wait to stop teaching other people’s children and finally teach my own.
Please dont alienate homeschooling emergent parents by lumping us all together with those “others” who hate public school. We are not like that.
September 7th, 2009 - 12:43 pm
Jasmine – there are many parents here who do homeschool, for a variety of reasons. Bill’s piece was his thoughts about those who live in fear. It can be hard to be balanced and see the dangers in one area while understanding the good aspects of the same thing. I think that’s why conversation is good, it helps us define where we are coming from.
September 7th, 2009 - 4:12 pm
Thanks for the clarification. I do enjoy following this blog.
September 23rd, 2009 - 8:32 am
I’m also a strong believer in public schools and feel frustrated by fearful ‘Christian’ diatribes against them. I have softened a bit though as I’ve watched my oldest daughter struggle through Middle School. We are involved parents and were still unable to counter the full impact of some terrible teachers and some toxic peers. Our daughter just started high school and is doing much better. But her Middle School was bad enough to be identified as a “poor performer.” We have seen the impact of that on her, but especially on her peers who have less support at home.
Her best friend was collapsing under the strain of middle school and her parents – also strong believers in public education – finally put her in a private Christian school. She has completely landed on her feet and thrives in her new environment.
My nephew went to a large public school in Texas and was pulled out to be homeschooled because he was getting beat up all the time and the school couldn’t seem to keep it from happening. It was a racially charged situation. He has done much better in his co-op.
We’ve chosen to stick with public school. I believe in the public school system and stay involved in hopes of making it just a bit better. I really dislike private Christian schools for a number of reasons and I have seen some homeschooling disasters. But I have also grown to respect the decisions that parents make for their children as I’ve seen alternatives to public schools really work for some kids.
I agree with Bill that we shouldn’t let a general cloud of fear distort our perceptions of public school or drive our decisions. And I agree that having some struggles benefits kids and helps them to grow. But when kids are really being damaged socially or educationally by their environment, sometimes parents have to do what they believe is best for their kids and that’s okay too.
November 14th, 2009 - 10:12 pm
I just found this blog and am looking forward to checking back often. It isn’t always easy to find like-minded folks in the same stage of life.
We have three daughters in the public school near our home. They are 5, 7 & 9. We have often been questioned about our decision to send the girls to this particular school. Not only because it is public, but because they are by far in the economic and ethnic minority in every class so far. The academic performance is improving, but the scores still rate among the lowest in the district.
When it comes to conversations or questions related to fear and public schooling, we have hit the common topics of physical and emotional safety and stymied academic achievement. The questions are well-meaning and we have respectfully agreed to disagree with friends and relatives who make different choices. Our choice is working well for our family.
We have tried to broaden the discussion of what we as parents fear when it comes to education – fears that are based on our understanding of how to raise kids that know what it means to follow Jesus.
One example of this is our perspective on the friendships and soft skills they inevitably learn in school. We are fearful that if our kids don’t have regular opportunities to learn with and from people who are different from them, they might become too comfortable within their own social group, suspicious of other social groups, or be ill-equipped for the world we live in. We believe that experiencing God’s creativity in humanity at an early age will help to prepare them for living out Kingdom values in whatever vocation they choose.
The challenges they’ve faced are already shaping them and opening up awesome opportunities for discussion on issues of faith and how to experience God’s activity in their lives every day.
I appreciate the weight of the decision about education. We are relieved to have the decision behind us! At least until they get to middle and high school…