School Days

Our son Colson is in first grade this year. Because the timeline of our move down here was not set until weeks before we left, we decided to enroll him in our local public school (the district is one of the better ones in the area) and see how things went. This is our first experience with public school; Colson attended kindergarten at a church school in Colorado. So far, things have been alright. He loves riding the bus (I think one of his first words was "bus!"), and he has made some friends in his class. He comes home with stories of games on the playground, getting to borrow books from the library, and new songs he sings in music class.

However, as time has passed, I'm noticing some negative things too. Most days Colson comes home telling about how a child in his class misbehaved, so either the class was unable to finish what they had started, or they missed out on an activity. His stories often reveal frustration on his part because he feels punished for what other children are doing. We've had lots of opportunities to discuss why we obey authority and the rules put in place for us: we glorify God by obeying His word, and His word tells us to obey the leaders over us. But as a six-year-old, Colson still seems to feel like he's missing out on things. Academically I'm sure he's fine, if a little bit bored, but he's learning some interesting lessons socially.

All of this has caused me to question whether public school is the best choice for our boys. I have always been a firm believer that Christians should not exit the public school system entirely; if all the light leaves, it will be complete darkness. Our responsibility is to live in this world; our challenge is not to become of this world. I still believe that is true and is what the Lord commands us to do. However, can a small child, who has not yet learned to think critically but simply obeys what he is told, really sway those who would make him "of the world?" I wrestled with this question for several days, and when I went to Scripture, I was challenged. Deuteronomy speaks of fixing God's words in our hearts, of teaching them to our children "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut 11:19) So, that's pretty much all the time we should be talking about God's word and teaching them to our kids, but how do you do that when they spend 8 hours a day apart from you learning from people who may or may not know God's word?

The other thing that convicted me the most is in Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." The author was talking not just about teaching Bible stories; he was talking about teaching children, discipling them to become followers of the Lord. Discipleship requires much effort, it requires love yet firmness, and above all, it should be rooted in the Word of God. Discipleship is not just overt teaching; much of what is learned is observed inadvertently. When I send Colson to school, he is getting eight hours of some type of discipleship. Some is from his teacher, and some is from his peers. When I send him to public school, where I know he most likely won't receive God's word, what am I allowing him to be taught? I always imagined that I could teach him about Jesus when he was home, but when a child is in school for eight hours, it's difficult to teach them much when they get home-they need time to play and to unwind, and they don't want to listen anymore! I realized I am having very little effect on Colson because I just don't have as much time to influence him now that he's gone all day. If my job is to train or to disciple my child, I can't do that job well if I send him to a place where he learns things contrary to God's word all day. I can't undo eight hours of training in the few hours I have him at home. I can't lay a sold foundation based on the Bible that way. And we are not alright with that. If I send him to school, it needs to be a place where the instruction and and environment are both based on the word of God, so I can continue to disciple and teach him the Word at home as he learns it in school.

So we're wrestling with what we should do. I think there are no easy choices-we can choose to keep him where he is, choose to put him in a charter school, choose to put him in a private Christian school (which costs big bucks as anyone who's ever investigated them knows!), or bring him home for school. We are praying hard about what God would have us do. He knows our boys and He knows us, and He knows what will challenge our children to become His followers. For some families, public school works because they have great teachers who love the children and are able, for now, to get around the negative bias against Christianity in public schools. For us, I don't think public school, at least for now, is the best choice. Even a charter school, although the academics would be wonderful, will not disciple my child to follow Christ, and that's the most important thing for him to learn.

All this to say, please pray wisdom for us! We are trying to decide whether to try homeschooling or to find a good Christian school. Thankfully, Arizona has some great programs for allowing families to send their children to a private school. There are scholarships and tax breaks and other things, and if that is what God leads us to do, He can pay for school entirely through those means. We will tour a couple of schools that have been recommended by friends in the next few weeks, but please be praying for our decision. We want to do what is best for Colson (and Kasen, since he will be starting kindergarten in the fall). Thank you our prayer warriors for being on your knees for us once again! May God bless each of you!