[4everfsu]

One of the greatest lesson you will learn in life is never say never

[SumItUp]

SJ, I respect your right to have an opinion that is different than mine. Actually, when I was a student at Liberty I would have written statements that were very similar to yours (Except we didn't have the internet on campus in those days). I spent most of my time in public schools except my last two years of high school which were at LCA. Since becoming parents, my wife and I have spent a lot of time researching and praying about how we should raise our children. When we first began to homeschool our children, we thought we would do it until they reached 6th or 7th grade. Now, I don't see any reason that we will not continue this through high school. I'll admit that my reasons for homeschooling have changed dramatically over the years. Initially, it was very self-serving. I wanted my children to attain a high academic level and I wanted the freedom to travel.

My children do live in a bubble. It is called our home. As a parent, it is my responsibility to nurture and protect them. I also prepare them for when they leave our home. We are careful to protect what their eyes see and what their ears hear. We help them to prepare to make decisions on their own. Every Christian parent should have a protected bubble for their children. This bubble should exist whether the parent chooses to homeschool, send their child to a Christian school, private school, or government school. For many of you this may not make sense because you do not have children.

We choose to homeschool for a number of reasons, but sheltering our children is not one of them. In five weeks, our family will be leaving for Costa Rica for six months. We will be going to school to learn Spanish, immerse ourselves in a different culture and most importantly spend a lot of time together as a family. If we did not homeschool, this would not be an option. Our children have been working really hard throughout the summer with their school work for the next year so that we could all take the time off.

I believe that Christian parents should provide a Christian education for their children. Whether they send them to a Christian school or homeschool is personal preference. Both take varying degrees of personal and financial sacrifice.

I do not believe that Christian parents should send their children to a public school UNLESS they are diligently discipling and training their children to walk with Christ. This can not be substituted with 7 family meals started with prayer, regular church attendance and involvement in a youth group with an "AWESOME" youth pastor. It makes me nervous when I listen to adults say that their children need to be a light to the others in school and they knowingly admit that they are not discipling their children. In today's public schools, liberal, PC and anti-Biblical teaching is gaining momentum.

Ultimately, as Christian parents we need to personally disciple our children. Hopefully, you will agree with this regardless of your preference of schooling.

[SuperJon]

My children do live in a bubble. It is called our home. As a parent, it is my responsibility to nurture and protect them. I also prepare them for when they leave our home. We are careful to protect what their eyes see and what their ears hear. We help them to prepare to make decisions on their own. Every Christian parent should have a protected bubble for their children. This bubble should exist whether the parent chooses to homeschool, send their child to a Christian school, private school, or government school. For many of you this may not make sense because you do not have children.

This is where I completely, 100% disagree. I may not have children, but I completely disagree with having them in a bubble.

[SumItUp]

You're smarter than that, SJ. You got so excited that you thought you were right that you did not read it. The point is that there is a bubble within my home. It is the safe place for my children. They leave the bubble every day.

[SuperJon]

How do they leave the bubble if they are still at home to go to school?

I probably didn't say explain my point well enough. A bubble at home is good. That should be where they feel safe, etc. I just don't think they should spend most of their time in that bubble, and I think that learning only things that mommy and daddy agree with is not the best way to go. I think it's ok to keep the kids in that bubble when they're learning the basics (reading, writing, etc). However, as they get older, they need to be exposed to more things other than what mommy and daddy believe. One of the biggest problems with Christian school and homeschool kids that I, personally, have noticed is that they have no clue about anything when it comes to sexual education. Sex is taboo in most of these situations. The kids are never taught about things (I've even seen where people didn't know general anatomy things...we'll leave it at that) that they should, so when they get away from home, away from the safe bubble, they go out and experiment and try to learn things on their own. The same can be said about drugs and alcohol. They're just told, "Drugs are bad" or "Don't drink." They're never told why these things are harmful and what they can do to you, only that they're wrong. I'm sure you guys are teaching your kids the things they need to know and the things you're doing (missions trips, etc) are great. However, to be on the opposite end of what LUconn said, you're the .000000000002% that actually do things like that.

[Stevewalt]

I am a christian parent and CHOOSE to send my sons to public school first because they can be a light to this world and most importantly our neighbors. Secondly because if every christian child left public school the public schools would be without a christian voice at all and that would do our childrens future no justice. I wonder why liberals causes have an easy time in our school systems?

Now by saying that there are times and reasons to homeschool your children and yours (Sumitup) is a good one but I would say most homeschoolers are homeschooled because the parents are scared of the public school system. Does this system scare me? sure it does and every day I send my kids to elementary and middle school I am scared as to what will happen in school. But I know that the way we raise our kids they will be a light in a dark world. I know that there are bad influences in public school but there are also good things that come from being a light. My nephew was an outcast through the tenth grade. He never gave in to the jerks who picked on him and who made fun of him (students and teachers) but he was elected President of his local FCA chapter in eleventh and twelth grade and all of a sudden kids would come up to him and sk deep questions to him and he could help them in by his explaining things through his own experiences and he would get kids to come to youth group and when he graduated he recieved the largest ovation from students and parents at his graduation (close to 400 students).

I too, as a former youth pastor, have noticed the difference between home schooled and public schooled children (emotionally and psychologically).

[thepostman]

thanks Stavewalt....I was wondering if someone else would speak up

for the record, I was an outcast in highschool, I had a couple friends, but for the most part I went though school being made fun of and other things. Most of the time it had nothing to do with my faith, but more to do with how awkward i was. I would not change those experiences for anything. It has made me a stronger person, and has helped me deal with other things that have happened in my life since high school.

I know that people are viewing me as some hotheaded college student that just wants to ruffle some feathers and probably skated by in high school as one of the popular kids...this could not be further from the truth....and to be honest the worst year of school I ever had was in 8th grade....the year I went to christian school...

anyways, its a parents decision...but public schools need Christian, as Stevewalt put so well

[SumItUp]

However, as they get older, they need to be exposed to more things other than what mommy and daddy believe.

Specifically, what should they be exposed to?

I am a christian parent and CHOOSE to send my sons to public school first because they can be a light to this world and most importantly our neighbors.

Are you writing this because you are in agreement with my statement below or you disagree with it?

I do not believe that Christian parents should send their children to a public school UNLESS they are diligently discipling and training their children to walk with Christ. This can not be substituted with 7 family meals started with prayer, regular church attendance and involvement in a youth group with an "AWESOME" youth pastor. It makes me nervous when I listen to adults say that their children need to be a light to the others in school and they knowingly admit that they are not discipling their children.

[SuperJon]

However, as they get older, they need to be exposed to more things other than what mommy and daddy believe.

Specifically, what should they be exposed to?

They should be exposed to the way people really act. They should be opposed to people who disagree with them. They should be exposed to philosophies that aren't the same as them. They should see things from a different viewpoint than mommy and daddy. My high school had two teachers, both who taught economics and government classes, who ran campaigns against each other for the house of representatives. They taught the same classes but had different ways of looking at it, so people were able to see the same things from two different viewpoints.

[SumItUp]

They should be exposed to the way people really act.

I do not disagree, but I am asking about exposure they should have that they can only get through a public school.

[Purple Haize]

GYMRAT= Let me posit this to you. You state that you want to be IN the world but don't want to be saturated by it. That is fine, but what about when it is time to get a job? Will you ONLY work for a Christian organization? WIll ALL these HS'ers work for Christian organizations? I work for the 5 th largest company in THE WORLD of its industry. Trust me, we are saturated with all sorts of folks. I have partners that are Mormon, gay, atheist, neither, alcoholics, philanderers, good people, and the list goes on. (Yes even a Wiccan!!) So do I opt out of working with this team since I am "saturated" by those whose faith is not my own? My point being, you ARE in the world, you WILL be surrounded to it. The question, in general, is how do the HS'rs deal with that? IF that questions is dealt with that is a great thing

[El Scorcho]

Thanks everyone for hijacking my thread trying to gain useful information for the future education of my children, which by the way did not make any mention of homeschooling.

Sorry if I contributed in any way to taking the thread off topic, but for what it's worth, nearly every thread in the history of FlameFans has gone off topic at one point or another.

[cheerbren]

I send my kids to a local Christian school it is Lutheran so a bit more lax than say LCA. We are debating about high school and we have the choices of a classical or Baptist school. My daughter wants to follow her friends to public, although she would be a light it would be like sending her back 2 grades so we won't do that. The education just is not the same as she is getting or will get at the two options. I won't homeschool because I have smarter kids than me. I am type B they are type A and I don't need perferfection and they do so it wouldn't work. I may have if I would have been able to at the beginning.
That all being typed, send your kid to classical if you think they can handle it - they have lots of homework and it is hard. I know my daughter can handle it but it is not my first choice (she does get some say and it is in the basement of the church I work at). I went to both public and Christian and can say Jr high is hard ANYWHERE even if you are homeschooled and some kids hate school so see what your kid needs - just social, just academic, sports and find the right fit. I believe there is no right answer.

[gymrat.chic]

GYMRAT= Let me posit this to you. You state that you want to be IN the world but don't want to be saturated by it. That is fine, but what about when it is time to get a job? Will you ONLY work for a Christian organization? WIll ALL these HS'ers work for Christian organizations? I work for the 5 th largest company in THE WORLD of its industry. Trust me, we are saturated with all sorts of folks. I have partners that are Mormon, gay, atheist, neither, alcoholics, philanderers, good people, and the list goes on. (Yes even a Wiccan!!) So do I opt out of working with this team since I am "saturated" by those whose faith is not my own? My point being, you ARE in the world, you WILL be surrounded to it. The question, in general, is how do the HS'rs deal with that? IF that questions is dealt with that is a great thing

If you read my earlier post you will read that I do work at a place where I am the only Christian. Like I said, I constantly hear F this and F that, constant comments about anatomy (I'm the only girl with at least 3 other guys), and I have been mocked for abstaining from alcohol, and this is the least of it. What I meant is that you shouldn't saturate young impressionable kids in stuff like. Kids should be grounded in their faith at an early age so they aren't sucked into that kind of behavior when they are older, if that means HS or Christian school.
And the home schoolers that most people get generalizations from are really the minority. And I'm not kidding you either! Take it from someone who has been around many home schooler over many years, there are only about one out of fifty HS that are sheltered and have no clue how to act in the world, and that is the truth.

[FlameDad]

GYMRAT= Let me posit this to you. You state that you want to be IN the world but don't want to be saturated by it. That is fine, but what about when it is time to get a job? Will you ONLY work for a Christian organization? WIll ALL these HS'ers work for Christian organizations? I work for the 5 th largest company in THE WORLD of its industry. Trust me, we are saturated with all sorts of folks. I have partners that are Mormon, gay, atheist, neither, alcoholics, philanderers, good people, and the list goes on. (Yes even a Wiccan!!) So do I opt out of working with this team since I am "saturated" by those whose faith is not my own? My point being, you ARE in the world, you WILL be surrounded to it. The question, in general, is how do the HS'rs deal with that? IF that questions is dealt with that is a great thing

If you read my earlier post you will read that I do work at a place where I am the only Christian. Like I said, I constantly hear F this and F that, constant comments about anatomy (I'm the only girl with at least 3 other guys), and I have been mocked for abstaining from alcohol, and this is the least of it. What I meant is that you shouldn't saturate young impressionable kids in stuff like. Kids should be grounded in their faith at an early age so they aren't sucked into that kind of behavior when they are older, if that means HS or Christian school.
And the home schoolers that most people get generalizations from are really the minority. And I'm not kidding you either! Take it from someone who has been around many home schooler over many years, there are only about one out of fifty HS that are sheltered and have no clue how to act in the world, and that is the truth.

Well said Gymrat
My 4 kids have had a mixture of public school and a large fantastic christian school.
We (our family) know many home schooled kids.
The home school movement in Chester County is huge and is made up of people from all faiths and no faith.
Most hs kids take courses at the local high schools, play on the sports teams, go to social/club functions and hang out with all of the above.
As a group, they are far more educated, capable and socially adjusted than the public school kids.
They are salt and light where it has effect, on the street, hanging out with their friends

[gymrat.chic]

Thank you, well said yourself.

[Stevewalt]

Sumitup:

Are you writing this because you are in agreement with my statement below or you disagree with it?


SumItUp wrote:
I do not believe that Christian parents should send their children to a public school UNLESS they are diligently discipling and training their children to walk with Christ. This can not be substituted with 7 family meals started with prayer, regular church attendance and involvement in a youth group with an "AWESOME" youth pastor. It makes me nervous when I listen to adults say that their children need to be a light to the others in school and they knowingly admit that they are not discipling their children.

I am writing to say that I believe that there are those kids who should be in a christian school enviroment because at that time in their lives they cannot handle those situations but I also say that some of the strongest christian value kids in my youth groups were the public school kids. Most not all of the christian and homeschool kids shyed away from some of the situations we would go to. My belief is because the public school kids had to face the lions everyday and they were stronger because of it. I feel for gymrat.chic, my advise is if they don't stop acting this way go to a boss and ask for help. And if that isn't possible get another job if the talk offends and you can't stand it any longer. There is nothing wrong with working in an enviroment where you are comfortable, christian enviroment or non-christian. Your employer, if any good, should try to build that kind of enviroment.

I will also say that public school is bad but not as bad as indicated in some writing here. If my sons don't like what someone is saying they won't associate with them till they calm down or shut their mouths with the foul language. Sometimes the only way to get your point accross is to go through the fire. Do missionaries only go to the believers? Look I don't mean to affend anyone. I don't believe, nor do i think anyone else on this board, that all homeschool kids are STRANGE, just that we see the value in a public education from another standpoint than just education. I strongly feel it is a parents right to choose what is best for their child and if it is homeschooling then so be it.

[gymrat.chic]

Very tactfully said, Stevewalt. Thank you for the advice.

[FlameDad]

Stevewalt - well said
One point that may have been overlooked is that public schools (and christian schools) vary greatly.
Our local HS has a few dedicated christian teachers and the school allows christian activities on campus without a problem.
Our old school district was aggressively anti-christian. Jewish? Muslim? No problem, here is your prayer area........
I have found, IN GENERAL, that NE schools tend to be more anti-christian and that bias lessens as you move south.

[thepostman]

I went to public school in Maine and in Florida...and though there was a more negative approach to Christianity in Maine, we were still aloud to have events such as See You at the Pole and a group met and prayed once a week on school grounds. Not many liked it, but under the constitution they can not do anything about a student run prayer group as long as it doesn't distrupt the school day...in my school in Florida it was completely different...Christianity was accepted so much within the school system that it seemed all the "cool kids" were the Christian kids, except they were all jerks and made the non-Christian crowd more appealing...ahhhh high school

[Stevewalt]

FlameDad Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:05 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One point that may have been overlooked is that public schools (and christian schools) vary greatly.
Our local HS has a few dedicated christian teachers and the school allows christian activities on campus without a problem.
Our old school district was aggressively anti-christian. Jewish? Muslim? No problem, here is your prayer area........
I have found, IN GENERAL, that NE schools tend to be more anti-christian and that bias lessens as you move south.

I agree whole heartedly. One thing that calmed my wife and I is the local elementary principle is a christian and she does a great job. But our Middle school and High School are a different story. Though they cannot stop FCA and other organizations they don't help either. Local businessmen, like myself, have given money for concerts by local christian bands and other activites for outreach by our local FCA chapters. Last year we gave money for "The Power Team" to come into the local school districts and give their presentations. Where there is a will there is a way. I don't know the south other than my time at Liberty but from what I know of the northeast it gets worse every year. Maybe that's why when you get a public educated kid that comes to you and says one or more of his/her friends left to go to christian school your heart goes out to them because part of their support system just bailed on them. And yes it has happend to me numerous times.

[scuzdriver]

One of the greatest lesson you will learn in life is never say never

I too said my kids will never be homeschooled or even christian schooled..........then I had kids. It's funny how your priorities and mindsets change, once you have kids. Yes, we homeschool, and we also give our kids the choice every year to go to school. They are the one's that choose to stay home.

Also, we have traveled all over the USA during school for vacations, turning these vacations into valuable history/geography lessons. What a cool way to learn! Read about it, then go see it. (oh yes, and write a report about it later)

Schools all over actively recruit HS kids. There must be something right about it.

[Stevewalt]

Schools actively recruit all graduating seniors not just homeschool kids. That doesn't make it right or wrong.

[scuzdriver]

You missed the point.

[Stevewalt]

No, I got the point. I just disagreed with the last point.

I will keep my opinion about homeschooling to myself for now. Sorry to sabatoge this thread from the original which was quality of education of local christian schools in Lynchburg which I definitly know nothing about since I have not been there for 15 years.