Posted on 12/19/2007 2:40:07 PM PST by wintertime
Bruce Shortt in his resolution to the Southern Baptist Convention, May, 2007, writes:
"In 2002 the SBC’s Council on Family Life reported that roughly 88% of our children leave the church within 2 years after graduating from high school. It is reported by LifeWay’s Zan Tyler that Josh McDowell Ministries pegs the number who leave at 92%.3 " (B.Shortt)
However the retention rate for homeschoolers is much better.
"Research by Dr. Brian Ray, founder of NHERI, found that 94% of all homeschooled children retained their faith into adulthood." (B. Shortt)
Regarding the successes of children educated in Christian schools, they are far superior to those children educated in government schools:
"The Nehemiah Institute’s worldview testing shows that students in Christian schools reject moral relativism at a rate 500% higher than Christian children attending public schools. The same worldview surveys also show that children receiving a Christian education do better on worldview issues overall than their public school counterparts, with outstanding results typically coming from Christian schools that incorporate worldview materials in their curriculum and homeschooled children." ( B. Shortt)
I ask Christian teachers teaching in government schools,”How much influence can a Christian teacher have on children in government schools who are not from Christian homes?”
In my opinion, Christian teachers have little or no influence over the spiritual lives of their non-Christian students. If dedicated Christian parents are having so little success with their own children, I doubt that a Christian teacher can turn around a child who goes home every day to a secular family.
My recommendations to Christian teachers in the government schools:
1)Resign.
2)Consider your own children and the children of the parents in your congregation as your most important and urgent mission field.
3) Get your kids and the kids of your congregation out of the government schools.
4) Organize, and be teachers in, Christian schools in your own congregations.
5) If you can, homeschool your own children, and be a resource to other homeschooling parents.
5)Large brick and mortar buildings are not necessary. With today’s technology it is possible to have many “one room school houses” meeting in Christian homes. Of course we do have existing church buildings that, in my opinion, are greatly under-utilized. Christian teachers could be a tremendous resource in supporting these endeavors among the members of their Christian congregation. We may actually be surprised to learn that the educational and spiritual outcomes of children in "one-room-schoolhouses" are better than those in traditional schools built and run following the Prussian model.
6) Once your congregation has a viable and healthy education structure for its own children take in as many non-Christian children as possible ( provided that it would not overwhelm the Christian culture of the school). Mentor the parents of these children.
7) Work to organize private Christian scholarship foundations so that **every** child in the U.S. would have access to a private Christian education. Harvard has and endowment of $35 BILLION ,and small colleges like Amerhert or Williams $1.7 and $1.9 BILLION, respectively. We are a wealthy nation. If Christians REALLY WANTED they could do the same for children in this nation. http://opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010985
Finally, to ALL Christian teachers, NO! your school is NOT different. All government schools are Anti-Christian, and if you are paying dues to the NEA you are further pounding nails into the spriritual coffin of our nation's children.
Bruce Shrott writes:
"All Public Schools, By Law, Are Anti-Christian"
"First, it is important to distinguish between individuals and institutions. There is still a sizable remnant of Christian adults employed by the public schools. Many of them pray for their students and a few, though they risk being disciplined or fired, furtively try to witness. But this certainly does not mean that institutionally any public school system is, as some try to argue, “sympathetic to Christianity.” In fact, expressing nontrivial institutional “sympathy” for Christianity, let alone teaching from a Christian worldview, is absolutely prohibited by a complex web of court rulings, legislation, and regulations that apply to every single school and every single school employee subject to the laws of the United States. This is the hostile institutional environment in which Christian adults in the schools are forced to work. And, unfortunately, when you put good people in a bad system, the system almost always wins, which is the reason the public school system continues to deteriorate."
“Sympathy”, or the lack of sympathy, however, is simply not the relevant standard for judging whether a school is a suitable place to train up a Christian child. Christ tells us clearly that “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” For forty years and more, every public school has been legally prohibited from being for Christ. Unless one chooses to disregard Christ’s teaching, the only conclusion that can honestly be reached is that the entire public school system, by law, is against Christ. As will be seen, this is further confirmed when we look at the evidence of whether the public schools are “gathering” with Christ or “scattering.” "
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:kY4WNVux_NIJ:www.exodusmandate.org/20070503-resolution/2007-letter-to-committee-members.doc+Dr.+Bryan+Ray+percentage+Christian+children+leave+faith&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us
Really dumb plan. When there are no Christian teachers, what do you think will fill the void - - that’s right, atheists and worse.
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If Christian parents have so little influence on the spiritual outcome of their kids, why would you think a Christian teacher would have any influence over a kid from a secular home?
And...”Goreknowshowtocheat” is completely correct, the LAW requires that Christian teachers act like atheists. What kind of role model is that? What message and lesson is be taught doing this? In fact, it is hypocritical.
Sorry I offended your grammar sensibilities.
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We should call it what it is: RANSOM!
Yes, we have the right to RANSOM out children from the government indoctrination camps. If we can’t or won’t cooperate with the government indoctrination camp workers armed police will soon be at the door. If a parent were to be foolish enough to resist, the police and courts will imprison him. If he were to be sufficiently resistant, armed police will kill him!
Aren’t government schools great? ( barf!)
I try to only mention such things when the subject is “homeschooling.”
Bruce seems to be short on ideas about how these newly resigned teachers are going to put food on the table. Oldest daughter is a teacher and I wouldn’t advise her to quit her job unless she and her husband somehow managed to double his wage.
OBVIOUSLY teachers are not the federal congress. OBVIOUSLY They do make laws. SO HOW CAN THE POSSIBLY VIOLATE THE FOLLOWING: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free practice thereof.”?
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BINGO! You are a winner!
Government schools always were, are now, and always will be in violation of the First Amendment. They can NOT be reformed.
It is impossible to have a religiously neutral school! It is axiomatic. So....Once government opens government schools it is establishing the religious belief of some and trashing the beliefs of others.
100% agree. The government schools are a lost cause and should be treated as such. If enough of us get out, we can also form a political bloc powerful enough to confront the NEA and get back our local taxes that are currently being paid to indoctrinate other people’s kids into secular humanist christophobes.
Bruce seems to be short on ideas about how these newly resigned teachers are going to put food on the table.
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What advice would you give to someone who made a living off of a criminal vice? Would you say things like, “Trust in the Lord and He will guide your path?” Would you suggest prayer and faith?
In my opinion, going into a government school, acting like an atheist role model to government school children, teaching an atheistic curriculum, and ignoring the spiritual needs of the children in your own congregation, is a spiritual crime. ( Some would call it “sin”.)
We started a Christian school in our little church in the middle of nowhere with 13 kids. We’ve had as many as 100, but it’s costly. We have decided, once again, to try and figure out a way that any child who wants a christian education can go to our school. It’s tough though making ends meet. Our teachers are dedicated and not at all well paid. The classes are small and it’s just a wonderful place to learn. I wish I could convince my son to send his daughter there. I’d even help pay for it. Sigh.
Have you considered scrapping the idea of brick and mortar schools? What we considered the typical school today was build on the Prussian military model.
With today’s technology, it is possible to have small “one-room-school houses” in the homes of church members. Teachers could be facilitators and resource people and far fewer formally educated teachers would be needed. This could be a tremendous cost savings for the congregation and the parent.
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When Christian teachers are addicted to the government pay check, they become part of the problem and hinder the only solution possible: Getting Christian kids out!
I believe that we don’t have a stronger Christian system of schools precisely because there are so many Christian government teachers sitting in the pews. The ministers are afraid to offend them. ( Follow the money!)
It was fine to mention my public school training. I get lazy with shorthand at FR.
Do you home school?
I am getting out of the kid business in June 08. Number 6 graduates from Catholic High School. She is the last one.
It’s good to hire teachers...especially conservative teachers.
Christian teachers let the Lord, not a presumptuous Freeper, direct your actions.
bookmark bump...
We found that public schools were too arrogant to respond to our concerns. They never returned calls. So, we used private schools for all the children. It was not cheap. But, it was well worth it.
Private schools can maintain discipline and can work toward doing the best for each student instead of having to Leave No Child Behind. Good call!
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