No Public Schools?

Posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 11:52 am

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The following is from my friend Scot McKnight’s website (http://www.Jesuscreed.org lots of good stuff on the site).  I think that both Scot and Mohler bring up an interesting point.  Should we be exiting from the public schools or in doing that do we give up a mission field.  What does Jesus command to be “salt and light” mean in todays world?  I’d like to hear your thoughts before I give you mine.

McKnight:
In a chapter entitled “Needed: An Exit Strategy from Public Schools,” Mohler argues that “public schools are prime battlegrounds for cultural conflict.” In Massachusetts, for example, children as young as seven years old have been assigned a book called King & King, in which a homosexual prince falls in love with another prince and, one assumes, lives happily ever after. Because same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, educators insist that a homosexual lifestyle be presented in public schools as normal and, as a result, they affirm the districts’ decision to require the book. Many Christians object to this sort of curriculum, but what can be done?

Mohler suggests the following:

I am convinced that the time has come for Christians to develop an exit strategy from the public schools. Some parents made this decision long ago. The Christian school and home school movements are among the most significant cultural developments of the last thirty years. Other parents are not there yet. In any event, an exit strategy should be in place.

This suggestion elicits questions about Christian mission and presence in the world. Will the darkness become even more pervasive if we stage a mass exodus from public school systems? On the other hand, do we risk the souls of our children for the sake of outreach?

But Mohler’s solution also has implications for church leadership. He continues:

This strategy would affirm the basic and ultimate responsibility of Christian parents to take charge of the education of their own children. The strategy would also affirm the responsibility of churches to equip parents, support families, and offer alternatives.

I’d like to hear what all of you Ur-banites [now Jesus Creeders] think. Do churches have a responsibility to offer alternatives to public education? Is it appropriate for church leaders to decide for their congregations whether their children ought to remain in public schools or move to a private or home school environment?

End of McKnight

Let me know how we can be involved in the public education without giving away the farm.  Plato is very clear in the Republic, that the education of children is one of the most, if not the most important task that a state can engage in.  How should the Christian and his or her church be involved?  I look forward to hearing from you.

SamLam