FOR WHOM DID CHRIST DIE?

A Question... For Whom Did CHRIST Die?

If the Father imposed His wrath due unto sin, and the Son underwent punishment for sin, then this was for:

1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

1. If the last be true, some of the sins of all men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man be saved; for if God entered into judgment with us, though it were with all mankind for one sin, no flesh should be justified in his sight: “If the LORD should mark iniquities, who should stand?” Ps. cxxx. 2. We might all go to cast all that we have “to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty,” Isa. ii. 20, 21.
   
2. If the Second, that Christ in their stead and room Suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the world. This is the truth!
   
3. If the first, why then, are not all freed from the punishment of all their sins?

You will say, “Because of their unbelief; they will not believe.”

But this unbelief, is it a sin, or not?

If not, why should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which he died from partaking of the fruit of his death? If he did not, then did he not die for all their sins. Let them choose which part they will.

What say ye?

Originally written by John Owen (1616-1683)

EDUCATING CHILDREN - ADDRESSING OUR PHILOSOPHY

The first step in our effort to regain the control of our children's educational destination is get them back to the basics in both areas of academics and morals. Modern educators have gone to the extreme trying to find new ways to teach old subjects. They have been busy trying to re-invent the wheel; and now we're just rolling around on square stone blocks. When all the while, all we really needed to do is to use the perfectly round wheels that we already have; and that is, get back to the basics of education. But where should we begin?

Well, all education must begin with a basic philosophy. What is your philosophy of education? That is the first hurdle that we must overcome, and that is exactly where most parents get stumped right off the bat. This is where they get off the straight and narrow and onto some broad way that leads to destruction. This is not a difficult concept; the idea of a "philosophy of education" is really quite simple, especially if you are a Christian. Let us break this idea down a bit.

First, what exactly is a philosophy? Well, part of the definition of philosophy that is found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that a philosophy is a "theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought."^[1] I actually prefer the definition found in the 1828 Webster's dictionary. It states that a philosophy is "Literally, the love of wisdom." Put in more practical terms, it says that a philosophy "is a general term denoting an explanation of the reasons of things." In other words, "why do you do what you do" – in modern day English! So for us, as Christian parents, a philosophy of education is simply the aim, the primary reason if you will, for why we educate our children. If we can answer this question, then we have found our philosophy of education.

In his book A Christian Philosophy of Education, Dr. Gordon Haddon Clark states that one of the greatest problems of the modern educational establishment is their inability to pick a particular aim of education. He says that "they generally speak of aims in the plural rather than the aim of education." To Dr. Clark, this is a "tacit admission of failure to find any one comprehensive aim. It is a failure to provide any criterion by which one subject should be included and another excluded from the curriculum."^[2] So what is your aim in educating your children? Again, if you are a Christian, then the answer should be simple. To find our aim, our primary goal, our philosophy of educating our children, we must turn to our primary source book, which of course is the Holy Bible. In Scripture we find, clearly stated the reason why God put man and woman together in the first place. In Malachi chapter 2, verses 14 and 15, the scripture tells us the outcome that God was seeking when He joined man and woman together - He desired a "godly seed!" So our number one goal, our aim, our reason for doing what we do, our Christian philosophy of education is simply this; to produce a child, who grows up to be a godly adult. If we can do this, then we have been successful, at least in God's eyes, in our educational endeavors, and pleasing God should be a Christian's only concern. Yes, it will be great if they learn to read and write along the way too, but let us not lose sight of our aim; the production of a "Godly offspring!"

OK, I can already hear you ask, if that is all we need to do, then why worry about academic subjects? Well, again, this is one of the benefits of having a philosophy of education. As Dr. Clark stated, it gives us a criterion by which one subject can be included in our child's curriculum, and another can be excluded. It not only gives us our desired end result, but it also gives us our general direction for getting where we want to be. In other words, it helps us define guidelines for how we will reach our desired goal. For example, since our goal is to produce a "godly seed", one of the first questions that we should ask is; what does a godly child look like? Well again, we turn to our primary source book for the answer. We turn to the Bible, and see if we can find out what it is God would have us look like, and when you do, you find in the book of Romans chapter 8, verse 29, that God has determined that His children will be made to look like Christ. There are many others, but this is a very good primary example. So, if that is what God desires, then that should be what we desire for our children as well, we should want to shape them and mold them to be a Christ-like as we possibly can.

So what are some of Christ's characteristics? Well there are many, but we will only select a few just to give you an idea of what we are trying to accomplish. In John's Gospel chapter 1 verse 14, we find that our Lord Jesus is full of grace and truth. So these would be two characteristics that we would want to instill in our children, and in doing so, we would want to base our lessons or our curriculum around achieving these desired results. For example, in order for our child to grow to be full of grace, they would need to learn to be servants and to be thankful at heart. They would need to be directed to have a grateful and thankful spirit. They would need to work along side us as we served and helped others in a gracious manner. They would need lessons on being courteous and well-mannered. This type of instruction requires a more practical, hands-on type of approach than what many are willing to give, but it would still be required none the less. The other characteristic we mentioned was truth. So what is truth? Well, it would simply be anything that was not false. It would be things that are correct, right, and absolute! To teach our children anything that is false, for example, teaching evolution is a fact, rather than teaching it is a humanistic theory would not be filling them with truth, and in turn, we would not be molding them in the image of Christ.

So our philosophy of education, not only gives us our desired aim or our target, it also helps us determine how we will get there. This, "how we will get there", this "route we will take", encompasses all the different things that will make up our child's curriculum. Things like communication skills, our general knowledge of mathematics or sciences, our understanding of history and the mistakes of the past, and all the other, practical, hands-on skills that they need to become more like Christ. All these things help us form our basic curriculum. So, as we expand our philosophy of education we begin to see more clearly why we do what we do, and that will help us determine exactly how we will accomplish it.

So what is your philosophy of education?

---

[1] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated) 2005-2006
[2] Gordon Haddon Clark, The Works of Gordon Haddon Clark Volume 10, A Christian Philosophy of Education (The Trinity Foundation, Third Edition 2000) 14.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - THE PROBLEM AGAIN - LEST WE FORGET!

So again, what exactly is the problem? Well, the real issue is parents; parents who have abdicated the educational responsibilities given to them directly by God. In modern day America, what was once the exclusive territory of the home and to some lesser degree the church has now become the almost exclusive territory of the government school system. Children are being turned over, for the most part, in blind faith by their parents, to be thoroughly indoctrinated by a totally secular humanistic system of education. All aspects of Christianity have been systematically removed from the public areas of our society, and no area has been harder hit than the American public school classroom. Many of today's parents have moved away from the biblical principles of education and have taken upon themselves, and their children, the principles of the world. John Macarthur, in his book, The Fulfilled Family, which is an exegetical look at Ephesians 5 and 6, states the problem perfectly. He says:

"Today's parents tend to be more passive and less involved in their children's lives than any generation in our nation's history. They have turned their children over to artificial, surrogate parents. Day-care centers, relatives, the television set, and the child's own peers often have far more influence on the moral and social development of today's children than parents do."

That, Macarthur says "is an abdication of the parent's duty before God." He says that the "Lord Himself gave parents – not schools, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, or anyone else – the primary responsibility for the nurture and admonition of [their] children."^[1] Macarthur is of course referring to Ephesians 6:4 which says "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The original Greek word that is translated discipline in the English Standard Version is "paideia." In the original language it was used to pass along such meanings as: education, training or some form of disciplinary correction like: chastening, chastisement, instruction, or nurture, and this discipline was to be carried out, not by some surrogate, part-time fill-in, but by the father. And while the ESV translates the Greek word "pater" as father, it could have just as easily been translated as either parent, but no one else. You see if we believe the Bible is the literal Word of God, and take what it says to heart, then we can in no way interpret it to say that the schools are responsible for the education of our children. While Macarthur goes on to say that he is not suggesting that everyone should home school their children, he does say that all parents should remain intimately involved in every aspect of their children's lives, including school.^[2] The reason why Mr. Macarthur suggests that home school may not be for everyone is because he feels that some parents may not be qualified to home school their children. He said that some parents may not have the skill they need to teach the academic subjects. However, I would say that if God has entrusted you with children, then He will fully equip you for every aspect of your child's training needs. As Augustine prayed; "O God, command what you wouldst, and grant what thou dost command." In other words, if God calls us to do any task, even educating, then He is not going to leave us short handed in regard to our responsibility; He will thoroughly equip us for the job. All we have to do is by faith, trust in His sufficiency! But don't just take my word for it, as a matter of fact; Dr. Brian Ray quotes statistics in his book, The World Wide Guide to Home schooling, which shows that there is no significant relationship between student achievements and the teacher certification status, or education level of the parent.^[3] In other words, on average, home schooled children who have parents with little or no education tend to do just as well, academically, as those with highly educated parents. Even further, Dr. Ray states that even children who have parents that hold a state teachers certification tend to do no better that their counterparts who have parents that are not teacher certified. Now while there are other legitimate reasons why a parent may not be able to home school their children, there is absolutely no reason why they cannot be intimately involved in every aspect of their child's education. But for some reason, this has become the norm. We have somehow grown into a mindset where the "normal" thing to do is to pawn off our children to any and everyone who sets behind a desk and has a teaching certificate. And we do this, all because we can not or are not qualified to do the job ourselves; or at least that is what we are told. But the truth is, as Christian parents, we are not only qualified, we are commanded to carry out and oversee the entire education process of our children. Armed with this information alone, we must return to a biblical model of education if we ever expect to overcome the problems that are so rampant in our society today.

While having all this new information is helpful, just having an understanding of the problem will not bring about change. As Moses told the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 5, he said "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.(Deuteronomy 5:1)" First we must listen, then we must learn and finally we must do! So the real question then becomes; what do we do about it? In order to develop the best solution, we must first make sure we are approaching it with a biblical prospective. We must make sure that we consider the problem in light of history; where did we come from? We must also consider where we were originally and how and when we got off track, considering all the mistakes of the past and also its successes, and then, in light of these facts, develop a solution based on the direction of scripture; one that will move us from where we are today to where we need to be tomorrow. All the time, being mindful of the fact that our solution needs to cover the primary issue of responsibility – helping parents take that responsibility - and also the secondary issues of, academics and morality. So with that in mind, let us make our best effort to solve the problem.

[1] John Macarthur, The Fulfilled Family, God's Design for Your Home (Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2005), 101.
[2] Macarthur, 102.
[3] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling, 78-79.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Where Are We Today?

The current state of education is at a historic low. Academic trends have been moving down for years, and student's grades have followed. A quick look at standardized test scores reveal that America is no longer the academic leader that it once was. Even when the tests are watered down or the number of questions reduced, the results barely improve. In 1993, the $14 million dollar National Adult Literacy Survey found that even though most adults in the survey had finished high school, 96 percent of them still could not read, write, or do math well enough to go to college. That means there were only 4 percent could! Even more to the point, 25 percent of those that were surveyed "were plainly unable to read."^[1] Why? Because traditional methods of teaching the foundations of reading, writing, and arithmetic have been put out to pasture and replaced with trendy named experiments that continue to produce poor results.

Not only have academics suffered, traditional family values or common sense morals have suffered just as much if not more. The Bible and prayer have been totally exiled from the government school system, and along with them biblical morality, and with no moral standard, children are left to develop their own idea of right and wrong with the aid of programs like Values Clarification and other outcome based approaches. But what are the results? Have we created the ultimate utopian citizen? Absolutely NOT! Children are killing other children and teachers too. More and more children are becoming victims of violent crimes while at school, teen pregnancy has increased many times over, and a growing number of children are on drugs. One of the worse parts of this last crisis is that many of these children are taking some form of legal psychotropic drug like Prozac, Ritalin, Luvox, and Paxil. Things are truly looking grim. Our youth are in desperate trouble today and in need of being rescued. But only with a return to a Bible based educational system can we hope to save them.

A quick look at the major discipline problems in schools from just over a half a century ago reveals quite a change since that time. The top seven school discipline problems in 1940 were: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing and not putting paper in the trash can. In 1987, the same questions were posed again and these were the answers: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery and assault.^[2] But the truly sad part of all this is that the vast majority of parents, including Christian parents, never give their children's education a second thought. Institutional, state run, government education has, in just over 100 years, become the national norm. It has become a non-issue for the majority of parents! It has simply become what people do with their kids for seven to eight hours a day, five days a week. In his book "The Harsh Truth About Public Schools" Bruce Shortt asks of Christian parents: "Why are you educating your children in a pagan seminary?" He says "You're a Christian; you love your children; you know that the Bible instructs you to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Yet, you send them for their education to an institution from which all vestiges of Christianity were driven out long ago."^[3] So why do Christian parents do this to their children without ever considering the consequences? They do it, simply because that's how education is done today, and for some reason, most accept it without question.

Without a doubt, things are bad, and from the looks of it, they are not going to get any better by themselves. Left alone and allowed to continue on its same course, the educational system of modern America is doomed to a dismal failure, and in light of this, some kind of rescue effort is desperately needed. In his commentary for June 17, 2005, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary put it this way; he said "now is the time for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools." But exit to what? Do we move to a system of education that just mimics the public school system with a good dose of Christianity added in? No, that wouldn't be helpful. So where do we start? If the effort is going to be successful, we must focus our attention on the most critical areas first. For the government schools in modern America, the two primary areas of concern are: the academic and the moral. And while there are many other side issues, they all seem to stem from one of these two primary issues. So if the rescue effort is going to be even partially successful, it will need to focus on these two areas first.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Let's take a more in-depth look at these two areas of concern. First, what does this academic decline mean for our children and their future? It will likely lead to our nation being surpassed by other, better educated nations. Since it is already happening on the academic front, it will soon happen on the economic front as well unless some drastic changes are not made. Colleges and universities are already spending more and more time teaching remedial programs to their students than they are advanced courses. Businesses are spending millions to train employees in basic math and communication skills before they are even marginally qualified. The end result can only be a loss of jobs and market share in our hi-tech modern world.

But while the academic decline is a crisis in itself, the greater of the two issues is the moral decline. Overall as a country, we are teaching generation after generation that man can determine truth apart from God, and the end result of this can only be spiritual bankruptcy. With programs like values clarification, school-to-work, OBE, drug awareness education, graphic sex education, and many others, children are creating their own value system; they are creating their own standards for right and wrong, and as a result, violence is at an all time high. This was clearly seen in the events of recent days. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in late 2005, we saw video after video of looters; bands of five to seven young people, wondering the streets of New Orleans breaking into shop after shop, steeling whatever they could take. They were not after food and water, but things like new shoes, jewelry, electronics, and guns. But not only is violence on an upswing, sexual immorality is rampant as well. Homosexual clubs are becoming common place on the public government school campuses of America. Every kind of sexual deviancy is being taught and even sanctioned from the American classroom. Drug use is also on a rise. But this time, the most common drugs are not the illegal ones, but they are legal forms of psychotropic drugs such as Prozac, Ritalin, Luvox, and Paxil. So yes, things are looking bad, we must intervene soon. If we do not, we may not be able to reverse the damage.

However, there is a ray of hope. With alarm after alarm sounding over and over, many sleeping parents have finally been awakened. Many are finally taking notice of the magnitude of the situation and have started seeking educational alternatives. This new awakening has given rise to several new alternative forms of education. Charter schools, private schools both secular and Christian, and even a renewed interest in home schooling are all making a difference in the current crisis. But will it be too little too late? Only time will tell. But if we ever expect to see any real change in the educational environment of our nation, then we must return to seeking God's will as the ultimate direction for all of our educational efforts. The Bible clearly tells us that: "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."^[4] Only then, when we as Christian parents, return to a biblical model of education for our children; only then can we expect to see the positive results of God's intervening blessings. As Christian parents, we must do this; our children deserve it and our God demands it.

[1] Susan Du Plessis B.D., B.A. Hons (psychology), Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? , http://www.audiblox2000.com/dyslexia_dyslexic/dyslexia003.htm.
[2] Short, 176, and California Department of Education, in Sept, 1987, quoted in Homemade, http://www.bible.org/illus.asp?topic_id=965
[3] Shortt, 17.
[4] 2nd Chronicles 7:14.

EDUCATING CHILDREN - Various Educational Alternatives

While most of the new educational trends in America seem to be doing more damage than they are good, there is a bit of encouragement on the horizon. Many parents are finally waking up to the crisis of education in our country and are looking for alternatives to the traditional government school system. But what is out there? What are the options? The major problem for most parents is that they have little or no idea that there are other options available, much less any specifics about them. However, the truth is, for most parents, there are many options; options ranging from the so-called “Free” government schools systems, private schools, in-home tutoring and even home school. That being the case, we will attempt to shed some light on this dim subject by covering many of the more common of these options and highlight some of the pros and cons related to each.

The various options can be broken down into three basic groups. The first group will be the government options; including charter schools, magnet schools, and even virtual schools. Then there are the various forms of private education which include both secular and Christian schools. Finally there is the smallest, but growing group of options, the home school options. These include options for in-home tutoring, home schooling and other more creative combinations of home schooling combined with more “traditional” approaches. Some of these methods would clearly be preferred over others. Some are more difficult than others. But as parents, we need to be aware of our options and opportunities for educating our children.

So what are the options?

First of these options are those government related options. They are the various extensions of “public” government schools. Public schools, originally called “common” schools in this country, are typically those schools that get their funding entirely from the federal, state or local governments. In most cases, they have strict regulations regarding which students that they can and cannot admit. For the most part, public government schools are required to admit all students who live within the borders or boundaries of their assigned district. However, there are some newer “Alternative” forms of public education that are a bit more selective, a bit more flexible, to the extent that in some cases, they can even offer a little better educational alternative.

GOVERNMENT ALTERNATIVES:

The first government school alternative is known as the charter school. These schools began to appear in the early 1990s. They are basically privately run schools that operate with a mixture of state, federal and private funding. Since they still receive most of their funding from state and federal sources, they must adhere to the basic curricular requirements of the state they are in. However, they are free from many of the regulations that weigh down the performance of the typical government school. They are usually free to design programs that are more able to meet the specific community’s needs. One of the primary advantages of the charter school is that they normally cater to a group with higher academic standards. They tend to draw students from families that are more concerned about their children’s future. These students are on average more willing to learn, since they are encouraged by their parents, and are also better behaved. While charter schools would be a much better option than a typical government school, they are still part of the government system and are still under many of the same regulations as their traditional government school counterparts. They are also always entirely secular in nature. While many of theses schools employ Christian teachers, the law places limits on what they can do and say regarding their faith. This should be of a major concern to the Christian parent.

Another form of public education that is a bit non-traditional is known as the magnet school. Magnet schools are for the most part highly competitive, highly selective public schools. Magnet schools draw their students based on those interested in specific subject areas such as math, science or the arts. Most magnet schools have specific geographical boundaries or districts and like their normal “public” government school, they are also tax funded. Since they are tax funded, they are subject to many of the same rules and regulations as their unselective public school counterparts. However, since magnet schools can be a bit more selective when it comes to admitting students based on academic performance, they can weed out many of those typical bad apples that tend to spoil the whole bunch. While a magnet school might not be as good a choice as a charter school, they are still a better option than the typical government school. But again, this is a totally secular option. The Christian parent should keep this in mind when choosing this option.

One of the most recent additions to the various government school alternatives is an option known as the virtual school; AKA the state run or state managed home school. In light of the increasing popularity of home schooling, many states are coming up with creative ways to get children back into their government systems. In these programs, the state run school system will get the additional tax funding for the children, but the parents will still be allowed to educate them at home. So while the added burden on the school system is negligible, the added tax dollars are normally equaled to even greater than those for in-residence students. However, these state managed home schools are really nothing more than a government school extension programs. In these virtual schools, the state sets the curriculum, the state sets the standards, and the state oversees the promotion process. One of the major benefits to this type of educational program is that it is state and federally funded, so it relieves the individual parents of any additional expense, though they have already paid in the form of tax dollars, and also the time required locating and purchasing curriculum. It is also beneficial for those parents who want to directly oversee their children’s education and manage those peers that the child would normally come in contact with in a typical school setting. Another good aspect to this type of education is that parents can supplement the standard state supplied curriculum with other courses of study of their own choosing. These supplemental courses can be Christian in nature, and can be used to counter much of the humanistic indoctrination that they would normally receive from only using the state supplied curriculum. Parents could easily add a Bible course to their student’s workload to assist in their training. Though they would likely not get credit for it, they would still benefit from the additional instruction. The down side to this type of school is that, since it is government funded, it is still subject to all ridiculous, political correct, standards that their traditional government school counterparts are subject to. While the virtual school would be the absolute best of all the government school options, it is still ultimately controlled by a godless, secular humanistic system, and thus it can not really be trusted from a Christian parents’ prospective.

PRIVATE ALTERNATIVES:

Next in the list of available options are the various private schools alternatives. These are normally either secular schools or they are sponsored by some religious church body or denomination. All private schools will perform differently. Some are large, some are small. Some have sports programs, some do not. Some will be better for the student academically, while some will be better for the student morally. Some will even be better in both areas. While you might think that by being in a private school you would automatically be relieved from all the normal government rules and restrictions, you would be wrong. Because when it comes to the way a school operates within a given state, or which rules or regulations it must abide by, it will all depends on how the school is classified within the states system. Nationally, all private schools have several different classes or categories that they fall into. This is obviously dependant on the state that they are located in, because almost all states do it a little differently. But in essence, there are really only two basic types. State accredited and non-accredited, with several sub-categories within these two main categories. The accredited schools are those that receive some kind of state approval. These are the schools that will say they are better than all the others because they have passed some state standard. While in reality all this really means is that they are subject to some form of the state regulation regarding their choice of curriculum and also on which teachers and administrators they can hire. Typically state accredited schools can only hire state licensed teachers and administrators. It also normally means that regular government school teachers who move into this type of private school system can still retain their time toward retirement. They can even move back into a government school setting without any problems or loss of tenure. The non-accredited schools however are not subject to the states rules and regulations. They are entirely free to choose their own curriculum and to hire anyone they choose as teacher or administrator, regardless of whether they are state certified or not.

I often find myself reminding people that state “certified” does not necessarily mean “qualified”. Many of the so-called licensed or certified teachers in our government school systems are extremely under-qualified to teach the subjects that they teach. But when you try to test their skills or try to enforce some type of proficiency standard, the vast majority will hide behind the powerful educational union and cry foul. While there are some very talented and knowledgeable teachers in our state school systems, many of them can not even pass simple proficiency exams in their own area of expertise. So to have the freedom to hire someone that is qualified, but not necessarily certified, is in my opinion, a tremendous benefit for a school to have.

PRIVATE SCHOOL CATEGORIES:

Since I live in the state of Tennessee, and am most familiar with its rules and regulations, I will use it as an example. In this state, there are five categories or classes of schools. Category I schools are those that are State approved or accredited. These are the typical government school. The Tennessee Department of Education evaluates and inspects all of these schools to verify that they meet all state standards. Category II Schools are those that are approved by a state approved private school accrediting agency. There are several state approved accrediting agencies and each has its own set of standards for accrediting. After a school has been approved by one of these agencies, it is then considered to be state approved or accredited. This type of private school is really no different than the Category I public school. Category III schools are schools that have been approved by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges. Schools that are approved by this association are also considered to be state approved or accredited.

These first three categories are those where the state has placed some type of restrictions on their curriculum, and on whom the school can hire as teacher and administrator. These last two types do not have these restrictions. So from a totally Christian prospective, these last two types of schools would be the preferred over the first three. Because only in one of these types of schools, are you totally free to follow the will of God without any restrictions from the state. Wile many of the approved state curriculums are high quality and Christian based, like A Beka Books or Alpha Omega, the state still has the right to change its policy and no longer allow these.

The second to the last category is the Church-related school. These are classified as Category IV schools in the state of Tennessee. State Law, T.C.A. 49-50-801 allows these schools to operate legally in the state of Tennessee as long as the school is operated by a church or bona-fide church organization. They also must be a member of one of the associations listed in the law. These associations are the same agencies that are approved by the state to do accrediting. However, having a membership with one of these associations and being accredited by them are two entirely separate processes. The first simply means that you meet a minimal set of specific guidelines for academic standards and have paid the associated membership fee. The later means that you have completed the accreditation process, in which case you would then be considered state approved or accredited and then have restrictions placed upon you. The Department of Education has no direct involvement with this section of Tennessee Law and, therefore, does not extend the title of accreditation to schools that seek the legal covering of church-related school. Finally there are Category V schools. These are simply schools that have received an acknowledgement to operate. Any school may contact the state directly for an application to operate a school. The school will not be accredited, and if the information supplied is satisfactory, the state will grant approval for that school to operate. While many schools operate successfully under this type of program, having the protection of a church-related status grants much more freedom in the day to day operations.

So with private schools, the type of school is very important. The type or category of the school will dictate the amount of freedom that the school has to operate. As far as cost is concerned, the sky is the limit. Some are extremely expensive, some are extremely affordable. Just as some are very sound academically, some are very poor academically. The best advice for anyone looking into a private school would be the same as for any other educational option. Be informed and be involved. Remember, God has given you the responsibility to educate your children. Even if you choose to get help with this process, you must still oversee the entire operation, and to do this, you must be involved.

HOME SCHOOL:

Finally we have what is considered by most to be the more creative schooling option. Although in-home schooling was the original or standard model of education in this country, it is now considered just one among many alternatives. This mode of education would include standard parent lead in-home education, in-home private tutoring, or even a combination of home school with some other form of private school. But for many, the first big question is; “Is it legal?” Because the majority of people just do not know the facts, but the fact is, while home school laws do vary from state to state, home schooling is actually legal in every state and in every territory of the US.[1]

So what is home schooling? Well home schooling is nothing more than teaching your child at home. While the laws for home schooling do vary from state to state, the statistics for successful home schooling in this country do not vary. According to Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, home schooling, which was once common in all nations, had almost become extinct by the mid 1970s. However in the last twenty years, home schooling has seen a dramatic reversal of that trend. Home education is actually enjoying a surge in popularity and success.[2] In a recent study, produced by Dr. Ray and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), called Home schooling Grows Up, Dr. Ray reported some very revealing statistics about home schoolers as compared to their traditional government school and private schooled counterparts. For example Dr. Ray found that the percentage of home schoolers that go on to college was much higher that that of non-home schooled children. He also found that those who were home schooled were much more likely to attend a public meeting such as a community planning meeting. Or that those who were home schooled were over twice as likely to vote in a national or state election as were those who were educated in some other fashion.[3] These are just a few of the many surprising statistics. There are actually many others that seem to show that children who are home schooled are better behaved, have better social skills, tend to excel academically, and become better citizens than children who are educated in some other more “traditional” fashion.

But how can we possibly teach our children at home? I wouldn’t know where to begin? I don’t know all there is to know about geometry or biology or world history! Well, the good news is that curriculum options for home schoolers have never been better. The only down side to what is offered today is the simple fact that there are so many good options. Companies such as A Beka Books, Alpha Omega Publishers, Bob Jones, ACE, and many others offer complete packaged solutions for home schooling. Some are traditional book solutions, others are computer based, some are offered as on-line classes, and some programs even offer an entire year of classes via DVD or satellite. Again, the choices are almost unlimited, and so are the prices. Some programs are very expensive and some are very affordable. There are even very creative programs such as the Charlotte Mason system, which is actually more of a philosophy of education than it is a program. Under this system, the entire curriculum is really nothing more than a list of good books that can be checked out from the local library. So with this system of education, you essentially end up with little or no cost at all.

Another aspect to home schooling that you will need to consider is the reporting requirements. These will also vary by state and even sometimes by grade. Some states are very lenient, and some are very strict, but almost all of them are different. Reporting requirements may also vary if you are part of a larger home school umbrella program or a home school academy. The important thing is to be informed about your particular home school laws or requirements in your state or local area. A great place to look for legal information is the Home School Legal Defense Association. Their web address is: http://www.hslda.org/. They are a “nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.”[4] On their website, they offer a basic rundown of all state home school laws for free. They also have a very informative email newsletter that will keep you up to date on many home school related issues. If you join their organization one of their legal counselors will always be on hand to defend you in case you have any trouble you’re your local school board or truant officer.

One of the newer alternative forms of home education is an option known as the University Model School. These are schools that combine traditional home school education with traditional classroom education. Home schoolers will normally meet one or two days a week for different group classes and then the rest of the instruction is carried out in the home by the parent or teacher. The University Model Schools are great ways to supplement a typical home school curriculum with those specialty classes that may be out of reach for the less creative parents. That completes our look at the more common educational alternatives. There are still many other options and combinations of options that we could cover, but an exhaustive treatment of all the different options is beyond the scope of this book. A good general overview should be enough to wet your appetite and encourage you to dig in the specific area that interests you the most. Some of these options are better than others, but one thing is vitally important for all. If you, as a parent, are not involved in every aspect of your child’s education, it will not be successful – So BE INVOLVED!

[1] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling 162.
[2] Ray, 2004 - 2005 Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling 2.
[3] Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Homeschooling Grows Up (NHERI, HSLDA, 2003), 3-5.
[4] About Page (Home School Legal Defense Association), http://www.hslda.org/about/default.asp