Should Christians Send their Kids to Public Schools?
Rachael and I started our homeschool journey way back in 1996 (almost 30 years ago). Although the first year was rocky, by year four, we were committed for the long haul even with the unknown of high school looming in the distance.
During the second ten years of our homeschooling journey, we started speaking at homeschool conferences. Our basic approach was to only talk about the positives of home education, of which there were (and still are) many. We intentionally avoided talking about the negatives of public education. Near the end of this second decade, the stories and issues related to the public school system became more concerning in a way that was hard to ignore.
Over the last ten years, I changed my tune considerably during workshops and keynote presentations. I shifted from not saying anything negative about public schools to gracefully noting a few concerns to speaking frankly about the matter, to ultimately being direct, bold, and no-holds-barred. I’ll share these unfiltered thoughts later in this article.
Right now, I want you to consider this: Do you think Christians should send their kids to public schools? What are your initial thoughts? Say them out loud, write them down on paper, or type them in a Word document. This will be a good exercise. Don’t just “think” about it. Write a few sentences with your list of pros and cons. This can be your starting point for answering the question.
In September, MinistryWatch posted an article by Warren Cole Smith asking this very question. His writing was based on a defense of public schools by Stefani McDade that appeared in Christianity Today. She cited author Jen Wilkins, who argues that Christians should intentionally send their kids to public schools. She claims her reasons are faith-led and includes diverse socialization, a healthy exposure to different worldviews, an opportunity to be a Christian witness, and a place to practice loving one’s neighbors.
Faith-Led Decision
Let me address Wilkin’s position. First, I don’t like her use of the term “faith-led.” If, by it, she means that she hopes, believes, or is willing to gamble that her kids won’t be harmed by attending public schools, then she might have a point. I think the bigger “faith-led” decision would be homeschooling one’s children. Homeschooling is a literal walk of faith. Parents must trust that God will provide them with everything they need to do it well. Each parent actually grows and is sanctified as they work together as a family to know their kids, get to their hearts, and train them in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).
Reason #1: Socialization
Next, let’s look at the issue of diverse socialization. One might be exposed to different cultures, socio-economic classes, skin colors, and religions in public schools. However, there is one big part of the system that is not diverse—age. Every student is put in a classroom of peers. In a homeschool setting, there is diversity of age amongst the family members. It’s a given. Beyond age, there are even more opportunities to mix with a diverse pool of other children if the family participates in a co-op. However, the best part of homeschooling is the social dynamic of being in one’s family. Even during the COVID pandemic of 2020, the government sent all school-age children to the safest place on the planet—home sweet home. And let’s face it: the learning context is much more important than the content.
Reason #2: World Exposure
Third, the notion that exposing young children to different worldviews is healthy is a bad argument. Barna research has shown that most people have their worldview set by the age of 13. The Holy Spirit can regenerate anyone’s heart and change their way of thinking, but the best opportunity to mold, shape, and impress a worldview onto a person is during the preschool and elementary ages. I’m not suggesting that parents should insulate their children from the real world, but I would say that these early years are a great time to inoculate children against false ways of seeing the world by providing the arguments for and against questions they will undoubtedly face later in life. Breakpoint wrote an excellent piece comparing insulating your children versus inoculating them. Parents who educate their children at home maintain more control of this issue and can ensure their Christian worldview and values are taught.
Reason #3: Be a Witness
Finally, the call to send one’s children to public schools to be a Christian witness just doesn’t hold water if you ask me. Hopefully, you’ve already heard the argument that no mission organization would send a six—, eight—, or ten-year-old to the mission field. They simply aren’t prepared. And if Wilkins believes so strongly that it is a parent’s duty to send their children out as Christian witnesses, then apparently, public schools are heathen and need someone present to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If they are literal mission fields, then I would ask the question again: Christian parent—Why are you sending your children to public schools?
Is Private School and Homeschooling Realistic and Affordable?
In the MinistryWatch piece written by the organization’s founder, Warren Cole Smith closes his article by asking two new questions:
- How can we make Christian private education and homeschooling more realistic?
- How can we make Christian private education and homeschooling more affordable?
Let me address these two issues.
Feasibility
First, both options are already realistic. Today, roughly six percent of all K-12 students are in private school, and approximately eleven percent are being homeschooled. That means one in six kids are either in a private school or homeschooled. That sounds pretty realistic to me. The number of homeschooling students continues to grow. The number of students in a private school isn’t growing as fast, mainly because of the physical constraints of the brick-and-mortar model. In other words, there are only so many physical seats that can be filled. Most private schools have long waitlists as there is “no more room in the inn.” To solve this problem, new private schools are being founded to supply the increased demand, and several existing schools have capital campaigns in place to raise money for a building expansion. The number of homeschooled students is almost double that of private Christian schools. This suggests that homeschooling is more realistic.
Affordability
Let’s discuss the second topic of affordability. Yes, it’s true. Private Christian education is downright expensive. Most are well into five digits. That means a family could face the reality of spending $15,000 to $30,000 per student per year. That’s a lot of dough. Honestly, I don’t know how any family funds this for one student for one year, let alone multiple students and multiple years.
What about homeschooling? Is this option any more affordable? The answer is a resounding “yes!” According to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooling costs $600 per student per year on average. Sure, some families spend more, and some spend less. When I think about our own experience, we did spend more than the average in high school because we hired a tutor at times, we enrolled our students in some online courses, and we paid for extra-curricular activities like music, art, and sports. I think the most we paid in any given year was $2500 per student, which was only for our high schoolers. We were generally very close to the average during the elementary years.
Additionally, public schools are far from being “free.” The average cost to taxpayers varies by state and ranges between $9,000 and $33,000 per student per year. The parents still spend $500-$1500 out of their pocket on various things that are not covered.
Homeschooling is far and away the most affordable option.
Asking the Wrong Questions
Here’s the bottom line. These two issues are already solved. I don’t think these are the right questions to ask. I think there is only one big question to ask. I’ll tee it up by repeating a fact one more time: One in six K-12 students is currently being educated in either a Christian private school or at home. So here’s my question. Why isn’t this five out of six? Here’s another way of asking the question. Why aren’t most Christian parents educating their children at private Christian schools or via homeschooling? In my opinion, the numbers should be reversed. I’m not unrealistic in thinking that 100% of families should opt out of government schools. But instead of 83% of Christian parents sending their children to public school, why isn’t this figure 17%?
With all the undeniably horrible, anti-God, anti-life, anti-biology, sexually depraved practices and worldviews permeating public schools, why do any Christian parents send their precious children to these institutions to be indoctrinated by strangers? I didn’t approach this topic in this manner twenty years ago. But boy, oh boy, have the times changed. And not for the better. So, do yourself and your kids a favor. Take them out of public schools, then make the sacrifices and send them to a private Christian school, or better yet, walk by faith and enter the promised land of homeschooling. You can do it. And it’s good—really good—for you and your kids. If there was ever a time to homeschool, it is now!