Well, seeing as no one wanted to step up and be me, I have finally concluded that I must do my duty. I just hope you are all still reading this blog!
I enjoyed what everyone had to say about this topic. It would be fun to exapand it out to just what are the reasons parents put their children in public school, after they have been homeschooling, but that isn't the purpose of this blog.
Let's get down to business:
Do teens who have been homeschooled and then go on to public school become a "light" or do they become like a fool?
Those who contend for, A Light -
DreweLlyn - Has two children in public school. She notes that while her children do "flicker" in the darkness, they have been able to share their hope and godly advice with others.
Those who contend for, A Fool -
Kristal - Went to school with girls who had been homeschooled and then went to public high school. She witnessed them being swallowed up and eaten by the dark. These girls ended up pregnant or not graduating.
Humpty - Contends that we cannot expect our children to be light in such a dark place. What little bit of light they have will be snuffed out. She also blogs about this so go take a look at her post. She has some good thoughts there.
Javamama - I liked a sentence she used so I will just add it here: I don't really understand why a parent would send their children/sheep into a building filled with wolves who will contantly be trying to devour them. They are in my opinion to weak and vulnerable a prey for the devil to feast on.
ronandjess - I really liked this arguement. This isn't the usual way of doing things mind you, but to try and do a short synopsis of what was said wouldn't have done it justice. In the book The Harsh Truth About Public Schoold by Bruce N. Short he has a chapter called "Are your children unequally yoked?" And in it a section titled "But my child is salt and light." He lists it as one of the excuses parents use to send their children to public schools. He has many great points and uses Psalm 144:11-12 as one example, it says "Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our doughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace." Also remember that even Christ was not ready to begin his ministry until he was thirty.
Based on the answers given, and the need for an answer to the question, I would have to say that "A Fool" is the winner.
Wait! Don't run off just yet! DreweLlyn made some wise comments in a second post. In order for our children to be Light in a public school setting, they are going to have to have a firm foundation, a good relationship with their parents, and not be concerned about pleasing peers.
The trouble I see is parents who believe that their children have a firm foundation, but they do not. Either the parents have fooled themselves, or their idea of a firm foundation is not a sound one.
Jesus is a rock to stand on, but if you are wearing flip flops on a sturdy rock you could very easily slip right off. If you've allowed moss to grow and cover the rock you stand on, you you will slip off. This is true for everyone, not just our children.
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