It
is interesting to me how Christian conservatives rightly howl when the
left advocates a cut and run policy in Iraq but then turn right around
and advocate the same policy for Christians in the public school.
I don't often see Christians openly describe the public schools as a
"battleground," but I welcome the term. There are about fifty
million kids in the public schools, which makes the "battlefield" as
big as Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
The government spends nearly half a trillion dollars on secular education each year--just about equal to the total military budget
of the United States. Over three million teachers use a host of
text and audiovisual resources to communicate the message of the
schools. (By comparison, the US Army has only half a million
soldiers.)
Christian children are allowed to attend the public schools, but no
adults are allowed to openly proclaim the Christian message on school
premises during school hours. In general, Christian students are
prohibited from handing out literature or wearing T-shirts that
proclaim a gospel message.
If you want to make the military analogy to Iraq, the Christian
children in the public schools are "insurgents" who are up against
hardened troops in armored vehicles. The school authorities might
tolerate a few peaceful protests (such as "See You at the Pole" days),
but one should expect them respond to any effective "warfare" with
overwhelming force. As I track the legal cases, my impression is
that Christian students lose in court every time they seem to be
winning the spiritual battle in the schools.
Tony Beam asks:
Since when is it prudent or scripturally accurate for a Christian to
give up ground to the enemy?
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his
neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
I don't think it's prudent to send untrained, unarmed children into
spiritual combat with a force larger and better funded than the United
States military.
Excellent thoughts. A few months ago Agent Tim did a very insightful post on this very topic, and for anyone who hasn't read it, it's well worth the read. You can find it here: http://agenttimonline.com/2005/09/26/the-myth-of-evangelism-in-public-school/
Hi, Mr. Somerville! I've been enjoying reading your blog.
I don't think the situation in public schools is quite as dire as stated above (especially in Montgomery County!). I think I benefitted greatly from my time in a public high school, and I know plenty of Christian kids who graduated from public schools with their faith and morals intact - even strengthened. I do think it's incredibly important that Christians do not withdraw from the public sphere. If that were to happen, the public schools would be even worse than they are now. This is not to say that I equate homeschooling with withdrawal from the public sphere. I think homeschooling is a wonderful option for a lot of families . . . but it's not for everyone, and I think it would be a great mistake to send the message to Christian parents that they are somehow obligated to homeschool their children. I can't think of a more powerful witness than Christian kids in public schools who show their classmates that one can be in the world, but not of it.
With all possible respect,
Tope (Fadiran) Charlton
