Educational Prejudice

I recently sat through a commencement speech for a local graduation.  The speech had great points, although the delivery seemed very rough; a little too “fire and brimstone” for my taste. The topic was home education versus the public school system (or Government system as he put it) and although I agreed with many points, it was the delivery of the message that really took me off guard. It was presented as though you must home school if you’re a Christian because that’s the way God intended it and if you send your kids to “Government schools” you’re condemning them to heathenism and failure.

I was uncomfortable with how the message portrayed home education as a religious event, rather than an educational option. I was home educated my entire life, and although I thank my parents for making that choice, I don’t believe it is the only choice. Public, private and Christian schools serve a great purpose in our society, and although I do not agree with everything that goes on in these organizations, I believe that there are greater number of “good kids” that come out of the school system than heathens.

Not everyone is called to home educate. Not every child, Christian or not, is going to miss out on being part of the remnant generation because they were in public school. Not every public school is a hot bed for sin and destruction.

In many ways it’s like this; in Christianity it seems that the “Christians” who get the most media attention or national coverage are the nuts and flakes…the ones who have missed it just a bit and are making the Christian family as a whole look like a joke. In the same way the schools who receive the most attention are also the ones with the majority of issues and have some problems to work out.

There are heathens in home education, just as there are in public schools. There are socially inept home school kids, just as there are in public schools. There are Christian kids in public schools, just as there are in home education.

Just because the “rule” for you means home education,
doesn’t mean you should force feed that same rule on someone else. 

Home education is a choice that each parent has to make with careful consideration. Not everyone will choose it, and not everyone should. Let’s not propagate educational prejudice in church…home education is not mandated by God and shouldn’t be mandated by any one person.