Consider a Christian School for Your Child


I was observing school children. It was the last day of school and a very happy, wholesome group of children were bounding through the hallways of the church, anticipating their summer vacation.

You may ask, “Why were they at the church?” The answer is, “Because we have decided that Christian schooling is an important alternative to public schooling for many families.”

American education worked superbly when a Christian consensus maintained a strong morality and sense of God’s presence in the schools. That consensus no longer is maintained in society or in the schools. Does that mean things have changed?

I have read that in the late 1940s, many if not most public school teachers began the day by reading a Bible verse, either saying a prayer or reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and giving the Pledge of Allegiance. The Christian consensus was the common fabric holding society together. The public school teachers of that time listed the worst problems they faced as gum chewing, running in the hall, talking, making noise, getting out of line, violating the dress code and littering.

Now that the Christian consensus has been abandoned by many in society and is lacking in the public schools, there is a whole set of new problems. Today’s problems are: drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, suicide, rape and robbery. Perhaps the best book on social decline is written by Bill Bennett, Index of Leading Cultural Indicators (Simon and Schuster, New York, copyright 1994).

I understand that the current problems listed are actually taken from a “Safe School” questionnaire and the comparison of then to now may not be completely fair. But really, who would have thought to take a “Safe School” questionnaire sixty years ago?

Decent and honorable public school teachers whom I know report that many students are in no mood to learn and make it very difficult for them to teach the students who want to learn. Consequently, many dedicated school teachers leave the public schools in frustration, seeking a more satisfying career elsewhere.

Failure to maintain excellent educational standards and mounting moral problems have led to private Christian schooling and home schooling. That is why Good Shepherd School is housed at our church.

I became shockingly aware of the need for private Christian schools when my son, now thirty-four years old, was ushered into an assembly before the senior prom at his local public high school. There he and the other senior boys from the school were provided a prophylactic in preparation for prom night. This was sixteen years ago, mind you. This was done without parental notification of any kind. I considered it then, as I do now, an endorsement of adultery.

Good Shepherd School is now enrolling for the fall, as are other Christian schools.

Consider a Christian school for your child.