PCA GA rejects proposal on public schools

[rgrove]

PCA Rejects Proposal to Pull Kids from Public Schools

This happened last year in the SBC. Perhaps next year they'll tone down the proposal a little and repropose it to the PCA General Assembly and it can pass as it did in this years SBC gathering.

Pulling children from the public schools gets a lot of notice. Here in Oregon one community has done it to such a degree that the school system is desparate to get them back. Public schools are funded based on attendance and the like. So it is a real eye opener. They began telling the community they'd be more tolerant and even handed and other things. Don't know if it'll work, though...

Yours In Christ,
Ron

[Soulfyre]

I know some who think this is a radical idea, but I am firmly in support of it. "Public schools" is rather like the term "grape nuts". Public schools are far more responsive to special interest groups and politically-correct "diversity" than they are to the public. And many appear to be "schools"in name only, where education is secondary to social engineering. We cannot withhold our taxes, but we can, in fact, withhold our children. Studies have shown that children who are home-schooled are often better educated, perform better on college entrance examinations, and are more well-adjusted socially than the products of our "public school" system. This is not to say, of course, that public education is bad, but that our system is badly damaged. And withholding our children may be the "wake-up" call that is needed!

Why churches cannot cooperate in assisting families in home-schooling is beyond me. I recognize that in many families, both the husband and wife must work away from home. But surely volunteers could help provide child care and oversee the study time of children, assist parents in finding a good curriculum, and even act as proctors and as tutors. In many cases, such environments could also foster discipline and good behavior (while many school classrooms, being unable to discipline students, are thwarted in their educational purpose). There are also sports associations for home-schooled children.

Certainly, this issue will not be addressed by anemic legislators and school boards. And many politicians, while opposing the use of vouchers for poor families to provide choice in education. What if they should use the voucher to go to a "parochial" school (horrors!)?...As though the money was the government's in the first place. I'm still reminded of the Clintons, who were against vouchers, but when asked why they sent Chelsea to a private school, said that they must choose what is "right" for their daughter (of course, "right" seemed to have a rather pliable definition for the Clintons--just like the word "is"). There is, however, NO excuse when churches fail to address the issue. While I believe church associations should not make such a proposal mandatory, I do believe they should support its desirability, and assist in its implementation for any family who desired it.

In Christ,

Matthew (soulfyre)