In 1922, Oregon attempted to enact legislation that would have forced all children to attend the public schools. The United States Supreme Court overturned that decision and established that "The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." Thankfully, in America, we as parents have a choice where to send our children for schooling.

Non-public education is a long-time American tradition. Before 1837, when Horace Mann established state-supported schools in Boston, nearly all of the schools in America were private Christian schools.

Nearly 1/4 of the schools in the United States are non-government operated. There are now approximately 15,000 Bible-centered Christian schools with a combined enrollment of nearly two million students!

"Why send your children to Christian schools?"

We would like to present five reasons why families should consider Christian schools. Christian school education for our children is not an educational alternative! We believe there is no alternative to Christian education for today’s Christian family.

1. The values expressed in Christian schools are those of our family.

What one believes is expressed in education. Education cannot be expressed in a vacuum. All cultures and subcultures educate their children with the predominant values held by that culture. No truth, fact, or educational philosophy can be neutral or value-free. All education, therefore, is ultimately value-oriented. Education, all education, is more than academics. Education is not theologically neutral and it is not even politically neutral. As parents, we can not afford to be neutral where our children are concerned. We are providing them a coherent, consistent education when what is taught and caught in the classroom is the same as our home and church.

2. Christian School Education is Bible Centered.

As the nation’s public schools respond to the growth of Christian schools, and as they respond to the criticisms raised in A Nation at Risk with their "Schools of Excellence" movement, Christian schools must remain steadfast in the underlying philosophy behind Christian school education. It is more important than just academics. Good academic training is, of course, essential preparation for life in our complex society. The level of learning in most Christian schools is well above the national average. Even if all of our nation's public schools improved dramatically in their academics, that should still not compel parents to place their children in public school. Christian schools offer spiritual training which is not available in non-Christian schools. Christian schools can teach the whole child, the whole truth, the whole time, academically, spiritually, physically, and socially.

3. A Christ-centered education will affect how our children see the world.

Education in Christian school classrooms is Christ-centered. Christ is the center of life and the message of Christian day schools.

Dr. James Dobson and Gary Bauer in their book, Children At Risk, sound the alarm that our society is enmeshed in a civil war that will determine which value system will guide our nation. Someday soon, a winner will emerge and the loser will fade from memory. Those who determine what young people are taught and what they experience, what they see, hear, think and believe, will set the course for the future of this nation. For now, American children are balanced precariously and the outcome is very much in doubt. Only in Christian schools can children learn within the context of a Christ-centered world view.

4. Your children will be like their teachers.

Luke 6:40 reveals that a pupil, after he(she) has been fully trained, will be like his/her teacher. Some parents may chose to send their children to Christian schools because there is better discipline than other schools. Some parents may chose to send their children to Christian schools because of the more rigorous academics found in Christian schools. Some may chose to send their children to Christian schools because of the better moral influence in a Christian school. Some parents may chose to send their children to Christian schools because of the positive learning environment associated with Christian schools. Some parents will send their children to Christian schools because there are less drug problems than in the local schools.

All the above reasons are valid, however, one very good reason parents should send their children to Christian schools is; our children will become like their teachers!

Years from now, your children probably will not remember much detail about what their teachers taught them. They will have even forgotten some the lessons that their teachers especially labored over in their preparation to make the class interesting and exciting. Children's long-term memory, according to educational psychologists, will only permit them to retain less than ten percent of what was taught in class.

Christian School children today will retain in their long term memory who their teachers were as Christians ...Christian Teachers. They will remember their teacher’s concern and love for them, their prayers and understanding of Scripture as it related to where the students really were. Your children will definitely remember the individual personalities of their teachers. Not only will they remember their teachers, but a part of the teacher will be transferred into your children permanently.

5. The home, the Church, and the Sunday school are not enough to train and influence our children in today's society.

Many forces, values, and messages bombard our children: home, school, church, television, friends, music, and magazines. Between the seventh and 12th grades, the average teenager listens to 10,500 hours of rock music, just slightly less than the entire number of hours spent in the classroom from kindergarten through high school. One study concluded that teenagers spend more than 12 hours each week listening to the radio and another 8 hours weekly listening to CDs or tapes. According to a recent University of Minnesota study, listening to music is the primary way troubled teens say they cope with problems. (After music, they turn next to friends, drugs and video games, the survey said. Talking with parents came near the bottom of the list. Tying for last place were teachers, clergy and professional counselors.)

What about the influence of Sunday school programs? The Sunday school is a powerful influence for good, but it represents less than 1% of a child's time. That percentage assumes perfect attendance in Sunday School. It's totally unrealistic for a parent to assume that one hour of Sunday school can successfully compete with a 30-hour per week experience where required attendance has the force of the law.

What about the influence of strong Christian homes? The home is a powerful influence for good, but studies reveal how little actual contact there is between children and their parents, particularly fathers. How much "quality" time do we as Christian parents spend with our children?

The home and the Sunday School are not enough to train and influence our children. At one time in history, Roman parents were concerned that they provide their children with the best education possible. In their culture, that meant using Greek slave teachers. These Greek teachers did not teach from a value-free vacuum. They thought as Greeks and taught as Greeks. Roman parents were shocked when they discovered a Biblical principle we know today. A child when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher. Lk 6:40. The pupils had Roman bodies, but Greek minds. They could not become Roman soldier/statesmen--their minds would not permit that.

Today, children receive conflicting values-laden messages from television, radio stations, music, and friends. Our children need to be in an educational environment in which their teachers are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and to a Christian philosophy of education. They need to learn from educational materials that are Biblically-integrated. Our children need to know that Jesus Christ does make a difference in their learning. That environment only exists for your children in Christian schools.

As Christian parents, we need to send our children prepared to weather the demands of life. When the weather outside is harsh, as parents we send our children out with the right clothing. The right education is like the right clothing for our children. Our children need to be equipped for the unpredictable weather of a complex world. They should learn in a climate of strong Christian values and a Christ-centered curriculum, an environment where children can pass the test before they take it. Christian school education is preparation to weather the demands of life.