Parents non-involvement in their children’s education is one of the many reasons for failing schools in America. The Public-School Review in June of 2023 ranks parents involvement at number thirteen below overcrowding, bullying, teacher tenue, standardized testing, teacher salaries, school safety, and their number one reason for failed education in schools is deficits in government funding for schools. (1) We definitely have a problem with the education system in the United States of America.
As tragic as failing education is today in all subject matter in the traditional sense, a more troubling factor is the ever-evolving curriculum that is subject to change as the current culture demands it. The agenda driven ideology is already established course curriculum with educators and school boards across the country caving in to the loud cries of diversity, equity, and inclusion, although there has been some push back the last few years. They are at the same time discriminating against Christians and those who hold to a moral view of ethics.
How do we begin to address these issues? Time and space will not allow a thorough investigation on the subject with proposed solutions, but as Christians, especially Christian parents, there are plenty of recommendations from the God of the Bible to help us along. First of all, parents are responsible for the education of their children. We can say education begins in the home. The book of Proverbs says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (22:6) The apostle Paul in writing to the early churches says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4) Christian parents are to teach their children from an early age the teachings of Holy Scriptures. Setting the foundation of learning from God’s Word and His moral standards will help when instructing your children in all other stages of life, including their formal education.
If you are fortunate enough by God’s grace for your children to attend a private Christian school or to homeschool, rejoice in the blessings God has given you. But perhaps it is the Lord’s will for your children to attend today’s public schools. A firm Biblical foundation instilled in them from an early age will guide them through their educational journey. It is an on-going guide for every student, whether homeschooled, in Christian schools, or in secular public schools.
Education starts in the home, and God has given that responsibility to every parent and not to the state, especially in matters concerning how His Word commands us to live. We are to continually instruct our children about the Lord and His commandments from morning until evening, and while inside house and outside the home. This is as old as Moses’ instructions to the nation of Israel in what is known as the ‘Shema’ or ‘hear.’ Let us follow through with the ‘Shema’ of the Old Testament as we teach our children this school year.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV
(1) The 15 Biggest Failures of the American Public Education System (publicschoolreview.com)
Word for the Soul 