Nine Reasons for not Using Public Schools By Dan Smithwick for Liberty Sentinel
Public schools (or as some like to say, government schools) have come upon hard times in the past several years. One would be hard-pressed to find a community where the public-school system is not having serious problems. While gun-shootings get the most coverage, understandably, there are many, many other problems plaguing the 150-year-old experiment of government-run secular education. Budget crises, teacher shortages, facility problems, undisciplined youth and now, more frequently, problem-parents plague most school districts. In addition to these is the fundamental problem- poor education. Standardized test scores have fallen dramatically over the past few decades. Both college and business leaders lament at how poorly educated are high school ‘graduates.’
For the first two centuries of our nation, civil government had no voice in education. In the last century, it has wanted to be the only voice. We spend more money (tax money!) on education per pupil than any other industrialized nation yet rank near or at bottom in academic performance, especially in math, physics and sciences. Why? The answer is theological in every sense.
I want to give nine reasons why the church today should cease using state-run secular schools. I also want to acknowledge upfront that there are oftentimes circumstances why Christians believe they have to use the public schools. It is neither my place, nor anyone else’s, I believe, to judge all situations from afar. I will say more on this later. But first, some background on the theological basis for arguing why the church should abandon public schooling.
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Here is the fundamental issue:
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) For the past several decades it appears that leaders of our nation, particularly in the field of education, have systematically set out to demonstrate that Jesus didn’t know what He was talking about. From the removal of the Ten Commandments in the classroom to denying prayer in school to forbidding any display of religious objects in public places (including a closed Bible on a teacher’s desk), our nation has determined to become a secular people officially. No Word, just bread; no supernatural, just natural.
