The Negative Impact of a Private Christian School
Since students at Christian high schools are not required to take the same standardized tests as their counterparts in public schools, the standards for education are not the same. When I first enrolled in Christian schooling in the seventh grade, I was being taught things I had already learned two years earlier. Throughout my entire time at this school, completing my coursework took little to no effort. As a result, when I began my college career I had no study skills to help me prepare for examinations.
In addition to a lack of standards being placed upon the students, there are also few standards placed upon the teachers. Many private schools do not have the funding to attract well qualified teachers. Therefore, these Christian high schools do not require their teachers to meet the educational benchmarks that public schools do. While many of these teachers have admirable intentions of helping youth, they simply do not have the training necessary to effectively impart knowledge to their students.
Another drawback of Christian schooling is the social ineptitude that it breeds into the pupils. A private Christian school is typically small with classes containing as few as 10 students. Students only interact with their small group of classmates that hold all of the same values and think the exact same way as them. Teachers and administrators devote much of their time encouraging pupils not to affiliate themselves with worldly people. Unfortunately, when many graduates of Christian high schools attend college they experience culture shock. Everything that they hold dear is constantly challenged, and they often do not know how to cope with it.
Many graduates of Christian high schools have served as cautionary tales for their younger successors. Since they are constantly reminded how wrong it is to engage in activities such as drinking, one of the first things many students do when they reach college is examine for themselves just what it is their mentors have preached so harshly against. Whenever one is sheltered from something his whole life and warned constantly of its negative attributes, he cannot help but become curious about what he might be missing out on. Many of my former classmates have fallen hard to the temptation of alcohol and other substances. I believe that if the leaders at a private Christian school were more honest about these activities, instead of demonizing them and shrouding them in secrecy, the students would be more educated when they arrived at college and therefore be more likely to make educated decisions.
Christian schooling is utilized by parents that are searching for an alternative to secular education. While many Christian schools are created with the best of intentions, they do not possess the capabilities to fulfill the educational demands of our society.
Published by Eric Brantner
Eric Brantner is an SEO writer for one of Houston's top web development companies. He holds a B.S. in Political Science. View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI don't believe that employees should be intimidated into liking every single person they work with just because it is a christian school. To like someone or not like someone is a free personal option within ourselves individually. That option is okay with me, too. God knows it is too. Everyone sees things differently and that's okay. It's not okay for employees to spy on one another or be encouraged to tattle on each other either. All these things are unprofessional, childish, and unethical. They're not christian at all no matter what justifications there are about them.
It sounds as if your experience in a Christian school was quite negative, which is too bad. However, it is not fair to generalize your personal experience to every other Christian school. My experience was wonderful. I enjoyed the smaller class size and having "true" friends for a change. I wish I could have attended Christian school for more than just 2 years. I now teach at a Christian school, which does administer standardized testing. Please do not generalize!
:-D
Everything in this article is, to our experience, true.We thought by paying a lot of money our son was getting a better education. This didn't happen, and the moment he went back to an"ordinairy" school it became evident he was far behind. In a couple of months he was back on track however, through immense effort of his teacher and hard work on his part.
Good article, Eric!
I liked your reflections on private schools~ my husband discussed at length over sending our kids to private school vs. public, and eventually public won out. Our public schools actually offered more to students, I have been very pleased with them.
I'm not sure what state you went ot Christian school but I sent my sons for a few years in rural Michigan and I loved the atmosphere there and they did too. Eventually, they went back to public school and graduated but I think the experience overall was a good one.
As far as your classes being behind the public schools when you started attending there, my boys expeirienced quite the opposite wherein the Christian school was furthur advanced than our local public school and it was tough in the beginning. for both of them. The Christian school they were at held high expectations and falling behind got them reprimanded as they considered parents paying for their education there very important and they didnt; want the students wasting their parents money getting bad grades when there was plenty on a waiting list wanting to join the classroom but unable to due to the classroom size restrictions.
Good article, though, and it gives parents something to think about and consider.
Great Article~!
nice, i went to a charter school that lacked intelligence also... must be alike... anyways nice essay,