Why You Shouldn't Pull Kids from Public School to Attend Private School

Many Christian families I know elect to put their children in private school, rather than their local public school. Essentially, the reasoning is sound-to try to keep their children from being exposed to things that their faith, and common sense, doesn't necessarily believe children should be exposed to--things such as drugs and violence, being taught things that go against values, and an environment of perceived oppression. While I certainly believe it's important that children should be brought up in a Christian environment, I believe, based on experience, that yanking children from public schools to attend a private school is not the best solution. Granted, some of my opinions are biased because the private school I attended certainly wasn't a model of educational and spiritual prowess.

I attended a private school from second grade until the conclusion of my high school career. During this time, I saw gang fights, drugs, and even had a gun pointed at me in the bathroom at one point. The environment was far from sheltering from violence, even in an era where no out outside of Columbine knew anything of Columbine High School. Have you ever wondered what happens to kids that are expelled from public school? Do they drop out of school? Do they move to another district in shame? I learned from experience that they end up attending a local private school! In my school, the number of violent and drug-related incidents was lower than the local public school, but only because my school had a mere fraction of the number of students of the public school. On a per capita basis, I suspect that drugs and violence was more prominent in my school simply because many of the students expelled from public schools for drugs and violence ended up at my school. Unfortunately, I have no way to go back and obtain the data to back up this hypothesis, but I believe it sound.

Again, I admit that the drugs and violence issues may be exclusive to schools that are struggling financially and allow the prospect of increased enrollment cloud their better judgment. Most private schools can not fairly be compared with mine. However, my next point is for those whose children attend private schools for the reason of sheltering the children from being taught things that are not spiritually sound: evolution and alternative lifestyles being the two that come to mind. Yes, it is important that children are taught what is true and what is not. However, I believe that it's the parents' job to instill such principles and not the schools. Unfortunately, the world in which we live does not shelter us from such things as promiscuity, alternative lifestyles and crazy scientific theories. It's important that kids understand that people live ways that aren't necessarily spiritually sound, and how to cope with that in the real world. Most likely, the sheltering of the private school will end at college or upon entering the work force. Besides, in order to have a serious discussion with someone who has crazy scientific beliefs, one has to have a general understanding of their beliefs. Many sports teams prepare for championship games by studying tapes of their opponents. It's not because they are going to join the opposing teams-they just realize that they need to understand their adversary in order to overcome them.

The final point is where I get on my soap box for a little while. Some parents pull their kids out of public schools because they feel oppressed by the lack of prayer and removal of God from all areas of school life. I don't know about you, but I pay taxes that fund my public schools, so my kids and their religious beliefs have every right to attend as the next. The last time I checked, my kids were also protected under the same Constitution that some claim the word "God" trounces upon. Prayer in public schools is doomed because everyone who believes in the importance of prayer yanks their kids out of public schools, rather than asserting their own Constitutional rights. If everyone who believes "One Nation Under God" belongs in the Pledge of Allegiance yanks their kids out of schools that say it doesn't belong, it will inevitable be removed.

Once, my child was told that he shouldn't talk about God in school as part of a kindergarten assignment. The situation was delicately resolved with no real conflict, but my wife and I decided at that point that we wouldn't be driven from the public school we fund because of this. After all, the same Constitution that gives Americans freedom from religion gives us freedom to religion. The same freedom of speech applies to using the word "God" in speech at public school without persecution. Where would we be if Jesus fled from conflict?

Now, make no mistake about it-I want what is in my kids' best interest. If the public school environment truly becomes hostile, I will explore the possibility of private schooling and admit defeat. However, admitting defeat and fleeing at the first sign of conflict is borderline cowardice. Christians are protected by the same Constitution as non-Christians and have access to the same legal system.

This subject may be a little "deeper" than my usual ramblings about finance and eBay, but it's an important topic to me and something I've thought much about. Yes, some of my opinion has been shaped by an experience at a sub-par private school, but I believe there are very real reasons that one shouldn't pull children from public schools without serious deliberation.