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In last month’s Director’s Cut, I made the case that Christian children should not be sent to public schools. Moreover, I said that the presence of a Christian teacher or two on staff does not justify exposing vulnerable Christian students to wicked secular influences. One reader wanted to know if I had any thoughts about whether Christian teachers should practice their craft in the public schools. Before I start down that path, I should disclose that I have been a Christian all my professional life, that I am a certified teacher in Illinois—and that I have taught in the public schools. I don’t think it is difficult to understand why Christian children should not be sent to public schools. The Scriptures tell us plainly that Christian children are to be raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The public schools, in their conception and practice, are secular and humanistic. They not only deny God’s authority over those whom He has created, they deny His very existence. Thus everything they teach is befouled by unbelief. Why would we send the children of light to fellowship with darkness? Children are not adults. They are, rather, immature physically, emotionally, and spiritually. To send such a defenseless creature into the enemy camp is not just unwise. It’s irrational. Spiritually speaking, what possible excuse could there be? To claim that our precious children will be salt and light is naïve. Our children are in training. They are not yet such salt and light that their spiritual mettle should be tested in the most fiery of furnaces. They are not battle hardened, and should not be expected to know how to walk the line between living their faith and submitting to secular authorities. Indeed, which of us adults has mastered that challenge? In the case of Christian teachers, things get a bit more complicated. Teachers are not children. By and large, they are (or at least should be) mature in all the ways children are not. A mature, spiritually well-grounded teacher will at least be armed as far as they are personally concerned. Beyond that, they may have opportunity to counsel or guide students according to the Scriptures, but they are not free to do so openly. Even their personal faith is an affront to the system. The system greatly fears any Christian influence they might have on impressionable students, and it comes down hard when it encounters evidence of that influence. I know. I was there. I think the evidence is in that the presence of Christian teachers has not served either to turn the public schools toward God, or even to preserve anything good in them. Despite millions in capital investment, and despite the attendance of thousands of Christian children for many decades, the public schools continue to sink into deepening depravity. Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. It is not my place to say whether a particular Christian teacher should teach in a public school. God works in mysterious ways. He has more than a few times brought salvation and deliverance through individuals and in ways that I would probably not have approved—had He asked my opinion. For example, C.T. Studd, missionary to China, India, and Africa, is often remembered for a simple rhyme. “Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell; I want to run a Rescue Shop within a yard of hell.” I suppose a Christian teacher in a public school might identify with that rhyme, and find in it justification for their choice. On the other hand, we don’t live in China—yet. If one has opportunity, wouldn’t one be more effective teaching Christian children in an environment created for that purpose? Why do things the hard way, for heaven’s sake? Our country boasts thousands of Christian schools and homeschools, and I would urge that we establish thousands more of both. Mark L. Beuligmann, M.S. Ed. Administrative Director Christian Liberty Academy School System |
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