Who Owns My Kids? - Part I
Who owns my kids? Okay, I confess, I don’t have any kids. But that is precisely why I would like to discuss this issue of learning. I’m in it. I am being taught right now. Thus, rather than being an expert-authority article, this is more like a testimonial. It is an inside look at what I see in the world of academics as it relates to you and your kids.
THE STATE DOES NOT OWN MY KIDS
One of two things is happening to students. We are either being educated or indoctrinated. Education means that we are shown doctrine to understand and accept it. Indoctrination means doctrine is imposed upon us, whether we see and accept it or not. Traditionally, students are educated in public school. They learn math and science and English – disciplines that speak about the world in which we live. Recently, however, students are being indoctrinated in public school. They learn Social Justice and Critical Race Theory, Revisionist History, and a perverted and political notion of sexuality. Do such ideologies sound concerning to you? Well, if they don’t, they should! Parents need to be acutely aware of them.
The problem is, many Christians today will brush aside the reality of indoctrination. You may hear retorts such as, “My kids can be a light in the public schooling system,” or the unabashed unawareness: “I didn’t know public school taught them that!” The truth is, whether you like it or not, it is still indoctrination. Indoctrination says that the State owns your kids. The State has the authority not just to teach them, but to control them. They will pump them with a narrative that says, “Choose your own gender! Repent of your whiteness! Woman-up!” It has been said before that if you say something long enough and loud enough, people will believe it. The State’s indoctrination speaks loud enough. And if we leave students, at such an impressionable age, to fall prey to such satanic ideas, they will be pumped long enough to become disciples – disciples of the State’s anti-God ideology. The State does not own your kids. So do not give them over to it!
MY KIDS DO NOT OWN MY KIDS
Normally, when looking to escape public school (for the reasons discussed above), parents will turn to homeschooling. Homeschooling, no doubt, is a wonderful option! I am homeschooled and have benefitted from that experience more than I could include in this article. Yet, homeschooling is hard work. Part of that work is that homeschooling, if you are not careful, will leave you prey to “unschooling.”
Though not as serious as indoctrination, this movement is also very dangerous. It basically says that your kids own your kids. They decide how they will be schooled: What they will learn, when they will learn, how they will learn. Instead of setting alarms, waking-up-when-he-is-ready time will become the first activity of the day. Science is replaced with “hands-on outdoor activities” that look more like hide-and-go-seek than biology. English is supplemented by watching movies because they teach good lessons, critical analysis, and storytelling (and of course, they are fun). Mathematics is “brought to their level,” and utilizes Lego bricks to count (2 bricks added to 3 bricks makes 5 bricks; that suffices for lesson one, so now it’s Lego-playing time to encourage creativity).
But let’s be honest. Backyard adventures, movies, and Lego will not cut it for your child. Homeschooling is a wonderful alternative to indoctrination, but unschooling is similarly bad. Push your child to learn and grow – they can handle more than you think they can! One day, children will grow up and be making decisions for themselves. But while they are still young, God has placed them in your care because you know best. Do not let your kids run the home. Do not neglect your God-given responsibilities!
YOU OWN YOUR KIDS
Yes. It is your God-given responsibility to educate your child. You own yours kids! God has entrusted them to you! Parents, not the State or the child, “call the shots.” This means that, if you are invested in the best interests of your children, you will care about their educational journey and avoid the trappings of public schooling and unschooling. As a parent, you are called to bring your children up in “the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” (Eph. 6:4). At public school, many times children would quicker learn to hate the Lord, not fear Him. Unschooling at home, many times children would quicker learn to be careless about the Lord, not follow Him. But under the guidance and authority of you as parents, children can learn to love the Lord and serve Him.
Does this mean everyone must be a homeschooler? Certainly not. It does mean, however, you are so actively involved in your child’s education that you supplement any teaching they are receiving. What does this mean? Well, it may mean you homeschool your child. You know what you are teaching them, and you know how they are receiving it, and you know your children best so that they can learn and grow best. Additionally, a wonderful parent-child bond (storge love, as it has been called) is bound to increase. Alternatively, you may not feel comfortable teaching your child. Perhaps you are “an English person” and your child loves science. There is no harm in utilizing professionals to help teach students (private Christian classical schools, whether in person or online, are God’s gift in this area. We will be discussing this more in the articles to come). Of course, there are many qualifications that go with this. One does not just send a child to a teacher, but rather, the teacher must love the Lord and love the child. The teacher must actually be well-versed, or at least knowledgeable, in the area he or she is teaching. The school must be trusted and dedicated to helping children grow and learn. Subjects must be taught from a Christian worldview. To illustrate, imagine you send your children to a “Christian” school and their science teacher, shockingly enough, teaches evolution. This will actually be detrimental to your child. Conversely, you may look into a private Christian school that will teach a 6-day literal creation and will do so through a godly, qualified, caring teacher. This, on the other hand, is extremely helpful for you and your child. Education is no light matter, and careful research like this is necessary for those who want to love their children and love their God through learning and teaching.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
The days ahead are dark, and a Biblical perspective on education is vital to raising a generation ready to stand against the darkness of the times. As public schooling no longer becomes an option for the Christian, and unschooling continues to pose a danger necessary to avoid, our precarious situation begs the question. Where do we go from here? If the State doesn’t own your kids, and your kids don’t own your kids, and you, in fact, do own your kids… then what does education look like? That dear reader, is a very good question – exactly the question we will delve deeper into next time.