Fight for what matters most to you. Fight for your faith. Fight for your family. Fight for your life. Don’t allow negativity and uncertainty to take up room in your mind. God is still in the blessing business.[1]
There is a time to show up and to speak up. Keeping harmony intact includes fighting for what matters most. The start of a new school year is a good example. How can a parent trust that their child will be in a safe place where reputable learning is taught? School shootings, critical race theory, and woke theology give reason for concern. Anxious feelings are understandable given the political nature of what’s being taught in our schools. Today’s parents are ready to fight for what matters most―a quality education for their children.
Parents are fed up
Millions of American parents are fed up with being considered nuisances and dismissed by the public education establishment. … Our education system is controlled by adults who are using our children as hostages to their cause, be it more regulations on teachers, shutting down competition from charter schools, or the promotion of “woke” ideology.[2]
Explore other learning methods
Fortunately, there are several ways to educate children. Let’s explore a few.
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Homeschool
Homeschooling is on the rise. The environment is positive and family values remain uncompromised. Lessons consume less hours per day, leaving greater opportunity to pursue individual interests, field trips, and play.
This option will require a disciplined schedule. But, if you don’t see yourself as a teacher of pre-planned classroom lessons, don’t beat yourself up with guilty self-talk. Not every parent is cut out to be a homeschool parent. Some can’t carve out the time needed into their work day, or lack the skill set needed. If this describes you, make another choice. The goal is to find an education path that best benefits your student.
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Private school
Depending on the school, a private education is often a plus. First do some fact-finding. Talk with other parents, or students who have interacted with or graduated from this particular institute. Get the real inside scoop. Read the school’s mission statement. Learn who’s who on the faculty. Taking preparatory steps helps to ensure your child is in a positive learning environment.
Sometimes the expense of a private school makes this option unaffordable. Ask about scholarship money. And, because private schools are smaller in size, there is a limit to the number of students they can add to the student body. Speak up. Ask to put your student on a waiting list.
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Public school or Charter school
Our tax dollars pay for public schools where every child is guaranteed an education. Tax dollars also pay for charter schools. I had a positive experience with a public schools, as did my three children. However, back then learning didn’t seem to cause suspicion. Reading, writing, arithmetic, sciences, geography, and a few electives were what was taught K-12 students. Boys were boys and girls were girls and there was no gender confusion. Today, these basic pillars of education are tangled into a web of other influences standing at odds with family values.
Parents, and grandparents, are rightfully ready to question and fight school boards nationwide. This might be the right time to consider charter schools. As with private schools, do the research.
One benefit of charter schools is their potential for innovation. These innovations can give both teachers and students unique opportunities to teach, learn, and strive for excellence.[3]
In some cases, charter schools are quicker to adopt advanced learning programs, such as online learning, self-paced coursework, and targeted direct instruction. Although traditional public schools may come around to these types of personalized learning eventually, charter schools are naturally set up to adopt, implement, and master advanced learning methods faster.[4]
Your Voice Does Matter
Join the movement. Power rests in a multitude of voices. There is no better time to fight for what matters most than in the formative years of a child’s life. Parents are no longer silent. They are speaking up, ready to fight for what is taught in our nation’s public schools. A child’s education should never be a reprograming of family values.
Look to God for answers
The best thing a parent can do to calm themselves, and an anxious child, is to pray. Pray privately and with others. Expect God will provide an answer. And, that answer might require an active response from a parent.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
Prayer: Lord, we desperately seek Your guidance as we parent our children; as we make our way through the maze of education. Give us discernment to separate truth from lies in a world where wrong is thought to be right. Protect our children. Help them to embrace who You say they are and to dismiss all cultural confusion. You are our truth. We glorify Your Name. Amen
Coaches Corner: Is it harder for you to parent in a politically divisive world where godly values are questioned? A coach could help you sort through the muddle. I’d be honored to come alongside you. The first 30 minute online session is always free. Contact me at https://www.rebuildingfamilies.net/life-coach/.
*Photo compliments of Jason Sung on Unsplash
[1] Certainty in Times of Uncertainty, John David Villa, Day 3, https://davidvilla.me
[2] Excerpted from Hostages No More by Betsy DeVos, Published by Center Street
[3] https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/charter-school-vs-public-school
[4] https://www.methodschools.org/blog/5-differences-between-charter-and-public-schools
