Should Christian Parents Pull Their Kids From Public School?

It seems I hear more and more of parents pulling their kids from public school. Most parents do so to begin home schooling their kids while others enroll them in a Christians private school. I have experienced people who questioned parents on the love of their parents by keeping in public school.

There are various reasons why parents pull their kids from public schools. Some do it because their kids are being bullied and the teachers do nothing about it. Other do it because their mother is a stay-at-home mom and think it would be beneficial for both parents and the kids to be home schooled. Regarding Christian schools, parents want their children to have a Christian education.

There are some parents that pull their kids because they don't want the schools to indoctrinate them with a non-Christian worldview and turn their back on the living God. I heard one preacher say the reason teenagers turn t away from Christianity is what the public schools have taught them. I could go on why parents choose to pull their kids from public school, but I want to make something clear: I am not against homeschooling nor am I against private school. Christian private schools are great places for kids to build relationships and hear Biblical truth. However, depending on the theological background of the school, you might run into doctrinal differences. With homeschooling, you control the curriculum and the pace of how your kids learn.

Public schools can be, often is, a place where a non-Christian worldview will be taught. Some schools do not want Christians to share their faith and even tell students to wear their Christian t-shirts inside-out because it might be offensive. At the same time, students that are sold out for Jesus can be used by God to witness to students that most pastors and youth pastors cannot go into.

So should a parent pull their kids from public school? My question is what is your purpose? Are you doing it because everyone in your church is doing it. That is a pretty pitiful reason. Are you doing it because your pastor is questioning your Christianity? Sounds like legalism to me.

Another question, is it fair to the child? Would your child get a good education? If you homeschool, you can teach them the Bible and the same thing with a private Christian private school.

If you look in the Bible, we do not see the issue of homeschooling vs. public school vs. private school. The only issue is parenting educating their kids is with the instruction of the Word. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says,

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Ephesians 6:4 exhorts fathers to "not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Parents, if you want your kids to have a Christian education, you are suppose to be doing that since day one. The Bible tells us we should be teaching our kids the Word of God. It does not matter what school they attend. I know for my kids, we have had some interesting talks about what they discuss with their friends and I teach them on how they should respond. A couple of years ago, my son with a another Christian friends shared Christ with a mutual friend who is a practicing atheist who attends church with his parents (The parents don't even know his an atheist). I equipped him as best I could to respond to his friend's questions. I wish I can say the kid repented, but he did not.

Am I saying Christian kids in public schools have more opportunities than those in home or private schools? No, they have about the same opportunities. I know there are homeschool, for lack a better term, clubs that meat in various cities. Private schools you got kids thinking they are saved because they are at a Christian school or they go to church.

Back to the issue of teaching your kids the Bible. One of the greatest tragedies in modern youth ministry is the youth pastor gets blamed if the child walks away from the Lord. The youth pastor is not called to be your child's second parent. He is called to equip for works of ministry and to exhort them to live a life of holiness. Just because a kid is homeschooled, it does not mean he/she will walk with Jesus for the rest of their life. Same thing with a kid in private and public school. Parents, you are called to train up your child regardless of the school he/she attends.

Back to the question, should Christian parents pull their kids from public school? I am not going to say "yes" and I am not going to say "no." Instead, I will make some suggestions. First, pray if this is the right decision and consider your options for your child's education. Second, seek wise council whether from a pastor or another parent. If your church is pressuring you to remove you kids from public school, you may want to start finding a new church.

A child's education is not easy and not to be taken lightly. Parents need to know what their kids are learning regardless of the school they attend. Christian Parents are also to train their children in the ways of the Lord. I know for kids, public school has been a good thing from them and it has given me, as the father and spiritual leader, to teach my kids Biblical truth in light of what they hear at school whether from teachers or friends.