“(Parents are) finding out that it's not neutral like we thought it was. There is a clear agenda being presented.” - Dr. Cy Smith
We are told that our local public schools are non-biased, offering free and open education to all students, from a neutral position. That sounds great.
But is that really what’s going on? The government is not neutral, is it? Of course not. It never has been. Agendas, systems, and bureaucracy are in place that ensure one side is always favored over another.
In this month’s podcast episode of Clearly Christian with Dr. Cy Smith, Dr. Smith and Troy McIntosh, Executive Director of OCEN (Ohio Christian Education Network), talk about local schools and the government system.
Many parents believe that as long as a teacher is Christian, things will be fine. As if the teacher will overcome the systemic bias in place and teach the children from his or her biblical worldview. But that’s not the case. Dr. Smith reminds us that teachers cannot just decide to present biblical information and implement their curriculum. “That would get them fired”, he says.
Troy McIntosh looks back on his education and realizes that the system robbed him of a successful experience. “So, the way I thought at school was entirely different than how I thought at home or church, and that led to a very disjointed way of living.”
What then, as Christian parents, do we need to understand about the government system and its influence on public school education?
We start with the Chalkboard Points presented by Dr. Cy Smith:
Chalkboard Point #1: There's a clear system in place in our country that governs how we do public or common education.
“It's not bound by some objective truth that stands outside of the human perspective, but again, it's directed by the will of the majority or those with funding or power or influence.”
Chalkboard Point #2: Local schools are not immune from this system.
“Having more local control does not necessarily mean support for our conservative Christian worldview. The government has made it quite clear that in terms of everyday instruction, our faith has no place in those schools.”
Chalkboard Point #3: It's time to get serious about training a generation of young people.
“We desperately need young people who know God's word, who know how to live out God's word in this current cultural moment, and then have the courage and the grace to act on what we know to be true.”
Mr. McIntosh is a part of the Ohio Christian Education Network, advocating at the state level for education choices for students. He is currently working on a project to increase Christian schools in “desert areas” where there are no Christian schools located in or around the area.
OCEN is also working to increase scholarship money to students. “For the 24-25 school year, our goal is to give out $5 million in scholarships. And these would be scholarships that help bridge the difference between an Ed Choice scholarship and whatever remaining tuition there is.”
When the conversation turns to effective education, Troy lays out some statistics that show public school education isn’t working. Dr. Cy Smith finds these numbers unacceptable. “So, these statewide scores showed that two-thirds of our eighth graders don't read proficiently and three-quarters of them are not proficient in math. I mean, those are shocking numbers.”
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For more information about Dr. Cy Smith, the Clearly Christian Education movement, click on ClearlyChristianEducation.com. If you’d like to join the movement with partnership, funding resources, or ways to impact your own region's Christian Education opportunities, contact Dr. Smith today at 419-756-5651, ext. 218
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