Right Beth, because teachers never make typos! Sad that when you read something, you value the grammar over the content. That is exactly what public education does to kids! But thank you just the same for taking the time to edit my post.

You are not qualified to teach your children.

Yes Pavlov is definitely old news, but it is still the foundation of educational psychology, and yes schools have progressed, but only further down the same road. B.F. Skinner is now the standard and schools are rapidly outgrowing him as well. The point is, schools are shifting from teaching their “truths” to conditioning them, forcing students to form behavior patterns that contradict the teachings of home and Church. My husband has researched this topic for several years, and just published a book on it a few days ago. I think that if what I have written offended you, his book would do much more than that. But if you are interested in hearing the other side, you can email me privately tulip@trueaimeducation.com and I will give you a code to have it for free. I can see that you are passionate about education, and so you will either absolutely love More Blood, or absolutely hate it. But either way, it will give you a better idea of where I am coming from and go much deeper than I can go in a comment.

The study I referred to was a survey of parents in the Southern Baptist Church, asking them if their children where still attending Church and walking with the Lord. So, I think parents would probably have a pretty good idea. I believe another study found that, something like 30 percent did return, but even that isn’t very encouraging. However, I don’t need a study anyway. I grew up school, I saw how I, and most of my friends and family, slowly turned away from the Lord. My husband and I did return to faith, but most of our friends did not.

I agree that science is good. I never said that it shouldn’t be studied or taught. But behavior psychologists use their science in schools to manipulate unknowing children away from their faith. Also, schools teach evolution, which is the antithesis of science, replacing all we’ve come to know and have observed with an atheist’s fantasy.

As far as criticizing schools, I meant to, but for the most part teachers are doing the best that they can in a system designed to hamstring their efforts. And while an alternative high school may be the exception, the rule is generally that parents will always love their own children more than other students. They can’t help it; it is practically biological. That is not a bad, but a necessary reality, similar to how a wife has a special love for her husband above all other men.

Finally, whatever you decide, I wish you the best and pray that God keeps you and your family. If you continue to teach in the school, I pray that God finds a way to use you to shine light in that dark place. If you keep your son in school, I pray that he is among the small remnant that despite all schools devices, keeps his faith.

Thank you for continuing the conversation. Even if we haven’t completely agreed, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

Hi again Amanda,

In educational psychology teachers are taught that people are biological machines that can be conditioned, that is what Pavlov’s dog experiment was supposed to illustrate, among other experiments. All their theories are based evolution, which schools also advocate and teach. Although you might not have heard them say that about children, they are asserted that through their methods and “science”.

Responding to the last thing you said, “Go forth and make disciples of all people. How does one do that in the comfort of only believers?” I would say this; A 5 year old put into kindergarten is not ready to make disciples. He needs the training and instruction that God commands parents to give him before he is throw out into the world. Several studies, like the Southern Baptist Family Council study, have proven that somewhere between 70-80% of public schooled Christian kids are walking away from their faith after graduating high school, while only 6% of home schooled children do. The reason is, children spend most of their time in a secular world, and then even in the evenings they are forced to do more school work, so little time is letf for family or Church.

I feel school is dangerous; I have tons of family and friends that turned their backs on God in school, including my husband and myself. So, I feel the need to warn parents. I respect that others might not agree, and I think it is helpful to have respectful conversations and hear both sides.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

Thank you for your response. I am sorry it has taken me this long to reply however if I’m honest I had forgotten about this comment altogether until your blog once again ended up on my pinterest page due to someone I follow pinning it. I can tell from that fact alone that your message has obviously helped others in some way. For that I’m grateful! Just because it doesn’t help me, doesn’t mean it’s not worth saying. I too believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just have to object to things that are presented as fact when they are not. I truly believe it’s one of my spiritual gifts in a sense. I don’t deal well with dishonesty and it’s deep in the core of my being. So deep, that even though I know you believe what is written here, and probably with all of your heart mind and soul, I have to agree with Liz, that although I went to a secular (public) university to get my degree in education, I was never once taught that kids were animals (biological machines). In fact in regards to education I have never even seen anything of the sort. Education, at a college level, is about what works to reach each child as an individual. It embraces the fact that all people are different. All learn differently. All have different strengths and weaknesses. And while it’s not necessarily looking at it from the angle of a Creator who made them all differently, it still is very much the same concept of understanding and embracing the differences. Which of course is also in response to your inaccurate statement in regards to one-size-fits-all factory. The opposite is often stressed. I personally took MANY classes where a good chunk of the emphasis was answering questions such as How do you reach those kids who don’t just learn in one particular way? and/or How do you enhance those kids who are functioning above the rest of the kids in your class? And while I understand your concern about education being secular, I in fact have been able to bridge that gap just recently with a very dear Christian friend who found herself divorced from her daughter’s unbelieving father. (I’d go into detail here but I truly believe it’s not relevant to what I have to say at this time) Her daughter had asked about why it rains. She had told her daughter it was because God wanted it to rain so the water could help the crops grow. Her daughter, after spending the evening with her father, came back to my friend, very upset, and said, “Mom, you lied to me. It rains because….” and gave an entire scientific description of how and why it rains. My friend was so upset about it because she wanted her daughter to know that God is in control of all things and now her ex husband was making her out to be a liar. I assured her that both answers were indeed correct. They are not separate. And next time it rained she could explain it to her daughter. You see, God wants it to rain to make the crops grow, and he DOES that by using the scientific methods her dad explained to her. God didn’t just make it rain. He made the water molecules. He made them move. He made the clouds. He made all of it. So secular school doesn’t mean it can’t line up with God. In fact, it offers a way to explain things more in depth at times. To show just how INCREDIBLY amazing God and His Creation truly are. I know, this is a very juvenile small example, but I think the truth is it can be applied in all areas. It’s also why I say you are so incredibly right that you are the first teacher to your children. Maybe even the best earthly one, because you get to make those connections for them! My son is only 3 and I already think helping him make those connections from what he learns outside of the comfort of his house (his unbelieving cousin’s house, etc.) is one of the most amazing parts of being a parent. After all, I must remember this child of mine, doesn’t really BELONG to me. He belongs to his CREATOR! And I’ve been given the job to point him towards it in all areas of life. Go forth and make disciples of all people. How does one do that in the comfort of only believers?

I’m with Amanda on this one. I was really excited by the title of this article, but immediately was turned off by the tone. First, I was never once taught any of the lies you listed in your reply. If anything, I was taught (in a secular university) that teaching students principles was the most important part of my job. It was very clear, in my training and in my experience in the profession, that all our educating is useless unless we help build character. In fact, some of my agnostic co-workers were the most successful at completing this task.

I’d be curious to know what grounds you have for saying “school isn’t working.” Of the three schools I worked in, two were more than exceptional, and, with the help of parents, I’ve seen many students achieve great success. Most importantly, I saw school communities support dozens of parent-less children.