I recently had a discussion with a good friend who I respect and admire about her choices for school for her children. It was so refreshing to hear her perspective on school. I enjoy hearing from as many people as possible why they choose what they choose.
In this post, I want to examine the arguement that I have heard a couple of times of sending children to public school in order to make a difference in the school system. Many Christians have decided to allow their children to go to public school for this reason and they make many valid points I'd like to examine in more detail. The first argument I hear is that it is unhealthy for all Christians to live in isolation from the world and would not serve the purpose of winning the lost to Jesus. They say that if we are never around non-believers, then we cannot win the lost. This argument assumes the position that if a child is in Christian school or in a home school then they won't be around non-believers. Although upon surface reflection of this arguement, it seems as though it is valid and should prompt others to pull their children out of Christian only environments immediately. However, this is not the case. The Bible instructs us to train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. The reverse of this is also true... train up a child in the way that he should not go and when he is old he will not depart from it. A child is in the formative, learning stages of life and needs adults around him or her that have a common goal - the well being, nurture, care, protection, emotional, mental and spiritual development of that child. However, when the child has spent six to eight hours under the influence of someone other than their parents - usually a hard working teacher who is "ready to go home" - then you have impartations into that child that the parent cannot control. At best, the parent can work diligently at home to reverse the effects of that day. Even with Christian teachers, parents have to do this. However, with people who are Christians and schools that are so committed to students that they operate with no guaranteed government support as many private, Christian schools do, the parents have an ally towards the goal of providing a godly education.
I'll have to post more later because its late and I am sleepy.
:-)
Friday, July 02, 2004
Another Reason to Homeschool
Here is a recent article:
Study: One in 10 students encounters sex abuse
Report to Congress is first to take comprehensive look at problemThe Associated Press
Updated: 10:41 a.m. ET June 30, 2004WASHINGTON - More than 4.5 million children are forced to endure sexual misconduct by school employees, from inappropriate comments to physical abuse, according to an exhaustive review of research that reads like a parent’s worst nightmare.
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The best estimate is that almost one in 10 children, sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade, are targets of behavior ranging from unprofessional to criminal, says the report for Congress by Charol Shakeshaft, a professor at Hofstra University’s School of Education.
“Most people just don’t think this can really happen,” said Shakeshaft, hired by the Education Department to study the prevalence of sexual abuse in schools. “We imagine that all teachers are like most teachers, in that they’ve gone into teaching to help children. Most do, but not all. We need to acknowledge that’s the case and do something to stop it.”
The report, required under the No Child Left Behind law and delivered to Congress on Wednesday, is the first to analyze the field of research about sexual misconduct at school.
Some educators criticize study's approach
Some educators immediately took issue with its approach, mainly the combining of sexual abuse with other behavior, such as gestures or notes, into one broad misconduct category.
But another prominent researcher supported the findings, suggesting, as Shakeshaft did, that they may even understate the problem. And the American Association of University Women, whose surveys of students were at the core of the new report, stood by its research.
There have been no nationally financed studies to collect data about how common sexual misconduct is in school, one of many areas Shakeshaft suggests must be addressed. Her analysis covered almost 900 documents and reviews that have dealt with the topic in some way, from private research and newspaper stories to reports for government agencies.
The report describes schools as places where abusers come to prey, targeting vulnerable and marginal students who are afraid to complain or unlikely to be believed if they did. It describes adults who trap, lie and isolate children, making them subject to unwanted behavior in hallways, offices, buses or even right in front of other students in class. And the offenders work hard to keep kids from telling, threatening to fail or humiliate them.
Misconduct is defined in the report as physical, verbal or visual behavior, from sexually related jokes or pictures of sex to fondling of breasts and forced sex. Shakeshaft did not limit her review to sexual abuse because, she says, that would exclude other unacceptable adult behaviors that can drive kids from school and harm them for years.
Teachers union says schools remain safe
Yet spokesman Michael Pons of the National Education Association, a union of 2.7 million education workers, said: “Lumping harassment together with serious sexual misconduct does more harm than good by creating unjustified alarm and undermining confidence in public schools. Statistically, public schools remain one of the safest places for children to be.”
The NEA, he added, takes any sexually inappropriate behavior seriously, training teachers and working with the Education Department on rules banning harassment in schools.
The other large teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, also found fault with the report’s description of misconduct, and Eugene Hickok, the deputy education secretary, said the findings were so broad they may be viewed as “insufficiently focused.” But those officials, too, did nothing to downplay the importance of the problem.
“Clearly, sexual predators have no place in public schools,” said John Mitchell, deputy director of educational issues at the AFT. “We support background checks, and when someone has gotten through, they need to be removed. And other inappropriate behaviors must be attended to, also. We just really need to have an effort to separate the two.”
The report found teachers are the most common offenders, followed by coaches, substitute teachers, bus drivers and teacher aides. Among students, 56 percent of those targeted are girls, and 44 percent are boys, a smaller gap than expected, Shakeshaft said.
Expert: Kids need to be educated about problem
Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University professor of education law and expert on sexual exploitation in schools, said the estimate of one in 10 children affected is not high. The actual number may be larger, he said, because of historical underreporting of the problem.
“Children need to be very clearly educated about inappropriate behaviors, and teachers do too, so when children see the earliest signs of this behavior, they have someone to tell,” Shoop said. “But often, parents say, ‘Mind your teacher.’ So it’s very unlikely that this 10-year-old kid is going to rip the teacher’s hands off and say, ’Back off.’”
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Study: One in 10 students encounters sex abuse
Report to Congress is first to take comprehensive look at problemThe Associated Press
Updated: 10:41 a.m. ET June 30, 2004WASHINGTON - More than 4.5 million children are forced to endure sexual misconduct by school employees, from inappropriate comments to physical abuse, according to an exhaustive review of research that reads like a parent’s worst nightmare.
advertisement
The best estimate is that almost one in 10 children, sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade, are targets of behavior ranging from unprofessional to criminal, says the report for Congress by Charol Shakeshaft, a professor at Hofstra University’s School of Education.
“Most people just don’t think this can really happen,” said Shakeshaft, hired by the Education Department to study the prevalence of sexual abuse in schools. “We imagine that all teachers are like most teachers, in that they’ve gone into teaching to help children. Most do, but not all. We need to acknowledge that’s the case and do something to stop it.”
The report, required under the No Child Left Behind law and delivered to Congress on Wednesday, is the first to analyze the field of research about sexual misconduct at school.
Some educators criticize study's approach
Some educators immediately took issue with its approach, mainly the combining of sexual abuse with other behavior, such as gestures or notes, into one broad misconduct category.
But another prominent researcher supported the findings, suggesting, as Shakeshaft did, that they may even understate the problem. And the American Association of University Women, whose surveys of students were at the core of the new report, stood by its research.
There have been no nationally financed studies to collect data about how common sexual misconduct is in school, one of many areas Shakeshaft suggests must be addressed. Her analysis covered almost 900 documents and reviews that have dealt with the topic in some way, from private research and newspaper stories to reports for government agencies.
The report describes schools as places where abusers come to prey, targeting vulnerable and marginal students who are afraid to complain or unlikely to be believed if they did. It describes adults who trap, lie and isolate children, making them subject to unwanted behavior in hallways, offices, buses or even right in front of other students in class. And the offenders work hard to keep kids from telling, threatening to fail or humiliate them.
Misconduct is defined in the report as physical, verbal or visual behavior, from sexually related jokes or pictures of sex to fondling of breasts and forced sex. Shakeshaft did not limit her review to sexual abuse because, she says, that would exclude other unacceptable adult behaviors that can drive kids from school and harm them for years.
Teachers union says schools remain safe
Yet spokesman Michael Pons of the National Education Association, a union of 2.7 million education workers, said: “Lumping harassment together with serious sexual misconduct does more harm than good by creating unjustified alarm and undermining confidence in public schools. Statistically, public schools remain one of the safest places for children to be.”
The NEA, he added, takes any sexually inappropriate behavior seriously, training teachers and working with the Education Department on rules banning harassment in schools.
The other large teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, also found fault with the report’s description of misconduct, and Eugene Hickok, the deputy education secretary, said the findings were so broad they may be viewed as “insufficiently focused.” But those officials, too, did nothing to downplay the importance of the problem.
“Clearly, sexual predators have no place in public schools,” said John Mitchell, deputy director of educational issues at the AFT. “We support background checks, and when someone has gotten through, they need to be removed. And other inappropriate behaviors must be attended to, also. We just really need to have an effort to separate the two.”
The report found teachers are the most common offenders, followed by coaches, substitute teachers, bus drivers and teacher aides. Among students, 56 percent of those targeted are girls, and 44 percent are boys, a smaller gap than expected, Shakeshaft said.
Expert: Kids need to be educated about problem
Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University professor of education law and expert on sexual exploitation in schools, said the estimate of one in 10 children affected is not high. The actual number may be larger, he said, because of historical underreporting of the problem.
“Children need to be very clearly educated about inappropriate behaviors, and teachers do too, so when children see the earliest signs of this behavior, they have someone to tell,” Shoop said. “But often, parents say, ‘Mind your teacher.’ So it’s very unlikely that this 10-year-old kid is going to rip the teacher’s hands off and say, ’Back off.’”
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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