Not too long ago, my husband and I were watching a series of interviews with famous directors. In one interview, a director contrasted the difficulties in his early career with his current acclaim. It's funny, he said, that the same ideas that get you fired early in your career are what you get awards for later.
This is one of those ideas.
What if evangelical churches were able to come together to create their own regional parochial schools?
But what about existing private Christian schools? you may ask. Or maybe you think, But the public schools in my neighborhood are really good! Or, That's a nice idea, but we're already homeschooling. Let me answer each question separately, with a final emphasis on what would make this idea a real game-changer.
First, what about existing private Christian schools? They're usually either associated with a single church, or with no particular church at all. With a single church association, this limits scope and interest-- the church and school will only be able to do what their limited resources can provide, and will mostly be seen as an outreach of that particular church rather than of a community or particular worldview. On the other hand, with no direct church association, the lines between what church should offer and what school should offer are blurry and confusing. Which one should discuss the sticky points of theology and culture? Is school chapel day a replacement for Wednesday night youth group? Are school sports a conflict with Upward sports at church?
Second, the existence of good public schools begs a couple of questions. What defines "good"? Is it high standardized test scores or GPAs? Recent news reports and studies about cheating, answer-coaching, and fraud should make anyone think twice before believing that such scores are an accurate representation of learning, as should high GPAs in a grade-inflated culture. Meanwhile, a current state of "goodness" does not necessarily secure future success. If a child is to be in school for 13 years, that is plenty of time to see a shift from good to bad (or visa versa). Teacher turnover or changes in administration, curriculum, and policy can quickly affect the status of a district and may involve increasingly little input from parents and community members. Consider again recent reports of such ridiculous and disturbing policies as school bus retina-scanning equipment, kids suspended for eating their breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun, or reprimanded for having a military-style haircut. This kind of thing is not going to stop, and is probably going to increase. Sadly, teachers and administrators who disagree with it are not going to have much of a choice except to resign, and I believe parents who seek to be heard through the media and their school boards will be increasingly ignored. Why not create a place where your voice matters?
Third, homeschooling is a great option and one that I hope stays around. With the internet, it is increasingly flexible and available to families who wish to pursue that option. However, sometimes homeschooling is not the best option for a family. It could be that parents need to work, children need more social interaction, or the subject material is beyond a parent's knowledge base. For that, and other reasons, an area-wide parochial school could be a great option.
Last, here are some of the points that would make an area-wide parochial school a game-changer:
- What if the school board was comprised of head pastors from sponsoring churches?
- What if teachers had the benefits of flexible schedules, grading and classroom help, paid professional development, and competitive salaries?
- What if the curriculum was oriented on real life adult concerns, such as marriage and parenting, time management and leadership/stewardship, financial management, practical rhetoric, basic medicine and nutrition, and project-based science and math courses?
- What if all arts, sports, and AP/IB courses were pay-to-play and offered by outside contractors after school hours?
- What if the school schedule was based around developmental needs, such as a later start time for adolescents or multiple recess breaks for younger children?
- What if the school offered employment opportunities for high school students in the after-hours, such as bus monitor, janitor, office assistant, or elementary grading/tutoring helper?
- What if grade levels were fluid and students were allowed to opt into subject classes solely based on ability, regardless of age?
I realize at this point you may be thinking I am crazy. That is ok. I've been reading, thinking, and observing schools for some time and have decided that a strong change is needed. It's time to say goodbye to the school system as it is, and it's time to quit playing defense and being surprised daily by the weird propositions of modern education. It's time to get on offense and offer something real, something that prepares students for life as adult Christians-- kids who know what they believe, know why they believe it, and know what to do about it. It's so crazy, it just might work.
What do you think? Look for future posts addressing each of these game-changing ideas!
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