15 WAYS PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAN HARM YOUR CHILDREN





By Joel Turtel

December 18, 2005

NewsWithViews.com

Parents, do you really think your local public school is giving your child a decent education? Think again. Public schools, even in suburban neighborhoods, can harm your kids in many ways. Here's a list of 15 ways public schools can hurt children (and parents):

1. Public schools can cripple millions of children's ability to read by using the "whole-language" instruction method (now called "balanced reading instruction" by many public schools).

2. Many public schools spend up to 50 percent of the school day on non-academic subjects that waste children's precious time. The rest of their time is spent on classes such as sex-education, personal safety, drug prevention, consumer affairs, AIDS education, save-the-environment, family life, study halls, multiculturalism, homeroom, electives, counseling, or sports activities.

3. Public schools teach "new" or "fuzzy" math (sometimes called by different names). These instruction methods can cripple children's ability to learn basic arithmetic. Students who fear math are less likely to pursue good careers like computer science and engineering that depend on a love of and competence with math.

4. These schools force children to read dumbed-down textbooks in English, History, and many other subjects, then memorize meaningless facts to pass the next dumbed-down test. The textbooks are often geared to the slowest learners in the class and water-down the subject matter. 12 years of dumbed-down classes based on dumbed-down textbooks therefore waste children's precious time. This is especially true for children who are quick learners, who must endure 12 years of excruciating boredom in public-school classes. In effect, the schools therefore waste 12 years of your child's life.

5. Public schools force children to study subjects they might hate, can't learn, will never use in their lives, or which bore them. For example, many public schools force students to study a foreign language. Children learn better when they study subjects that interest them.

6. Author John Gatto, in his book "Dumbing Us Down" said that a child eager to learn can learn to read, write, and do basic arithmetic in about 100 hours. Yet our public schools keep children locked up for 12 years, yet can barely teach millions of kids to read.

7. Public schools force parents to pay heavy school taxes for an inferior, often mind-numbing education for their children.

8. Public schools are a government-controlled near-monopoly. Bad schools don't close down because compulsory taxes prop them up. Incompetent or mediocre teachers aren't fired because tenure laws protect them. That's why public schools will never improve. Public schools never go out of business because, like prisons, they get their customers (your children) by force, and their money (your school taxes) by force.

9. Many public schools subject children to drugs, bullies, violence, and values many parents disapprove of.

10. Public schools pressure many parents who have bright, normal children to give their kids potentially dangerous mind-altering drugs to make the bored kids "behave" in class. Over four million allegedly "unruly" kids (mostly boys) line up for Ritalin every day in public schools across America. Methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin) and cocaine are both listed in the same "Schedule II" of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

11. Public schools are compulsory. They therefore violate parents’ natural and constitutional right to control the education of their children. Public-school authorities, whose salaries we pay with our taxes, force parents to hand over their children to government employees called teachers and to schools that give an inferior education.

12. When public schools cripple childrens' reading and math abilities, they can destroy childrens' love of learning and self-confidence. This can cripple children's ambitions and desire to go to college. This in turn, can force these children to end up with low-paying jobs for the rest of their lives if and when they graduate high school.

13. Public schools force millions of Christian parents to hand over their children to public schools which are decidedly anti-Christian. For example, many social studies textbooks used in public schools have censored out references to such words as 'family,' 'marriage,' 'religion,' 'fidelity,' etc. Many textbooks today refer to a family simply as people choosing to live together.

14. Public schools force children to witness sometimes shocking or obnoxious sexual material in sex-education classes, without parents’ knowledge or consent.

15. The public-school near monopoly and compulsory-attendance laws cripple parents' right and ability to choose a quality, low-cost school in an education free-market that has been squashed by the public-school monopoly.



Parents, to give your children the rich, rewarding education they deserve, you should seriously consider taking your kids out of public school, permanently. You can take advantage of quality, low-cost education alternatives available to you right now. One great alternative is the new, low-cost Internet private schools described in "Public Schools, Public Menace."

Honestly, do you really think we should just "take them out"?
Have we ever looked at how keeping children out of society and totally sheltered from the world can harm them in the long run?

My children are in public school and are learning practical application on how to live in the world as a Christian. If we don't teach our children how to live in this world as a Christian now while they live in a controlled environment,(home with strong Christain parents) how are they going to handle it when they grow up and go out into the world and have now idea how to control themselves and resist temptaion, what will happen then?

I've seen it too many times where children were raised up in a too sheltered environment and when they finally came of age, they had no idea how to handle thmselves around people,some rejected the Lord and ended up on drugs, in prison or dead. And I am not saying that all kids will be like that, but I've definatly seen it happen very often.

I just don't think it is a good idea to take our kids out of the world so they will have no idea how to live in the world when they grow up. Didn't Jesus tell us to be IN the world but not OF the world? Isn't the world the harvest field?
Aren't they the ones who we are trying to reach with the Gospel?

I am not completly against homeschooling, and I don't feel that the public schools are perfect.
My husband and I actually homeschooled our son for half of last year because of poor academics. We got him caught up and now he is back in school and is doing very well. I'm not totally against homeschooling at all as you can see. I want to go by the Lord's leading as to what I do with the kids. They are His children after all and I don't pretend to have all the answers. I only live to do His will and I don't think public school should be completly ruled out. I think homeschooling is totally appropriate in certain situations- but not for the child's total education. School is more than just academics- and like I said, as Christian, our command is to be IN the world, not OF the world.

Just my opinion......
God Bless you all
Mary

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Mary Beth Ersig

The author is obviously in favor of "Internet private schools." I’m curious to know the success numbers for Internet private schools. I wonder if the Pennsylvania teen, David Ludwig, and his girl friend are products of Internet private schools.

I believe the success of Home School/ Internet private/Public schools defends on the structure of the individual homes. Neighbors, home school parents, and teachers frequently compliment my teenager’s excellent behavior and manners. Every summer my entire family prayed that the Lord would select the teachers and classes for our children.
At the beginning of each school year we read the story of the 3 young boys from Judah (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah), who wouldn’t defile themselves. At our nightly family devotion we often pray for selected students and teachers. As a result my children have powerful testimonies starting from elementary school of how God uses them and our prayer to heal and change the heart of teachers and students. They bring home their friends, which give our family the chance to witness to them.

The public school provides each parent an option to “Opout” of non-academic subjects such as sex-education. We always use the bible to monitor and discuss all controversial classes such as history, and science. As high school sophomore my teenager takes college level AP classes. They are average kids that are brought up in a home where we practice what we teach.

Today’s children are primarily a reflection of their homes. The contents of the Christians children homes are often identical to that of the pagan such as, divorce, abuse, living together not married, secular movies, video games, books, etc.

May the Lord richly bless the Christian parents who obey Deut. 6:7-9. Therefore, enjoy the blessing and protection of John 17. They never have to worry about the secular influence of public schools and neighborhoods streets because they obey the scriptures and entrust their children to the Lord.

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Paula

My wife and I just began home-schooling our three children this fall but it was not for the reasons mentioned in this article written by Mr Turtel. While there is some truth to some of his points I believe there is also a lot trumped up issues meant to scare people. Clearly there is an agenda in view as has been noted.

I enjoyed the two responses prior to mine very much and would add that I decided to home-school not so much because we consider the public school system to be a menace. The main reasons for us were;

1)We are convinced that it is very good for the children, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, to spend much more time with each other and their mother.

2)The children can receive closer attention and guidance in their studies, this is especially important for my daughter who has struggled with reading and spelling.

3)We can give them a Christ-centered education that includes prayer and Bible study.

The more I look at home-schooling the harder it is to find a downside other than the fact that it is hard work, but it is well worth it in my opinion.

In Christ,

Ron

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Ron Halverson

We are the salt of the earth, but when we're raising our children in the world, we're taking away their saltiness. (edit: We're giving a watered-down education with the secular school system, and watering down their saltiness in doing so)

My wife was raised in home school. It was a group home school, and all were active in sports, etc. Not a single one is what you call sheltered, and all were active in their communities with the kids around them. The difference? They were raised on a solid foundation. My wife didn't come home at night with homework about the myth of Christianity, memorizing "As Salam A Likem" (whatever the muslims say), or justifying the theory of evolution. She was shown in her study the truth- that was her foundation from all the learning she did.

There's a place for our children to go out into the world, but they need to be taught using the truth, not the athiestic viewpoint of the public school system.

"As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." The majority of Christians don't know what this means. The service to the Lord is a part-time thing, and is evidenced in how they raise their children. Right now, my son is six months old. My wife is a stay-at-home, and will be until our children are grown, because they deserve to be taught a firm foundation on which to build their lives. Not a single one of us has time to spend learning theories that call our faith a farse, studying from men that undermine the only True Word we have. And that goes for our children, most of all. We have a responsibility to teach them and raise them right, and you can't do that when you're a part-time teacher. Don't compromise.

Grace and Peace...

Personally sounds to me like it was written by a paranoid madman. I disagree with a lot of what is said there.

I don't see the point in cutting the kids off from a school environment, when they are being raised in a Christian home.

If anything the influence can be beneficial on non-Christians.

(By the way, I am not married yet... I don't even have kids nor a fiance).

Michael

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Michael Hancock

I went to public school that had drive by shootings regularly, also bathrooms only the gangs drug dealers could go into, others were beaten frequently.

we should pay attention, not all school environments are like that, but they are out there.

Need God's wisdom for our personal lives, He knows what is best for the individuals.

by the way, I homeschool a kindergartner and teenager (used to go to public til problems with lying, boys, now is internet homeschool, still active in Orchestra, etc), My son is very kind by God's grace, and learning evangelism for the criminals in his family, in God's ways and time. That is the most important socialization for christians.

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Jina