Why does Christian education change the lives of students?

Notice that I did not ask IF it changes the lives of students! The most important
thing to consider when addressing this question is that all education
changes or influences lives, not just Christian education. Education is not
value neutral. Every teacher, every book, every curriculum is teaching some
worldview; some way of understanding and considering the world. The enduring
value of Christian education is that the student is being influenced in the
right way…they are seeing all truth from God’s perspective or worldview.
God is the only one who can change lives in the right way so it is
consistent for an educational institution which exists to teach from God’s
perspective to be successful in changing lives.

In his powerful book entitled “Kingdom Education - God’s Plan for
Educating Future Generations” Christian Author and Educator Glen Schultz
reminds us that the debate must never be about where should Christians send
their children to school. The debate needs to be about how does God want
Christians to educate their children? My short answer is for parents to
thoughtfully consider God’s admonitions found in Deuteronomy six. As you
unpact verses 6-9 of Deuteronomy you can see that parents MUST teach their
children with intense, highly concentrated, consistent effort. This effort
must take place:

1. When our children get up each morning;
2. When they are at home and around the house;
3. Whey they are away from the house; and
4. Whey they lie down to go to sleep.

Of course the real challenge for all parents is to make certain that
God’s truth is being taught in all of the activities children are involved
in away from home; where it is most difficult to really know what they are
being taught. Those activities relate to school (teachers), recreation
(coaches), and even work outside the home (employers). To be consistent to
those Biblical admonitions at this juncture we must place before our
children a community of like-minded adults who will teach them how to live
and respond to the issues of life from God’s view. I can think of no better
solution to this dilemma for parents then Christian day school education. I
thank my God every day that my children are surrounded by a community of
believers at Forest Lake Christian School. Next time I am going to be
addressing the question of “How does this inevitable educational change
impact the world in which we live?”