LAST LESSONS #113 – LAST THINGS – PART 2

       
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

Aging prompts me to think less of myself and more about the next generation. It is said that I was part of the “Great Generation.” What advice can I give to the next generation to make them even greater? 

One thing that comes to mind is schools. My generation went to school and learned how to read (remember “Dick and Jane”?). We learned cursive writing (it is quicker than printing!), and we learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator. And we didn’t need a cellphone to figure out how much a tip should be. We actually had to memorize the multiplication tables up to twelve times twelve! People today can’t believe how handy that is when shopping, banking, or keeping score at games. 

But public schools today are no longer teaching the important things that children need to learn. CRT is not what children need to hear. Besides the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, they need to learn the true history of this country. And they need to learn geography, world history, science, art, good music, and yes, computers!

But most of all, they need to learn who God is and who they are in relation to him. They will not learn this in public schools today.

Therefore, my advice is to send young children to Christian (classical, if possible) schools or homeschool them. There are co-op home schools. No matter what it costs you, do not send four-year-old to seven-year-olds to public school. At these ages, children are most impressionable so do whatever is necessary to keep them from public schools where their minds can be indoctrinated with wrong things. Check with churches in your area to see if they have early childhood schools. Many do.

If there is no Christian classical school in the area, maybe God wants you to start one! Call or write Karen Elliott (Executive Director of Rafiki) and ask her how to start a school. You can reach Karen at www.rafikifoundation.org. She will help you because she and a couple of us are starting a Christian classical school in Eustis, FL, where we live. We will be starting with four to seven-year-old children. We will use the facilities of a local church since they are not in use during the week. This is a win-win situation since it helps the church, and it helps local children. You can do it! PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
It’s more difficult when it comes to teenagers. Christian middle and high schools are expensive. But if you can possibly afford it, PLEASE send your children to a private Christian school where they will learn the Bible and receive a good education. You can find Christian classical schools by checking out The Association of Classical Christian Schools. The ACCS is the largest advocacy organization for K-12 classical Christian education in the US. (https://classicalchristian.org).

For sure, you do not want your children being taught CRT or associating with friends who don’t even know what gender they are.

A close friend of mine (well qualified with a master’s degree) visited me last week and told me that she had resigned from the teaching job she had because two of the teenage girls she taught told her that she must call them by their preferred gender “she-her” or “he-him”! They said they would report her if she did not. She didn’t wait to be reported. She resigned from teaching in public school and got a good secular job. How sad!

If you cannot afford to send teenagers to private schools, then at least get involved in their public schools. Get on the board and make sure you know what your children are learning and what they are reading! Furthermore, take them to Sunday school and conduct devotions in your home. Invite their school friends to your house to influence them. My granddaughter has a Bible study for teenagers in her home every week—and of course, she always serves refreshments!

As far as college is concerned, the same goes. If at all possible, send college-age students to Christian colleges. Christian colleges are a thousand times better than secular schools even if Christian colleges are less prestigious. If a state school is your only option, then make sure your students join a Christian group on campus like RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). I highly recommend RUF because it had a wonderful influence on one of my grandsons. After college, he went to seminary and became a minister.

Finally, a good education is essential. Do whatever you can to keep your children from secular schools. If that is not possible, I have one more suggestion: send your child to school as a missionary! We sent our three teenage daughters to a public school out of necessity. But we told them that because they were Christians, they would be sent to that school to tell their friends about Christ. That was their mission. Then every evening at home we would talk about what was happening in school and the people they talked to about Jesus. By God’s grace, there are some people (mostly boys!) who are Christians today because God used my daughters in a public school as missionaries.