Ten Differences between Public School and Christian School Education
Jonathan Ekeland and Bob Walton
The Christian Academy, Brookhaven, PA
Understanding differences between secular and Christian education is critical if parents are to make an informed decision in favor of their child. We offer the following comparison so that parents can see that in every area of education there is a significant difference in approach. These two different philosophies reflect who is the ultimate source of truth. Please read and pray through these.
Public Schools |
Christian Schools |
| Purpose of Education: To prepare citizens for a humanistic society that tolerates all lifestyles |
Purpose of Education: To prepare citizens for the Kingdom of God who are equipped to spread the Gospel |
| Content of Education: Humanism – no values are absolute and no truth is final |
Content of Education: All of life is studied in submission to the Word of God and its precepts |
| Control of Education: The State determines the content and methods of education |
Control of Education: The school functions in loco parentis,reinforcing and supporting parental values |
| Science: Naturalism – everything comes from matter, time, and chance |
Science: God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; science involves knowing God through knowing His world |
| History: Controlled either by autonomous man or by an impersonal process |
History: Controlled by an omnipotent God who knows the end from the beginning |
| Math: A tool that is useful because it seems to work in manipulating the natural world |
Math: A reflection of the mind of an orderly God who has made us in His image to understand His world |
| English: Literature must be representative of all cultures, which are seen as having equal value, and has no inherent meaning |
English: Students are exposed to a variety of quality literature, which is appreciated as a demonstration of common grace and interpreted in the light of God’s Word |
| Teachers: Varied backgrounds – Christianity or some other religion, humanism, atheism; may be straight or gay |
Teachers: Born-again, committed believers seeking to model Christ before their students |
| Rules: Determined by state and federal laws and guidelines |
Rules: Determined by God’s Word and its moral standards |
| Peers: Varied religious backgrounds, often receiving little moral instruction or values at home or church |
Peers: Students from Christian homes who are there because their parents support Christian values |
By Jonathan Ekeland and Bob Walton from The Christian Academy, Brookhaven, PA
Originally published on DiscoverChristianSchools.com