One of the reasons we often hear from families for seeking a private Christian school is safety. In a recently published, in-depth ACSI survey conducted with the Barna Group, safety was listed at the top of the list of essential school characteristics for more than 90 percent of the parents surveyed. The safety they seek is generally two-dimensional: physical and emotional. Clearly physical safety goes without saying for any school environment. School is the one place where we should expect our children to not be fearful for their physical safety. This element of safety is, naturally, a big part of why parents seek a private school.
But what about the emotional element? This is a bit more complex and elusive. Young children are still developing mentally and emotionally. Much of how they behave and react comes from the emotional, rather than the critically thinking, part of their psyche. Parents, naturally not wanting to see their children in emotional distress, are torn up when their child comes home in tears over something that is emotionally rooted, such as harsh treatment by someone or disappointment that may come from relational or performance challenges. Let’s also be very honest here: this is life.
Enter Christianity. In a Christian school (each of which is filled with flawed people), we have the ability to bring into any emotional/relational challenge the eyes of someone who sees and understands it totally and can offer a solution that is extraordinary. His name is rooted in the adjective that describes the school: Christ. Now even if you are not a Christian yourself, just take a moment and think about this. Parents want their children to develop sound, moral character. To be honest. To have integrity. All of this points to something called TRUTH. In the story about Christ’s suffering, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, looked into Christ’s eyes and asked, “What is truth?” Anyone who reads anything about the life of Christ will see that His life embodied truth.
How does this relate to parents potentially seeking a Christian education for their children? It relates in this way: when a teacher, staff member, or administrator is called into a situation that requires some form of conflict resolution for your child, he or she can move the focus of the conflict and the focus of the aggrieved parties along with their concerns to a truly independent mediator whose birth serves as the baseline reference point for all of time. Whether you believe Christ to be God or not, anyone whose life can have that kind of influence on the metric that serves how we document the time placement of world events is a great source for the emotional safety and character development of your children.
Also remember this: opportunities for Christian friends and fellowship abound in a Christian school. Negative peer pressure is downplayed by emphasizing the relationship of each child with Christ and magnifying the Biblical standard of true friendship which calls for love, forgiveness, mutual encouragement, and accountability. The positive influence of a child’s Christian peers combined with character development based on the principles of Christianity’s Founder has no substitute. Hence another reason to send your child to a Christian school.
