i believe if your children have deep faith this is their opportunity to witness to others.

I agree, but they need to have some sort of governed activities to be introduced to the social world.

You can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence the world out.

They will have to see at some point that not everyone has their faith, and by growing up among those who are not necessarily Christian will hopefully mean they will have no prejudice against non-Christians. Ultimately, it won't make a difference. I was schooled at a very devout CofE school, growing up around Christians, I come from Christian family and yet I chose the Pagan beliefs. Your kids will make their own faith choices.

As always, you'll never win anyone over by separating yourself completely from the world around you. Jesus never alienated anyone and He was far more upset at the conditions in the church than He was in the state of the educational system at the time. (Cue the random unrelated scripture references and snide remarks about my ordination...)

I think your kids are going to be in for a rude shock when they hit the really real world. Look at Bristol Palin; unwed teen mother. At best, they won't be socialized normally, and humans lose adaptability and learning ability as they age and get more set in their ways. That means that they will leave "school" with impaired/no ability to function socially. If you plan to sequester them on a compound for the rest of their lives, this may work out for you, but if you ever plan on them going out on their own, getting jobs, etcetera, then you are doing them a disservice.

I would say that this is a good idea. I would first probably push to a private christian school. If one does not exist then I would home school. The Christian school setting allows social interaction and sports/music etc. but can sometimes be expensive. I think a private Christian school would be the best option. Of course you want to make sure you agree with what ANY school teaches. If you are unsure feel free to sit through a day of school with your kid. You will be able to see the atmosphere, how the children treat each other, if there is a lot of worldliness going on etc. I spent most of my primary and secondary education in private christian schools and was only home schooled when there is no alternatives. I had no problems getting into college or social weirdness. Some people will tell you that all home school kids are very socially awkward and are very strange kids. I think that this is due not to the fact that they are home schooled but due mostly to the fact that a lot (probably majority) of home schooled kids' parents are just weird. Strange parent tend to produce strange kids. It has nothing to do with home schooling. All in all though, GOOD CHOICE! public schools are a cesspool of filth.

I have Christian friends who are some home schooled, and others public like me, and some who have done both in there school career. I think if your truly concerned you should home school them for a time and then at some point ask them if they would rather do public school. This can be a jr. high or even earlier, just don't shelter them from the world, it will reach them sooner or later. If they don't understand it at an early age it will conflict with their future life. So if I had to choose one, I would go with public schools, but teaching my child the best I can to live right as a Christian. After all, you have to have faith in them for them to make the right choice.

Hey I'm actually a homeschooled highschooler and for me, homeschooling's been an awesome way to learn strong Christian values plus really learn how to stay strong and be a leader and not care what my friends think of me. like it's hard sometimes but as long as your kids have other ways to get to know people and do sports and stuff, its really a lot better. plus it teaches kids how to work on their own and be independent. oh, and you have a lot more freedom as to when you can go on vacation :]

As for home schooling - are you sufficiently qualified in all aspects of the curriculum to give your children a broad spectrum of subjects? Do you have sufficient resources? (eg a chemistry lab, a sports hall) Do you not value the input of other children in your children's lives? Do you not trust your children? WWJD? Did Jesus hide away from all negative influences which did not tally with his view? Or did he go among them and embrace them?

My kids are grown.

Oh don't homeschool them. They need school. It's important. It allows them to experience all sorts of different view points and enables them to make their own decisions. In what ways do you feel schools have gotten 'far away from Jesus? I'm not sure where you come from, but where I am faith schools are public. I go to a public Catholic school. And to be honest, the only differences would be the occasional mass, and more RE lessons than in non religious schools. Schools are for learning. For facts. For interaction, and as a bit of training for the real world. Educate them about your religion at home, and in church. Don't try and seperate them from the world. Come on now.

Well you could put them in a christian academy school but in the end, I've thought about it too, one way or another they will be exposed to really harsh things. But at the age they're at right now I think foundation is good and deep rooting them in something positive isn't all bad. Just don't shelter them forever, they will thank you that much. :)

I think you've lost your mind. All you want to do is shield your children from reality. Hate to break it to you, but teh minute you do that and they turn of age, they're going to realize exactly what you're doing and hate you for it. The real world contains everything. Get a grip and get over it.

i was home schooled and in my opinion lack the social skills i need to be a normal person because of that. regular school, whether private or public, is a necessity. teach your children religion in their spare time. i wish that i have never been home schooled.

I am Christian and I would no sooner home school my kids and I did send them to public school as well. First off, religion has no place in public school every student that attends public school is on equal footing..........it has nothing to do with swaying from Jesus cause religion is not apart of the public school system. . Second home schooling kids is not my gig and kudos to you if its yours. I want my kids to face all types of people in life, I want them to experience the pro's and con's in life so they can make good sound choices based on what my husband and I have taught them in their very early years. For me keeping my kids away from the social settings that society (school) offers does nothing in the way of making young people prepared for the path or journey they will walk in the future!

yeah thats a great idea! shelter them from any interaction with other children and basically ruin their lives in order to make yourself happy. brilliant plan! im glad youve thought it out soooo well.

You're stealing from them the chance to interact with and learn about people from other diverse beliefs and cultures. You may think you're sheltering them from evil, but you're actually making them helpless outside of your own culture. When they grow up and are finally faced with the real world they will not know how to react to people different than them, thus severely hindering their range and ability to flourish socially as adults. And at the risk of you dismissing me entirely, I will also note that the first act of a cult is to isolate it's people from the outside world in order that the leader can control the followers and their beliefs. They aren't making a voluntary decision to follow based on all available information... they are following because it is the only available option. You want your children to make the *choice* to follow your beliefs... right? On another note: It is not and never has been public school's duty to cater to any religion. It is it's duty to remain neutral, and leave the rest up to family, friends, and the young individual. My favorite aunt homeschooled her twin girls (my cousins). She is a very loving, nurturing, teacher of a mother and has taught them right and wrong, good and bad, and how to treat others, etc. Basically, she's created this perfect scenario, a family utopia. Sounds wonderful, right? But because they never see or experience firsthand "what not to do", they won't know how to act when faced with the problems of the real world. They are teenagers now, and I can already tell that one girl will have a hard time dealing socially with the real world but will adapt. The other socializes with animals more than people, which isn't so bad except that it's painfully obvious that her preference is the result of her inability to adapt socially. I believe this could have worked out much easier for her if she had the opportunity to socialize outside of her own family from a young age.

If you CAN home school, absolutely do it! The private/Christian schools are far from perfect, but more then anything, I regret putting my boys into public school. My Ex and I had just seperated, and I couldn't afford it anymore, so we put them into the public system - They like it, and love not having to wear uniforms, but I feel that at least in the private school setting, they were kept on a constant path with faith, prayer and God. They will always have me as a constant source of information and guidance about God, but school and their peers are such a huge, constant influence on them, I wish they had access to more friends that have a personal relationship with Jesus. At home, you can give them that, but in the end, you can only 'Train up a child in the way he should go...' and let God do the rest. They are, after all -- His to begin with. We are merely blessed with the job of loving and guiding them as best as we can. Hope this helps, and good luck with the schooling. Hang in there on the tuff days.

Don't have kids yet, but I went to public school and would definitely send mine to public school. Kids who go to public school can be more disciplined, and it can be a great experience. They'll make more friends and can get involved in lots of beneficial extracurricular activities, and they'll get the chance to shine for Jesus. Also, they will have to get out into the world sometime - as much as we might like to, we can't shield children forever; the real world has fallen far from Jesus too. Kids need to know that some people in public schools can be a bad influence, and they should know how to deal with them in a mature manner. And by sending kids to a public school, they could make a huge difference in someone's life, an opportunity they might not have if homeschooled. One more thing - not everyone in public schools are bad; there are many Christian kids out there. A girl I babysat was homeschooled, and you could not control her whatsoever. One of my best friends and her siblings were homeschooled, though,and they turned out just fine. Ultimately, the choice is up to you. The most you can do is pray and trust God to help you make the right choice.

send your children to a private school, its a very happy meduim and worth the money

When I have kids there going to public school because it prepares them for the real world with people with different viewpoints on life, politics, religion, etc. You must be prepared to deal with people who dont agree with you, if you are sheltered from that it will be harder for you to handle it.

You kind of assume people pick up their morals in a place like school. I doubt children are capable of making those kinds of decisions yet, let alone will be faced with some huged obstacle to their faith in public schooling.

I can think of few things worse to do to a child than to trust you with their education and social development.

If I have kids, I would probably homeschool them, but that would have nothing to do with religion. The way it is now, public school is just getting worse education-wise and private school is too expensive.

I think it's tacky (if not outright rude) to ask people what they think and then give the impression that you never really wanted opinions, but rather you sought support, approval, and confirmation. Sorry buddy, but when you ask for opinions then you MUST accept that not all of them are going to agree with you, and you have to do so civilly unless you want to be seen as arrogant and/or a total crack-pot. You don't have to agree with us, but either respect our opinions or STFU!

Keep your kids from the real world so they don't see what a whack job you really are.

You're foolish. Because when your kids finally encounter the real world, they'll have no way of defending thier brainwashing against real debates. Just like you. And school was never meant to indoctrinate towards one religion. But that's your choice to live with.