I've heard a lot about private education, and boarding schools in general, from a lot of parents. And from those conversations, I've learned a good chunk about people in general.
On the negative side, I've heard a lot of parents complain about Adventist schools ruining their children. "I sent my child to that school, and they came back with a more foul mouth, and more destructive habits than they had before they went."
That sucks. But it's true as well. While I went to Campion, I began learning all sorts of new words and word combinations. I still remember some friends of mine swearing in the dumbest ways possible. "That girl is shit-fine." Sorry, Jon. Doesn't sound as cool as you would like.
But look at this a bit more logically. Teenagers are teenagers.
On the positive side, some kids need the environment of Christian education. They need a smaller student population, they need teachers who will see and talk with them almost everyday. They need to have the options of spending 24 hours a day with other people to build up some kind of social skills. For many, it is crucial that they interact with people who believe the same things. If a person watches the way kids interact on the campus of a Christian boarding school, he or she will see a difference from any other school.
My mother-in-law and I were in a discussion about the future of Christian education. I was on the offensive, picking apart all the little things that could be picked. But in the end, she said something that totally shut me up.
"I've watched my daughter grow and become wonderful adults with interests in God. They have made great friends, and one of them has found a husband that we couldn't be more proud of. I have never had to worry about so many of the things that other parents have to worry about. So whether it's about money, academics, or whatever...it was worth it, completely."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Your mother-in-law makes a good point, however, just because it came out good for her two daughters, does not mean it would come out that way for everyone. Some children might become more prone to problems because of that type of environment, they might feel the need to act out, and do so in the wrong way either for attention, or just because they feel they are controlled. You cannot make a hasty generalization about something based off one experience, and always expect it to hold true.
Post a Comment