Seventh-day Adventist Christian Education Versus Public School Education. Value-Genesis studies included

1. Dr. Michael England
Professor of Education
Southwestern Adventist University

2. Reason #1:
You are accountable to
God for what your
children are taught in
school. Proverbs 22:6 is a
direct command to
parents. It says, "Train
up a child in the way he
should go..."
What your children
are taught in school
should be a direct
extension of your
parental views.
The teachers at P.C.A.
under whom your children
are taught are the same
kind of teachers you
would personally hire if
your children were being
educated in your home.

3. Christian schools offer a better
level of instruction.
The test scores over the
last three decades are
conclusive. The annual
Stanford Achievement Test
administered to first
through eighth grade
Christian school students
shows these students to be
7 – 19 months ahead of the
national norm in reading,
and 7 – 13 months ahead of
the national norm in all
subject areas.
Reason #2:

4. The Bible does
not teach that
children should
be exposed to all
kinds of sin.
We are to train "up" a child, not point
him downward. Children do not grow
spiritually stronger in a negative non-
Christian environment.
Students do not become
stronger Christians by
being taught non-
Christian thinking, but
by being taught Christian
thinking, and there is no
such person as a
“neutral” school teacher
who neither advances nor
inhibits religion.
Reason #3:

5. School represents
21% of your child's
time each week.
It is prime time, a
training time, and
Christian school
education represents
a positive Bible-
centered form of
instruction that will
build a child up in
the faith - not tear
him down.
Proverbs 19:27
says, “Stop
listening to
instruction, my
son, and you will
stray from the
words of
knowledge.”

6. The Christian school is right for
your child because the Christian
school has not cut itself off from
the most important book in the
world - the Bible.
Without the Bible,
education is nothing
more than the blind
leading the blind.
Standards for morality
must be taken from
Scripture alone, not from
situations as often taught in
secular schools.
Reason #4:

7. The Christian school provides an opportunity
for your child to witness for Christ.
This surprises some
people because they
assume all students in a
Christian school are
Christians. In most cases
a majority are Christian;
however, in every
Christian school there are
always some students who
need the Savior.
Christian students are trained and encouraged to reach
these youngsters for Jesus Christ. Witnessing in a
Christian school has the support of parents, students,
teachers, administration and the school board. Presenting
Christ as Savior is not illegal in a Christian school.
Reason #5:

8. Christian school educators teach all
subject matter from a Christian context.
They put the
Bible at the
center of the
curriculum and
ask students to
evaluate all they
see in the world
through the eyes
of God.
The secular vs.
Christian school
issue is really a
question of whether
a child will learn to
view life from man's
perspective or God's
perspective.
In a Christian school,
a student is exposed
to the centrality of
God in all of life. In
public education, a
student is legally
"sheltered" from this
important dimension
of education.
Reason #6:

9. Christian schools support
the family as the number
one institution of society.
Christian school educators
train students to respect
their parents. These
educators agree with the
early American patriot,
Noah Webster, who said,
“All government originates
in families, and if
neglected there, it will
hardly exist in society.”
Reason #7:

10. The atheists have,
for all practical
purposes, taken over
public education in
this country.
As a matter of fact, a
large group of parents
who send their children
to Christian schools are
public school teachers
and principals.
The public school
is basically
humanistic and
materialistic in its
approach to life
and the
fundamental
questions of human
existence and
purpose.
Reason #8:

11. Christian school educators maintain discipline
in the classroom and on the playground.
Lack of discipline in the public schools again heads the
list of problems cited most often by survey respondents.
Without a reasonable
standard of discipline,
the process of education
is severely hampered.
“For whom the Lord
loves, He disciplines...”
the Bible teaches.
Reason #9:

12. You believe that
our children are
gifts of the Lord.
We are
responsible to
train them
according to His
Word not only at
home and in
church, but in
school as well.
Reason #10:
Public School Path Christian School

13. 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

14. History:
Controlled either by autonomous man
or by an impersonal process
History:
Controlled by an omnipotent God who
knows the end from the beginning
Public Schools Christian Schools
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

15. 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
Public Schools Christian Schools
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

16. ValueGenesis 3

18. ValueGenesis 3

19. ValueGenesis 3

20. ValueGenesis 3

24. ValueGenesis 3

25. How much has each of the following helped you develop your religious faith?

28. ValueGenesis 3
also found that
students have
superior
achievement
when:
They attend an Adventist
school for multiple years.
They do not spend
a great deal of
time watching
television or
playing on the
computer.They have a
healthy diet
and get
adequate sleep.
They do not spend a lot of
time participating in sports.

29. They have a lot
of interaction
with their
parents.
There are many good
books and magazines in
their home.
Their parents control time
and content of TV watching
and Internet use.
Their
parents are
involved in
school
activities.
The church and
pastor support
the school.
ValueGenesis 3
also found that
students have
superior
achievement
when:

30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrJjfDUzD7M
Video: Shift Happens

31. What do I know about the
Path Christian Academy School Teachers?
They are the
communicators
of truth and
are openly and
boldly Christian.
They know
the Bible
because the
Word of God
is relevant to
all subjects.

32. They are committed in every aspect of
their lives and work, in all their being,
to the truth.
What do I know about the
Path Christian Academy School Teachers?
They seek excellence. This is a
seeking after intellectual excellence
to the glory of God, and they are
content with nothing less than
superiority in this area.

33. They truly love their
students, seeking their
highest good even when at
times the way may be hard.
Not only do they love their
students, they genuinely like
and understand them.
What do I know about the
Path Christian Academy School Teachers?

34. They exercise complete
submission to the one great
teacher. They listen to the
Lord, and the Holy Spirit for
their lessons and they never
think that they do not need
to be taught of Him.
What do I know about the
Path Christian Academy School Teachers?

35. Often as a child gets older, his secular
worldview will now cause him to choose
the wrong friends and make decisions
that detrimentally influence and guide
the direction in his life.
The question every parent should ask
themselves is: “Is the saving of money
worth the possible sacrifice of my
child’s future for the Lord?”

36. I believe that if a parent is to follow the
biblical mandate of “training up a child in the
way he should go,” then serious prayer and
consideration should be made to sacrifice and
save so that your child can be trained and
taught in a school environment where the
name of Christ is exalted and honored instead
of being forgotten and forsaken.
Christian education is
not just a plus, it is
an absolute must!