Parents are faced with more choices than ever regarding their children’s education. There are public schools, coming in the form of neighborhood schools, magnet schools, charter schools, lab schools and distance learning options. There are also private schools such as college preparatory schools, boarding schools and religious schools. And there are home schools.
Each type of school seems to claim an advantage over the others. What should parents think about when choosing which options are best for their children? We suggest parents consider the following four factors when making a school choice.
Quality of teachers
Multiple studies show that the single most important factor in our children’s education has to do with the quality of the teachers that guide them through their educational experience.
So, what makes for a quality teacher? One study suggests that the single most important factor has to do with the teachers’ personal values. The best teachers across the board are those who hold to the value of moderation. These teachers aren’t necessarily the flashy type that hypes up the children, but rather they are a calm and assuring adult in the room.
Some other values of effective teachers are subject specific. Excellent math teachers are those who highly value physical and mental health in themselves and in their students. Math curriculum is based on principles that build on one another. It’s easy for a student to fall behind in math when they miss a lesson due to illness. Teachers who care about physical and mental health will take extra measures to ensure that their students are well and able to progress after missing an important lesson for health reasons.
Along with this concern is a balance of math homework. Teachers who make sure that students are ready to work on their own, free their students from undue mental and emotional frustration. This helps students enjoy math and complete their work.
Language Arts is about communication. The more positive the communication in the classroom, the better students perform in their learning of verbal and written communication. So in English Language Arts, a helpful quality for teachers is valuing the building of positive relationships with students and other teachers.
Readiness to learn
An extremely important factor in student learning is student readiness to learn. The old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” is true in education.
Day after day, before students head out the door (or to the homeschool desk), are they ready to drink from the waters of knowledge? Do children begin school each day with a positive, awake and learning mentality?
Ready for the world
A third consideration for parents selecting a schooling option is how and when parents want to expose their children to the culture of this world. There is an age-appropriate point for each child to be exposed to certain realities in our world. In the homeschool world this exposure is regulated by parents.
Christ calls us to live in the world but not to become part of the world. Sheltering children completely from the influences of the world until they leave home and are faced with the realities of our culture all at once on a college campus or in a workplace could prove devastating.
Here is what worked for our family. Our oldest went to a Christian school from kindergarten through eighth grade and then public school from ninth through twelfth grade. Our other child attended Christian school from first through fourth grade and public school from fifth through twelfth grade.
Most days, until they reached college, we would discuss the happenings of the school day around the supper table or one on one if we felt it appropriate. As the children got older, our discussions included dating, modesty, locker room talk and whatever issues needed to be approached.
For us, these discussions were sometimes uncomfortable, but they were never awkward. We constantly encouraged our children to stand for their beliefs and be missionaries to their school friends. We opened our home to their non-believing and believing friends. We would never have had these discussions if our children had not been exposed to the world prior to leaving home. Providing our children with opportunities to live in the world without becoming part of the world while they were still living at home, was an important part of their learning.
Curriculum matters
The fourth consideration is the curriculum and how it fits our children’s areas of giftedness. There are two types of curricula. The first is contained in the learning materials such as the books and worksheets used for learning. We call this the formal curriculum.
The second type is all the other activities that go on in the classroom as children interact with each other, with the teacher and with other influences. This is referred to as the informal curriculum.
Michelle comes home from school and her mom asks, “What did you learn in school today?” Michelle answers, “Teachers can be mean and unfair.” It is doubtful this is what Michelle’s teacher was attempting to teach, but it is what Michelle learned as a part of the interaction she had with the teacher, the material and other students. It was a part of Michelle’s curriculum that day.
Miguel comes home and his mom asks, “What did you learn in school today?” His answer is, “With a right triangle, side ‘a’ squared plus side ‘b’ squared is equal to the hypotenuse squared.” Miguel’s answer is the result of the math curriculum that day.
When assessing a school, it is good for parents to pay attention to the classroom environment, not simply the materials being taught.
Currently there are four philosophies of education that dominate the formal curriculum in our schools. Essentialist curriculum promotes the idea that we need to teach the essential knowledge necessary to make it through life, so students can continue to educate themselves. This is the philosophy of the three Rs, (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). These essentials are the focus of elementary school learning.
Perennialist curriculum pictures the mind as a muscle. Therefore, it is important to study abstract math, Latin, ancient history, literary works of the past and the roots of philosophy so that the mind is ready for action when a student enters an unpredictable world.
Progressive curricula are designed to train people for jobs that fit their natural aptitudes. Industrial arts, home economics, agricultural science, business, physical education, health and practical classes in math and science are tracks within the curriculum. Progressive curriculum is about developing productive members of society.
Reconstructionist curriculum focuses on reforming society into a better place. This curriculum creates collaborative learning activities built around real-life problems or projects. As students solve these problems or create these projects, they engage in the use of a wide variety of subject areas much like real-life situations.
Each school tends to fall into one of the above four foci when it comes to the formal curriculum adopted.
A powerful example
Where do Christians find the most powerful example of what good schooling looks like? Effective teachers follow the example of the first century Jewish rabbi, Jesus.
He keeps his class size small, normally 12 students. He teachers the basic essentials about God. He even simplifies the 10 commandments to two. He teachers about faith and love and what that looks like. Jesus teaches the perennial truths of the Old Testament as well as those found in God’s awe inspiring and creative work. He teaches about how one finds hope and peace.
He is progressive. Jesus teaches the disciples using parables about everyday work and life situations to bring about understanding of spiritual truths. His disciples live with him, to learn as part of real-life experiences.
He is reconstructive. He has the disciples do project-based learning, like sending them out in pairs to heal and cast out demons. They distribute food to the hungry. He reconstructs the worship system by driving the money changers out of the temple and tearing the veil hiding the Holy of Holies. Jesus replaces the sacrificial system with his own self-sacrifice. He teaches non-resistance instead of human vengeance. He conquers death and sends his own Spirit to empower us to continue His ministry. Jesus turns the world upside-down and leaves us to serve as his body in the world.
Whatever type of school we choose, investigate the teachers’ effectiveness. None will be as good as Jesus, but we can encourage them. Look at teachers’ personal values of moderation, physical and mental health and building positive learning relationships. Prepare the children to learn when they enter the educational process each day. We must consider how and when we will teach our children about dealing with the cultural values that surround them. Keep Jesus as the model for curriculum.
Let’s put our thinking caps on as we prepare for a fantastic school year!
David A. Loewen has a doctorate in curriculum and instruction. Joanne P. Loewen has a master of arts as a reading specialist. Tena (Loewen) Roehrich has a master of education in neuroscience and trauma. This husband, wife and daughter trio from Hillsboro, Kan., has 71 years of combined experience teaching and coaching in public and private schools as well as at Tabor College.
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
