This blog is a response to the Jesus Creed blog today. I left this comment on the blog. The question is whether churches should provide an exit strategy for Christians from the public schools. I apologize for the length of this response, but the topic is one that requires a lot of insight and thoughtful consideration. I respond as a person from a family with extensive public school experience, and myself as a former public and private school teacher. My husband is a minister, with many seminary degrees, and our decision to home school is often mistaken to be a conservative, Christian, religious decision that separates our children from the world. In fact, the decision was made after our first child became depressed in a public school Kindergarten. There was very little time devoted to “socialization” within his classroom. Recess was 15 minutes after a lunch that was demanded to be silent. The characteristic free time “center time” of Kindergarten was only allowed if you had finished your seat work, which my child hadn’t because he had been socializing during seat work. He began to have health problems, behavior problems, and personality changes—at 5 years old! After about 6 months of this, my husband announced that it was enough and we brought our son home. This decision has had happy results that were unintentional at the outset. My children are healthy and happy. They are very innocent compared to their public schooled friends. They have been able to have experiences that the public school setting does not allow. To those who would say we are sheltering our children and they need to be salt and light to the world, I would say, “Why do they have to be salt and light in the public school arena?” They are in 3 and 5 grades. They are salt and light in the art class they take at the university. They are salt and light to the 4-Hers of our county. They are salt and light to the elderly people they swim with every day. They are salt and light to friends and neighbors. They are salt and light to the county soccer league. And their salt and light resources are developed and nurtured by long daily doses in the home. They have even been salt and light to other church members. This past summer our older son was at his grandparents’ church. The Sunday School teacher was showing a clip from The Matrix to teach some point. Our son, knowing that he isn’t allowed to watch that movie because of its rating, took a stand and told the teacher he needed to leave and why. His insistence that his parents would not approve made a huge impact on the teacher and the students. A large portion of the class time, according to the teacher, was then spent on why he would make such an unpopular stand. His integrity was honored. I do not for one second think he would have had the guts to stand by his convictions if he had been raised in the schools and spent his “free time” with his parents. The stereotype of homeschoolers as conservative, blue-denim jumper wearing, large family, living off the land weirdos certainly has some merit. You don’t get a stereotype without a reason. However, within my home school support system there are Christians and Atheists, Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Liberals, and stereotypical and non-stereotypical homeschoolers. To judge all homeschoolers based on a stereotype is like saying you should be afraid of all black men; it’s just plain wrong and inaccurate. As far as the church being responsible for helping parents to have an exit strategy, I would say it is very difficult to make a blanket statement like that. Some churches, ours for instance, are too small to sponsor a school. I have taught in a Christian private school before, and I do not think therein lies the answer either. My students knew just as much about the world and what goes on in it as any public school student. They didn’t have the advantage of being in the midst of their family and having the constant, first-hand knowledge of what their parents expected. On top of that, a young child idolizes his teachers and thinks that ANYTHING they say is scientific fact, regardless of what their parents say. So the only possible church solution I can envision is one that makes it financially feasible for one parent to stay home with the children and school them. I do not, however, support such a decision. Perhaps the strongest way for the church to provide an exit strategy from the public schools is to help educate their members about financial responsibility and stewardship, as well as lessening the amount of extra-curricular activities that children participate in. The church should encourage families to spend time together; the LDS church certainly has a lot to teach us there. There is ever so much more I could say about this topic, but I think I have touched on the major issues. Thank you for the blog.