Cover Story by Leeann Bay Home schooling was thrust upon us.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice Faculty discuss schooling options How to educate children is a difficult decision that parents need to make. Three of Multnomah's faculty members discuss their personal insights about Christian, home and public schooling options and which worked best for their children. Christian school Elise Lockwood is a senior at Westlake Christian High School. Her parents, Dr. Daniel and Jani Lockwood, sent Elise to private school. Dr. Lockwood said, "[Private school] is important if you believe all truth is God's truth and all subjects are taught within a biblical worldview." Dr. Lockwood said he also chose private school for his daughter's protection from both physical and behavioral problems. "It's not an avoidance of all that is bad in the schools but is an embracing of a Christian worldview," he said. Private Christian schools have the advantage of employing teachers with Christian values who lead smaller classes. Dr. Lockwood said a smaller school offers each student the option of involvement in more activities. Elise is involved in student government and various sports. However, in small schools, subjects such as science tend to suffer from lack of finances. Elise has attended private school since kindergarten. Dr. Lockwood said the most important time for children to attend private school is in elementary school, then secondary and college. He said some people argue that the order is reversed. Dr. Lockwood said when parents panic and put their child in private school during junior high, the young person may already be unchangable. Money is a factor in private school, and Dr. Lockwood said he and his wife decided that Elise's tuition was a priority in their budget. He added that having only one child also makes tuition easier to afford. Before enrolling a child in any Christian school, parents need to be familiar with the school's teaching and philosophy because false teaching can be destructive to students' views on Christianity, he said. Some Christian schools are legalistic and too conservative. Other private schools are biblically but not academically sound. Dr. Lockwood cautions parents that the danger of a Christian school is that parents can hand over their child's education to the school and become uninvolved. Home schooling wasn't an option for the Lockwoods; Dr. Lockwood said his wife feels teaching is not her gift. Dr. Lockwood said he was also concerned about the social dimension of home schooling. He said there is great value in students learning and thinking with other students. Home school "Home schooling was thrust upon us," Professor Ray Lubeck said. When the Lubeck's daughter, Lani, walked by five months and wanted to learn to read at 2-and-a-half, the Lubecks began to teach her. Lani is now 13 and she and her brother Chip, 11, are still home schooled. Lani is a quick learner and would get easily bored in a classroom. Chip is home schooled because he isn't socially ready to be in a classroom setting. Professor Lubeck said being "isolationists" through home schooling was never their goal. Lani is active in a local middle school's choir, band and computer classes. She also took piano and French lessons and is involved in drama. Chip plays in the band, plays in sports and takes computer classes. "The public school system, generally speaking, is extremely inefficient both in terms of time and resources," he said. Instead, with home schooling, school goes through the summer, but if the sun comes out in February, they take off a day for "solar therapy." Professor Lubeck said home schooling helped his children relate to people better. He said public schools boast of diversity but surround students with classmates their own age. Professor Lubeck said he also feels that home schooling prepares his children for ministry and to be "change elements" in the world. In a classroom setting, Lani and Chip wouldn't be stimulated to perform at their full potential, he said. Public school Wayne Strickland's two oldest daughters started out in Christian school, but are now in public high school and college, along with his youngest daughter. The transition was shocking. "They weren't used to the brutality, the open hostilities you sometimes find," he said. In public school, however, his daughters have had many chances to share Christ. "In a public school you've got a lot of people needing Christ, and they come to you. You don't have to go out," Dr. Strickland said. "We want them to be participating in transforming that culture. The down side is you can be absorbed by that culture." So Dr. Strickland's family gives the women a spiritual net at home to protect them. Dr. Strickland said he feels that spirituality is the responsibility of the parents at home, not the school. When the kids were younger, the family went to a community Bible study and went on retreats with Dr. Strickland's singles group. Public school also appealed to the Stricklands because their daughter, Desiree, played soccer. The public school offered a higher quality program and greater promises of scholarships than a private school. The Strickland's wanted the best education they could afford. Public school has more science, physical education and computer equipment than private or home schools offer. They started their children in private school because public schools were inferior in Maryland. When the family moved to Oregon, they chose an area with good public schools. Dr. Strickland's youngest daughter, Danielle, has gone to public school from the start. He has noticed her grades, discipline in studies and critical thinking skills have suffered. He said public schools in Oregon are suffering because of large class sizes. Public school, however, was the best quality education they could afford. The Stricklands decided against home schooling because they didn't want their children in a bubble. "Home schooling is growing and developing. It's a fairly new movement. I don't think it's reached its prime yet, but it does have great potential," Dr. Stickland said. Dr. Strickland also said parents who home school need to be trained at teaching. In high school level, parents easily get in above their heads, he said. In conclusion, the three faculty members agreed that for parents to make a wise educational decision, they need to be well-informed and involved in their child's education. Parents should also know that Deuteronomy 6 says they have the responsibility of educating their children. But the means of education is left open. Leeann Bay has experienced Christian, home and public schooling. 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