The Third Way
Richard Osborn November/December 1999 The Seventh-day Adventist Church, in common with all major Christian denominations, places a high premium on education. Worldwide the church operates a total of 5,464 elementary and secondary schools, with 1,024 of them in North America. In the United States, these schools are part of the 6 million students in 27,000 schools who attend non-public schools.These are statistics--the physical reality of a broad-based commitment to Christian education. The significant reality is added by the individual families: parents determined that their children will receive the best possible education. And not only the best education but an education that by design encourages and indeed inculcates spiritual and moral values within a Christian worldview.
It is an almost universal understanding that individual morality and integrity lead to a stable and responsible society. This dynamic goes beyond basic Christian assumptions, and is shared by all the faith systems. While endorsing the plurality that so enriches our society, many Christians look to Christian education to develop their particular faith system more fully so that their children will be loyal to their church and develop strong faith maturity.
However, it is a fairly basic matter of public record, as well as a logical outgrowth of Christian education, that in the process of providing an education tailored to Christian needs it tends to strengthen the very integrity of society as a whole. Not only are students in Christian schools less likely to present behavioral problems, but beyond into adulthood the record of their leadership and citizenship is all out of positive proportion to their numbers. The simple fact is that Christian education is designed to turn out good citizens.
The strength of Christian education has been proved and demonstrated over and over. Young people from Christian and non-professing homes who receive a Christian education have a strong moral compass to aid in negotiating life's perplexities.
Yes: Christian eduation is a high priority with church members. But it is not a demand. It is ultimately a choice of the individual parents. While some may choose home schooling, the majority will send their children to public schools. In common with all other citizens, Seventh-day Adventist Christian parents thus have a stake in the quality and effectivenss of public education. Like those of all other citizens/taxpayers their tax contributions directly support the public school system. Where they choose the church school their contribution still continues to subsidize the public schools. The reality is that there are three basic choices available--public school education, non-public schools, and home schooling. Christian schools provide one way for parents to educate our children in a way that satisfies both the aspirations of the parent and society.
Richard Osborn, vice president for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.