At Killian Middle School this year an amazing event is going to happen on May 6th. It is called Courage to Stand and is sponsored by the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). FCA holds meetings every Tuesday morning at the the middle school and is open to all students. The Bible is taught, Jesus is proclaimed and small groups meet together to pray. Courage to Stand is one night where FCA holds a meeting in the evening, and much like Wildlife, it is a crazy time for middle schoolers to bring friends to have fun, hear cool music, win prizes, and hear the gospel preached. Last year 35 Killian students accepted Christ. This year middle school and high school students from all over the LISD district have been invited. The FCA organizations at those schools are talking it up to their students. Imagine all those middle schooler and high schoolers in one very large gymnasium with a live band praising Jesus in a public school! I am so overwhelmed by how God is moving in and through the students to reach those around them. Jesus is being glorified through them. Please consider if you would follow their lead and be available to be used in a mighty way. If you are interested, Matt Thigpen has asked that we meet with him. Drew and I will be there!
Date: Monday May 2
Time: 7pm-8pm
Place: Castle Hills Golf Course Club House
Even if you are not available May 6th, please pray for this event. May Jesus be glorified!
I got chills as I read it. I'm so excited about this. I will be volunteering that night. A friend of mine teaches there now and will also be there. So I look forward to reconnecting with her too. But I felt like I needed to post this in defense of public schools. I have lots of friends who are so dead set against public school and will at all costs be sending their children to private schools. I feel that I have to defend my decision in the future to eventually send my children to public school. So I wanted to post this to show that public schools aren't so bad. God can move and be heard and seen anywhere!
As a former public school educator and counselor I always thought I would put my kids in public school until recently with all the furloughs, lay-offs and program cuts. So now we are looking at a charter school and private schools, but not to shelter them from the real world and stick them in a Christian bubble. No, my main concern with public schools is the larger classroom sizes and less teachers. It was hard when I was teaching 6 years ago. I can only imagine how much tougher it is now. But I will be honest, as a teacher I felt that I had to 1st deal with the behavior problems, 2nd challenge my Gifted and Talented kids so they don't become behavior problems, 3rd try to assist my special needs kids and lastly teach. I hate to admit it, but the average students were the ones who got less of my attention simply because they didn't need me. They were not disruptive and they were able to keep up with the material. I don't want that for my own kids. I don't want my average kids to get left behind or fall through the cracks in a giant class with only one teacher and maybe a part-time aid.
That said, I went to a private Christian school. You basically have 2 groups of people at private, Christian schools those who's parents sent them there to shelter them and ensure they get a Christian education and those who got kicked out of public school and their parents assumed the Christian aspect of it would steer them straight. Well, guess what, the 2 dated each other. My husband who went to a public school in Richardson said that my friends and I know way more people in jail and that had children out of wedlock than he did. I will admit that college was a culture shock for me. I had been in my Christian bubble my whole life and then jumped into one as quickly as I could at A&M by joining Aggie Sister's for Christ. In high school I never had to witness to anyone because everyone I hung out with were Christians. Then in college I felt that I had to learn how to gain the boldness to witness to others for the first time in my life. There were new and strange temptations all around me that I had never hear of or seen before. I had to choose to stand strong in my faith or give in. I know many people that went to my high school gave in, but I was lucky enough to have a good group of girl friends to influence me in the right way. I think no matter what type of school you go to it all comes down to the peer group you hang around with. Parents have a small window of influence in the 1st 11 years of life and then after that peer influence takes top priority. So use that short amount of time wisely, parents so that when your kid is away from you they still make wise choices. Keep in mind that the brain in not fully developed until age 25 so they are making decisions and choices that can effect the rest of their life on a brain that is not fully functioning.
I believe that it is the parent's job to teach their children about Christ and set the foundation for good, strong morals and values at home. That is in no way the school's job and that is where I believe a lot of parents with kids in private school drop the ball. They simply leave it up the school to do it and then don't even model it at home. Now, if your child is in public school you know they aren't going to teach Christianity there so you are more likely to teach it and model it at home. Just like I believe that a teacher can only teach so much at school then the parent needs to pick it up at home to ensure a quality education at an level.
Ok, so there is my soap box and just for your information I plan on keeping my kids in private school or a charter school until they ask to go to a regular public school which usually happens around junior high. I just really want to ensure that my kids get a solid reading foundation in the early years. And just in case you were wondering I married a very strong Christian man who is definitely the spiritual leader in our home and he not only has a college diploma, but also a masters degree and he is a product of public schools. My point is that you can turn out great with a public school education and you can also turn out pretty crappy with a private school education and vise versa. So pray for God to show you what is right for your children and then don't stop praying for them and their teachers. God chose you be their parent and hand picked them to be raised by you. Go with your gut instinct and allow God to raise them with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment