Standards

Why is it that some private Christian schools, and even some homeschoolers, feel the need to educate to the state standards? And why so much emphasis on standardized testing? As believers, shouldn't our education goals be to honor Him? Shouldn't we be seeking His will for the education of our children? After all, "...the Lord is the God of knowledge..." (1 Sam. 2:3)

It just breaks my heart to see so many believers striving to educate their children the way the world says they should be educated. God has made every child different, with their own talents and abilities.

This is heavy on my heart right now because the Christian school that LV attended in K and 1st grade, and where my mom teaches, seems to me to be striving to live up to the foolishness of men. And I see my mom suffering because of it. What she has to offer her students is undervalued, and sometimes even frowned upon, because it does not meet the "standards." The board makes all of their decisions based on what that public school's standards are. As if secular humanism is so much more beneficial to these students than a love of learning about all of God's creation in an atmosphere where each child is seen as the unique person that they are.

Granted, they are not teaching evolution, but when did the school become a business instead of a ministry? And since being run as a business, why have they struggled more and more financially?

Education is not the end all be all of our existence. And we would be negligent, even disobedient to Him, if we ignored it. But a close walk with the Lord and Godly character are so much more important! We need to make our top priority that which is eternal. The world may not understand it. But we as believers should expect that.