Why send your child to a Christian School?

 

Luke 6:40 “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”

 

Parents may choose to send their children to a Christian School, because there is better discipline than in Public Schools. Other parents may choose to send their children to a Christian School, because of the more rigorous academics found in these schools. Some may send them, because of the better moral influence in a Christian School. Others for the positive learning environment associated with Christian Schools. Another reason may be, because there are less drug challenges in Christian Schools. It ought to be so.

 

All above reasons are valid. However, one good reason parents should send their children to a Christian School is – “Our children will become like their teachers!” Years from now the learners will not remember much detail about what their teachers taught them. They will even have forgotten some of the lessons that their teachers especially laboured over in their preparation to make the class interesting and exciting. Learners’ long-term memory, according to psychologists, will only permit them to retain less than 10 percent of what was taught in class. Christian School learners will retain in their long term memory who their teachers were as Christians ... Christian Teachers. They will remember their teachers’ concerns and love for them, their prayers and understanding of Scripture as it related to where the learners really were. The learners will definitely remember the individual personalities of their teachers. Not only will they remember their teachers, but a part of the teacher will be transformed into the learners permanently.

 

Many forces, values and messages bombard our learners: home, school, church, television, friends, music and magazines. Between Gr 7 and 12, the average learner listens to 10 500 hours of rock music, just slightly less than the entire number of hours spent in the classroom from Gr 1 through to Gr 12. Listening to music is a way to cope with their challenges.

 

What about the influence of strong Christian homes? The home is a powerful influence for good, but studies show how little contact there is between learners and their parents, particularly Fathers. How much quality time do the Christian parents spend with our learners?

 

The home is not enough to train and influence our learners. At one time in history, Roman parents were concerned that they provided their children with the best education possible. In their culture, it was using Greek slave teachers. These Greek teachers did not teach from a value-free vacuum. They thought as Greeks and taught as Greeks. Roman parents were shocked when they discovered a Biblical principle we know today. “A child when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40. The learners had Roman bodies, but Greek minds. They could not become Roman soldier or statesmen, their minds would not permit that.

 

Learners today receive conflicting values-laden messages from television, internet, music and friends. Our learners need to be in an educational environment in which their teachers are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and to a Christian philosophy of education. They need to learn from educational materials that are Biblically-integrated. Our learners need to know that Jesus Christ does make a difference in their learning. That environment only exists for our learners at KCS or at Christian Schools.

 

Christian parents need to send their children prepared to weather the demands of life. When the weather is harsh, parents send their children out with the correct clothing. The right education is like the right clothing for our KCS learners. Our learners need to be equipped for the unpredictable weather of the complex world. They should learn in a climate of strong Christian values and a Christ-centered education, an environment where learners can pass the test before they take it. Christian School education is preparation to weather the demands of life.

 

To my Staff: “You are doing a great job, it is a calling. You are doing eternal-valued work. God will compensate you one day for the worked you have put into your learners. You are a role model or Jesus to the learners at KCS. When you get desponded in this calling of yours, take these two pages and read it again. Keep it permanently in your Teacher Portfolio. Keep up the good work. I am proud of you and I am proud to be a KCS which belongs to God.”

 

To the Parents: “You will not make and have not made a mistake by placing your child at KCS. Your child will grow academically, emotionally and spiritually at KCS. Your child(ren) is in good hands. We make mistakes at KCS. We are human-beings. Forgive us and we learn through our mistakes by not making it again. Your child will definitely know who Jesus Christ is at KCS. We all love the Lord. He is an awesome God.”

Compiled and written by:

 

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Francois van Vuuren

Headmaster