Yesterday I ate lunch with Ben Loveland and his friends, all first grade boys, at Faith Heritage school on Midland Ave. Ben and his brother, Connor and his sister, Hannah, invited me to come to Pastors’ day for a visit. I ate excellent pizza supreme and listened to the boys trying to guess each other’s middle names. I haven’t been in the middle of such happy overlapping boys’ talk in a while. Ben, you and your friends put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.
I was also glad for the chance to visit Faith Heritage. I believe in the mission of Christian education. The more we all learn about how daily experiences wire our brains, the more imperative it is to use every possible advantage to grow our children’s minds in the “nurture” and “instruction” of Christ (Eph. 6:4 KJV & NIV). The more the next generation’s thinking is shaped by those who think like Jesus, the brighter the nation’s future will be.
I have high respect for Faith Heritage headmaster, Jeff Shaver, and it was good to see him again. I also ran into a couple long time Faith Heritage teachers who have connections out here in Kirkville, Maxine Fuller and Kathy Boswell and it was great to converse with them too.
I have believed for some time that Christian parents should be able to access this kind of education without having to pay both full tuition and full taxes to the district they live in. I advocate a partial – not full- tax credit for tuition paid. The reasons I advocate partial, not full, are three.
- Some relief is warranted to recognize the parent’s right to choose and the need to respect religious education. Christian education provides a huge benefit to many people and a tax benefit recognizes its value and contribution.
- It is better to require some extra investment by parents in such education to avoid misuse of private schools for purposes of segregation, whether racial, socio-economic, religious, or social status. Investment also equates to greater interest and desire.
- Those who presumably have resources to choose schooling must still be responsible to the bulk of society who cannot or will not choose private schools. Public schools must care for everyone, set standards, devise testing, coordinate transportation, do special education, etc. Many of these types of responsibilities do not happen in private schools. In addition, those involved in private schooling should still be interested in what is happening in public education too.