Trends in Christian Education

All Christian parents are called to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). In Deuteronomy 6:4–9, the Lord commands his covenant people, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. It is non-negotiable for covenant families to raise their children according to the Lord’s commands. However, this education may take different forms amidst different circumstances. In this episode, Erica Bucey, Director of Development at Westlake Christian Academy in Grayslake, Illinois, speaks about various trends in Christian education given the COVID-19 pandemic, which has uprooted education in America. Families have been influenced to think about education in ways that they have not before. We speak about different approaches to education, the trade-offs involved in each form, as well as current legislation in Illinois that encourages a form of progressive indoctrination in public schools. We conclude by discussing ways in which churches can support families by talking about these matters and educating them. Links to Resources Cornelius Van Til, “What Shall We Feed Our Children?” The Presbyterian Guardian, Vol. 3 No. 2 (October 1936), 23–24.Cornelius Van Til, Foundations of Christian EducationCornelius Van Til, Essays on Christian EducationDoug Wilson, The Case for Classical Christian EducationDavid Engelsma, Reformed Education: The Christian School as Demand of the CovenantStanley Kurtz speaking with Mark Bauerlein on the First Things podcastGeorge F. Will, “The Worst-Governed State Now Turns to Indoctrination” Participants: Camden Bucey, Erica Bucey