To use our price comparison to get the cheapest price, please click on the "Find the Cheapest Price" button located above for Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School by David Pritchard, Kelli Pritchard (ISBN-10: 0830745777, ISBN-13: 9780830745777).
At this time we have not yet written a review for Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School by David Pritchard, Kelli Pritchard (ISBN-10: 0830745777, ISBN-13: 9780830745777). Please continue to keep checking back to this page as we are constantly adding reviews.
Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
“Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Taking this verse at face value provides the perfect opportunity to prove it in the educational setting of our children, say the authors of Going Public. By nurturing the life and power of Christ within them, students will be ready to stand against negative influences no matter the environment, even bringing light to a dark place. They will also benefit from many of the services that the often well-financed public school system has to offer. Readers of this practical guide will learn how moms and dads have a strategic role to play in the ongoing development of their school-age children. Discover what the Bible says about education, the three most important things to teach your public-school child, how to shape your child through teachable moments, the importance of getting involved at school and why everyone should “home-school,” in addition to public school.
Wonderful Book!
| Customer Rating:  | | I am so happy I found this book! As a former homeschooler, I can honestly say I appreciate the information in this book. Our children are now attending a "struggling" public school. I'm so proud of them and the lessons they've learned, how they interact with others, and the respect they show their teachers. God has blessed us with wonderful, caring educators who truly want the best for our children. We had to discontinue homeschooling because I had cancer and had to have treatments. I'm terribly disappointed in the number of Christians who wrongly try to twist Scripture to say that ALL parents should homeschool because it's in the Bible. I'm also tired of Christian parents who believe it is their duty to "remind" us that our children won't be as bright as homeschooled children, nor as godly. Sorry you feel that way, but our children are doing fantastic! They have straight A's and are very grounded in their faith. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU David and Kelli Pritchard for this book. I believe God is bigger than public education, what we (as parents) teach our children is the most important thing, and that our children CAN thrive in public school. |
Render unto God the things that are God's
| Customer Rating:  | God gave you children as a steward and gave you the authority over them:
Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
Genesis 33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Genesis 48:8-9 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
Hebrews 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
On rendering to GOD'S what is GOD'S:
Matthew 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.
(People tend to ignore the latter portion of the verse. Our children are not Caesar's!) Children belong to God:
Ezekiel 16:20-21 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
God's commandments to us regarding our stewardship of the children He has given us include:
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.Deuteronomy 6:6-9 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
How someone thinks in their heart is what makes them. How do children learn to think of the world, of God and His creation, in school?
Isaiah 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Again, a child's mind is trained in school.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Does a child receive this kind of training in public school?
Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Does a child "walk with wise men" in public school?
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
That's communications as in "community." Is it a good idea to put children in that situation?
James 3:13-18 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Psalms 119:97-104 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
|
Justification
| Customer Rating: | To say that public schooling is optimal (above homeschooling or Christian schooling) would be a stretch and without biblical merit. Since the removal of prayer in school in the 1960s, do you think public schools have gotten any better or worse--even though over 80% of Christians still put their kids there?
God places the responsibility on parents to raise and train their children in the way they should go, according to Scripture (2Tim. 3:16). While many parents would be content to relegate Christian education to Sunday school and youth groups, I can't imagine any family intentionally choosing a church that sharply disagrees with their theological orientation. So why would we be content giving over our children--for thousands of hours of influence--into the hands of educators, who in many instances don't respect our faith or (even if they're Christians)are prohibited from teaching from the Source of truth, knowledge and wisdom?(Deuteronomy 11:18-21)
When God is excluded from the classroom, we're not merely remaining silent about God. We're modeling for our children that they, too, may safely disregard Him.
I can see why the default for the Pritchards would be to 'go public' (that's a lot of tuition for 8 kids or a zoo for a homeschooling mom). While there may be truly valid reasons to place kids in the public school (e.g., resources for learning/physical disabilities, not a better football team or 'confiscatory tuition'), this book reads more like an attempt to make yourself feel better about taking the easy way out. Renowned youth expert Josh McDowell said this about putting kids in public schools so they can be "salt and light": "They've got the rest of their lives to be 'salt and light,' but we've got only a short window of opportunity to train them up right."
Please search God's Word and pursue His desire for what's right for your child.
|
Some parts good, the rest is flat and hollow
| Customer Rating: | I am a single mom and I have two boys, age 9 and 4. We have always homeschooled. My oldest son dropped a bomb on me a few months ago and told me that he wants to go to public school next year. Shortly thereafter, my youngest son told me the same thing. (They are starved for social interaction, as we live in a very isolated rural area and are members of a very lazy homeschool association.) As a K-12 product of the public schools myself, I cringed at the thought of my children being exposed to obnoxious bullies, undisciplined brats, apathetic/atheist teachers, and unChristian curriculum. Yet, my children are determined to go, and I've never been one to smother my children with my own agenda. As a mother who loves my children very much, I was also quite broken hearted. I prayed and searched for some kind of encouragement, and that's when I found this book.
The authors are respectable people (parents of 8, and they all look quite happy in the picture!), but I just never caught on to their train of thought. Some of their ideas and "information" seemed so flippant and flimsy to me. With chapter headings and subheadings like "The Moon is Round", "The Magic of Being Nice", and "Doing Good, Feeling Good", I've had plenty of chances to scoff and say, "Give me a break!!". In the very first chapter, the authors talk of a time when their first grade daughter called begging to be picked up from school, so as to not have to suffer the relentless bullying and harrassment she had been enduring at the hands of a few third grade boys. The mother's reaction to the school's phone call was, "Well, that's certainly interesting!" Are you kidding me??
I will be fair enough to say that I am only about 1/3 of the way through the book, so I know I'm leaving this review prematurely. I will revise at a later time if my feelings change.
In regards to homeschooling, the authors say, "Too many parents today operate under a premise of 'I need to keep controlling the environment, because I don't entirely trust my kid in the environment." (pg. 22) I beg their pardon, because it's not that I don't trust my kids, I don't trust the *other* kids, or their parents, or the teachers, or the administration. When you homeschool your children, they are being taught by the person who loves them the most in the world, cares about them more than anyone else does, wants the best for them, wants to help them reach their full potential (academic and otherwise), wants to ensure they are taught with a Biblically correct curriculum (if you are a Christian, of course), and you are never going to have to deal with drug dealers, gangs, kids who sneak Dad's Playboy to school, kids who want to teach your child every foul word imaginable, bullies, or people calling them fat, ugly, gay, stupid, etc etc. The authors of this book hint that public school is where they need to go through these things so that they'll learn how to hack it in the "real world". I must differ with them again, as I have never had as many of those experiences "in the real world" as I did while I was in school. Another thing they do that drives me nuts is hint that your children should go to public school so that they can be "a light in the darkness". No child should have that burden put on them.
While I can concede that homeschooling is not for everyone, Christian or not, I am having a hard time giving it up and getting ready to hand my children over to the state for 30 hours a week. I was hoping this book would help me, but so far it hasn't. This book seems geared towards people who are trying to reassure themselves that they are "doing the right thing" by sending their kids to public school. I hope it will get better, but so far I have been quite disappointed. |
Awesome book. A must have for parents!
| Customer Rating: | | This is a very well written book with great practical ideas for helping navigate your kids through public school. I highly recommend it for all parents. |
|
