Who Should Be In Charge Of Your Child's Education?

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster & Parent

Let’s start this article with a short quiz:

1. Can you name the current U.S. Secretary of Education? How about the head of the Maryland State School System? The Superintendent of Harford County Public Schools?

Answer: Arne Duncan, Nancy Grasmick and Robert M. Tomback. (How many did you get right?)

2. Which of the people named in Question #1 are ultimately responsible for your child’s education?

Answer: You!

3. Which question, #1 or #2, is more important for you to get right if your child is to receive a quality education?

Answer: #2, Definitely.

In the Bible, God established three legitimate authority structures in the world: the family, the church and the state. When He established them God gave each of these three authorities certain areas of responsibility. The world works best when it works according to God’s design, that is, when each of these three authorities focuses on doing what God calls it to do with excellence and not on doing things that God has not called it to do.

God has called families to raise children, despite what some well known authorities may have said about villages. He has called the church to proclaim His word, to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth (The Great Commission), and to properly administer the sacraments (which includes practicing church discipline). He has called the government to establish justice and to punish criminals (evildoers), at home and abroad. Much of the turmoil we see in the world today is due to the fact that one or another of these institutions has over-stepped its bounds and gotten into business that is none of its business.

So, if God has called families, and not the government, to raise children, then whom has He called to be in charge of a child’s education, a vital part of his/her rearing? Parents, of course! Every commandment in the Bible regarding education assumes that this important task is the task of the parent. Here are just a few:

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children . . .” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7a, ESV)

“Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.” (Proverbs 1:8, ESV)

“He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children.” (Psalm 78:5, ESV)

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4, ESV)

God places upon parents, and especially fathers, the responsibility to teach their children. Specifically, fathers are to teach their children God’s word and the truths of the Christian faith. Yet the Bible is not to be isolated from life, as especially Deuteronomy 6 tells us, and so fathers should be teaching their children about all of life.

The big question: Does this mean that a father is responsible for personally teaching his children everything about God’s word and life, that is, everything they are to learn? If the answer is yes, how is it possible? Fathers also have to work and to provide for their families. Fathers may not know everything their children have to learn—calculus, physics, grammar, etc. Fortunately, the answer is not yes.

While God has given parents the responsibility for their children’s education, He has also given them liberty to call others alongside to help bear the load. Whether you send your child off to school (public or private) or whether you keep them home to homeschool is not the heart of the matter. These things are merely a means to an end, ways for parents to uphold their responsibility.

So, the first thing God says to you as a parent concerned for the education of your child is, “Get involved!” This is your responsibility. Make informed choices. Be careful and prayerful in all that you do. If someone else is teaching your children, remember that they do so under your authority. Make sure you know what is being taught and why. You cannot force a school to change their curriculum to suit your every wish, but you need to pick the school that is going to teach what you will also reinforce at home.

Education is a serious responsibility. Success is not measured exclusively by test scores. The final accountability is not with Rod Paige but with God Himself, and you have been charged to take up this responsibility. You need not carry it alone and you need not be overwhelmed by it, but you do need to take it up and take it seriously. May God richly bless you as you do.