Christian Schools: Transformation of Indoctrination?
Quite often you hear the qualms coming out about Christian Schools. Is it a transformation of indoctrination? Are children going to these schools and being drilled with religious beliefs? Or are they actually getting the chance to think for themselves and develop their own thought? It is hard to tell from the outside looking in, but it is something that we hope to explore in this particular piece. We have spoken with a student, who went to a Christian School and public school during their educational career to get their feedback. We really wanted to get to the root of the issue and see what this student had to say about their experience while in school. Now, this is not the voice of students all over the country this is just one account. But we believe that this will give us the necessary insight to formulate a strong hypothesis based on the question.
Our student went to a Christian School from the age of twelve until they turned eighteen. After going to a public school from kindergarten until fifth grade, the student’s school was on the verge of being shut down due to lack of government funding. After visiting a few campuses the student fell in love with one particular Christian School
When middle school came around, they were fully enrolled and taking their first set of religious classes. At first, the student was a bit skeptical about taking religious classes, at their old school religion was not even to be spoken about during school hours. But soon the
classes grew on them and became some of their favorite. It was not until they reached high school that things started to stray away from the Christian religion. The middle school years were dedicated to the Bible and all of the Christian teachings. The next four were for social justice, morality and world religions.
That is where things got fun and the student started questioning their beliefs. Open discussions were held in the classroom, which were guided by a teacher, and students challenged everything. Letting a bunch of teenagers go at it in an open forum about religion might not seem like the best thing to do, but the student noted that some of the deepest conversations they had were in classes such as this one. By the time the student graduated a large number of students no longer identified with Christianity, some were indifferent about religion, others faith grew stronger and then there was the group that was not sure what they believed. The student figures that having these conversations about religion, being forced to go to church services once a month and studying all types of religions allowed them to formulate their own opinions. While in public school, the student mentioned that if religion was ever brought up it could result in punishment or a visit to the principal's office. The student does admit that they were young while they were in public school and that things could have changed. But based on the conversations they had with friends who attended public school until senior year graduation, religion was completely out of the discussion when it came to the classroom. The only time religion could be spoken about was during out of school hours and off campus. It seems that students who go to Christian schools are allowed to transform and really question what they believe. Public school students are not indoctrinated perse but bringing up religion in any way, shape or form is frowned upon. It seems both environments allow for students to evolve and transform into a free-thinking individual. Christian schools and public schools just have a different way of letting their students go about this transformation.
source: https://dailygram.com/index.php/blog/535855/christianschools-transformation-of-indoctrination/