Why do Christians go to public schools? Because they think there is no cost to public schools. But there is a cost. The cost is just hidden from parents. There is nothing free in this world. Education is not free. Someone else is paying for it, if you are not. Public schools cost the community, the state, and the nation $878 billion per year. 

Some might say that classical Christian education is expensive. And that is right because it is good. There is no way to get a good product unless you pay for it. However, on average private K-12 schools charge less than public schools. The average annual tuition among private K-12 schools is $12,350. While public schools cost $17,700 per pupil per year. But the problem is that tuition for public schools is not coming directly from the parents. If parents were paying for public schools, they would be switching schools immediately.

The problem with public schools is that parents are not paying the tuition directly themselves. Someone else is doing that. The principle is that if you are not paying for it, then someone else is. And the people who are paying are controlling the curriculum, the vision, and the school. To send children into that situation is dangerous and foolish. It is like sending kids to Facebook all day to be experimented on by AI bots. We see a problem with that situation so how do we not see it with public schools?  

If you are not paying for something, then you are the product, not the customer.

If you are not paying for something, then you are the product, not the customer. This is true in social media and in public education. If you’re not paying tuition, then you and your kids are being experimented on. Someone else is trying out Marxist ideas, queer messaging, social conditioning and more on your kids. To put it crassly, you are the rat in the maze. The students are a product the school is producing. Do you know what they are producing? If you don’t, then you are in serious trouble.  

The person who is not paying for something, has no buying power. Without buying power, there is no way to resist what the public schools are doing. What are you going to do? You can’t take your money somewhere else; you have no money. No wonder parents are not engaged in public schools like they need to be. The public school system is designed to keep parents out because parents pay nothing for it. And it seems that many parents are fine with not being involved in public schools because they have no skin in the game. Parents need to be paying for education so they stay invested in education. Parents cannot afford to let the public school system educate their children. Kids are too valuable for that. 

The value you pay for education is the value of the education. If you pay nothing, don’t be surprised when that’s what you get. 

If you want to get a valuable education, then you have to pay for it from your own pocket. That is the only way you can ensure that the education is good and valuable. It costs money but that is true for anything that is valuable. 

The more important the investment the more you should be willing to pay for it. If Christian K-12 schooling is really as important as we say it is, we should be willing to pay for it. And not just pay for it, but pay well for it. That is the principle of investment: a good education costs good money. 

Educating children is one of the highest callings for parents. We should be willing to invest significant time, energy, and resources in such an endeavor. 

We know that a Christian K-12 education is one of the most important investments a parent can make. Educating children is one of the highest callings for parents. We should be willing to invest significant time, energy, and resources in such an endeavor. 

If we were looking for a family car to drive across the country, would we be willing to use a vehicle that is free? No, a free car is most likely in terrible condition and would break down along the way. We would want to pay a good bit to ensure we have a car that can get us there and back. The same should be true for educating the next generation. Educating children is one of the highest callings for parents. 

“Let us ever be mindful of the fact that the King’s children must have a royal education.” -Louis Berkhof

Louis Berkhof said it well: “Let us ever be mindful of the fact that the King’s children must have a royal education.” We cannot give our kids a royal education without paying a pretty penny. Parents must step up and make the sacrifice to give their kids a Christian education. Our kids are too valuable to let someone else shape them and their future. As Christian parents we have a duty to educate our kids well. We cannot expect God to bless us, if we refuse that duty.