What about public schools
by Christine Nofsinger, Marcellus, Mich.
After reading the annual Mennonite education issue (Jan. 20) of The Mennonite, I find myself wishing for an article comparable to Laurie Oswald Robinson’s piece ("No Price Tag on Priceless Anabaptist Education for the Young") that would read, "No Price Tag on Priceless Public Education for the Young."
The decision to send our boys to the local public school was an intentional one, born out of many discussions with friends around the campfire on our Mennonite Central Committee assignment in southern Africa. What, we asked ourselves, would it be like to move back home and integrate ourselves in a local community in the same way that we had immersed ourselves in cross-cultural settings? What if we served on local school boards, sent our kids to the local school? What if we looked for the face of God in all the people in our new, adopted community?
As a graduate of a Mennonite high school, I am aware of the benefits of a Christian education. While I have at times lamented the shortcomings of a small, rural public school system and the messiness of local politics, I have no regrets about our decision to send our boys to public school and then off to Goshen (Ind.) College, where we see them move with ease among different groups of people and where they find themselves challenged in new ways in a college whose core values so closely mirror our desire for their faith development.
Associated Issue: Mennonite education - Jan. 20, 2009
Associated Article: A priceless education
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