Articles

The Church and Public Education
How we provide a quality education for every child in the U.S. is a challenge to people of faith.

by Jim Watkins

One of the hot-button issues in our society is the status of public education. Unfortunately, public education is often a target: "Why can't Johnny and Sally read, do math, speak a foreign language, work computers, and compete with their counterparts around the world?" A corollary hot button is the relationship between the church and public education: "If only we had not let the Supreme Court take God out of schools." You've heard it. Before we push those buttons, let us make sure that we are all singing off the same page of the hymnbook, as it were.

Public education is important to Presbyterians. From the beginning, Presbyterians have affirmed schooling, not just for the elite but for everyone in society. A basic reason for universal education is theological. The Reformation in the church was accompanied by a reformation in information technology that had as great an impact on the society of that day as the computer has had on our society. The printing press made possible the mass distribution of books. And what was "the book of books"? The Bible.

John Calvin thought it important for everyone to go to school so that everyone could read the Bible and learn about God and salvation. It is no wonder that schools have been established wherever descendants of Calvin have gone. By extension, Presbyterians, whose theological benchmark is the sovereignty of God, have believed that not only do we learn about God through the written Word - Scripture - and the living Word - Jesus - but also through the word that comes to us through creation. God speaks to us in science and math and history. God rules over all of creation, not just that part called church.

So we need not apologize that our concern for public education has at its heart a theological rationale. But does that violate the so-called doctrine of the separation of church and state? No. There is a great deal of confusion about what the separation of church and state means and does not mean. The separation of church and state means the separation of the church as an institution from the state as an institution, so that neither controls the other, but it does not mean the separation of religious values from the public policy process. The public policy process is the setting of community norms, often through law. It is appropriate that religious values not be left at the door as our nation sets education policy.

The challenge comes when competing religious values are inserted into the public policy process as education policy is formed. Should the school day start with spoken prayer? Should creationism be taught alongside evolution in biology classes? Should vouchers allow an inner-city child to seek the best possible education even if that education is found at a parochial school? These questions are important. They are not of prime importance.

The most important question in public education is how we provide a quality education for every child in our nation. Ultimately this is a question of justice and therefore not too different from the Reformation concern that everyone be able to read the Bible.

If we could be selective about who is taught, many of the challenges in our public school classrooms would vanish. Test scores would soar. Thankfully, though, public policy in the United States says that all children are to be in school until they are sixteen years old. No exception is made for the class bully who takes upon himself or herself the mission of destroying the idealism of young teachers. No exception is made for the disabled youngster who is dependent upon others for movement. No exception is made for the sullen child who cannot trust any authority figure because he or she is abused at home. No exception is made for the malnourished child whose only good meal of the day is the school lunch. No exception is made for the marginally academic student who, in other times and places, would have left formal education at an early age. No exception is made for the refugee child who struggles to speak English.

Questions about prayer in school, vouchers, and creationism are really easy questions when compared with the challenge of universal education. The answers to the church/state questions become fairly clear when we apply the First Amendment concern that no particular denomination or religious group be given privilege over others:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

That is a very conservative approach, and it has historically yielded solid answers. Specific spoken, group prayers are not appropriate for public schools because they tend to give institutional credibility to one particular religious perspective over another. For example, if my children went to the Salt Lake City public schools and I was not a Mormon, I would probably get a little anxious if there were set prayers said each school morning. Public money in the form of vouchers given to religious schools also tends to give community preferential treatment to a particular religious belief.

And the "why?" of creation is best left to the school of the church. After all, which story of creation do you teach? Genesis has two. And what meaning do you give to creation? The Bible, although it contains history and science and psychology, is primarily a book of meaning. Do we relegate the teaching of meaning to a chapter in a high school science book? When you get right down to it, the separation of church and state protects the church as well as the state and forces the church to take seriously its own educational ministry.

The presence of the church is most appropriate and needed in public education when it helps form a community of support for children and families who seek to be educated.

I was able to do some primary research for this article without leaving my home. My wife has been a public school teacher for twenty years. She has taught biology and chemistry to a wide range of students. I asked her what made the difference in public education. She said, "Family involvement." That is simple but not simplistic. Where a parent or parents involve themselves in the educational process, children tend to learn. Where there are strong parent, teacher, and student associations, there tend to be strong schools.

What can churches do? From a policy standpoint it is clear that members of congregations can advocate for inclusive public education. The church at its best is a model of inclusivity. The family of God does not include just the brightest and best. Our responsibility as a community is to insure that all children have the basic educational skills they need to succeed in today's rapidly changing world. Inevitably, this approach will require resources from communities. Often this translates into property taxes, the usual way of funding school systems, and new, creative approaches such as value-added sales taxes. The average age of Presbyterians is now 55. Increasingly, therefore, some may question why they pay school taxes when they have no children in school. The church can help make the connection between a need for inclusive community and financing public school systems. The church can help its members see the justice issue in public education, an issue that all persons of faith have a stake in. As heirs of John Calvin, we seek the common good.

Churches can also encourage people to run for school boards. As I've traveled about the country, I've been impressed with the number of Presbyterians who are members of local boards, making public education policy. John Calvin described the civil magistracy - the public official, the school board member - as having responded to a high calling.

Churches can encourage people to enter the teaching profession - young people starting out and second-career persons shifting gears. Teachers impact history: they never can tell where their influence ends. If you were to list the three people who have influenced your life the most, my well-founded hunch is that one of those people would be a teacher, coach, or school administrator.

Churches can work in partnership with public schools to supplement services offered to students. Not every student has a parent or parents who can provide needed support. Congregations can provide volunteers who can tutor and mentor. Space can be provided for after-school programs. Following the model of the business community, congregations might even consider "adopting" schools. Church facilities can be made available for before- and after-school programs.

Churches can lift up public education concerns in worship. When is the last time you heard a sermon on public education? When is the last time teachers and administrators in public schools have been lifted up by name in prayer during worship?

Churches can look at their many ministries through public education eyes. Increasing the stock of affordable housing, providing real job training for real jobs, making available basic health care and nutritional guidance, teaching parenting skills, and supporting adult literacy programs ultimately will improve public education.

Pastors and church educators can make pastoral calls on schools board members and schools in the parish. What are their hopes and frustrations? How can you be supportive?

The Year with Education: Transforming Hearts and Minds is a good opportunity for us to evaluate where we are as individuals, congregations, and presbyteries in relation to the support of public education. As we plunge into the needs of the public schools, we will find that God has been at work there long before we arrived.

-----Suggestions for Action-----

• Consider volunteering in an after-school tutoring program. Think about whether your congregation can create such a program if one is not operating in your area.

• Talk with your church's worship leaders about lifting up public school teachers and administrators in prayer during worship.

• Consider whether your church can "adopt" a school. Your congregation can provide care to a student's family who is in crisis, support for a teacher who is in crisis, or some other assistance to people working in public schools.

Reprinted from Church and Society


Jim Watkins is Director of FATC at Columbia Theological Seminary.