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[quote][i]Originally posted by t.rob[/i]
At a basic level, I wholeheartedly agree that government schooling is dangerous and, whenever possible, to be avoided.  It is "government religion" 8 hours-a-day however you slice it.  There is no neutrality.  I'm on board with all that in full.

However, most of the (even Christian) world isn't like the U.S., Australia, Japan, and/or parts of Europe (i.e. more educationally/economically developed areas).  Most of the world is still poor, really poor.  That deep poverty inevitably leads to illiteracy in that young children must leave government schools (that are no good to begin with) in order to work to put food on the table (much less buy the Logos curriculum guide).

Where I live (Guanajuato, Mexico), a man, his wife, and his 15 year old son all working full-time barely gets them by.  And here I'm not talking about boats, cars, going out to eat, and a little Starbucks here and there.  I'm talking about eating period, clothing without holes, and housing that actually keeps the elements out.

This cycle of "poverty -> lack of education (for having to leave school to work) -> poverty" is vicious.  It goes on and on.  These people cannot (and I daresay, must not!) stay home from work to teach their children because (a) they can't read themselves anyway and (b) they wouldn't eat.  Yes the church must provide, but the people ARE the church.  And the people are poor.  This is the reality in a large portion, if not the majority of the world...at least for now.

But that doesn't mean that government schooling, even in the poorest countries, ISN'T sinful.  It is.  It ought to be avoided.  But if you're an optimistic sort of person eschatologically, you realize that we're still miles/years away from "arrival."  Biblically, optimism for the future must also coexist with realism in the present.  Probably Mexico (as w/the rest of the world) is where it is today because of sin, infidelity to the King, etc.  And probably the people, as a whole, are paying for it.

The ship will only turn around slowly, and I mean slowly.  We tend to not see things over the long-haul.  Concerning homeschooling/Christian schooling, we need to adopt a longer, more patient vision AND a broader vision (the world is much bigger than the U.S.) without losing our backbone, without losing our biblical vision.

All that to say:

1.  I don't fundamentally disagree w/Joseph, to the contrary.

2.  I do think we have to consider the whole of Christendom in this discussion (thinking of underdeveloped countries where our brothers live).

3.  Which means we have to maybe lower our standards a bit for the time being (without losing our glorious vision, and without excusing sin).

4.  But with the hope that even countries like Mexico (which is rich in comparison with many countries) might eventually be discipled, including the ability for poor/uneducated people to move forward in Christian education one day...one day.

5.  Until then, we're to be slow to condemn our Christian brethren who really and truly CANNOT homeschool, wherever they live in this world (and I suspect there are many more of those kinds of folks in the U.S. than we know).

[Edited on 8-29-2007 by t.rob] [/quote]