I am looking for feedback on our schools?

1) Boarding Academy - A thing of the past?

2) Educational Hierachy- should we have more local control or more conference control?

3) What is your experience with adventist schools (K-12 only please).

Mr. D

In my personal experience, the grade schools were not christ centered in the children's behavior nor was their bad behavior punished by the administration. If we are to excuse bad behavior as "kids will be kids" then why spend over $2000.00 to send them to christian schools? At least in the public schools I have a legal recorse to wrong done to my children, while the SDA's schools just said if you don't like it here, leave. Oh, and your bill is due.

Academy...sex, drugs and rock & roll. Need I say more...there were more sex, drugs and rock & roll then the public school my sister went to...and that was years later that she went to public school!!! Bullying, lying...got real good at that...I could lie to you and look you in the eyes at the same time b/c it was all about how you looked!

I would go to public school if I had a chance to do it all over again. Pretty sad, huh?

I wouldn't trade my academy days for anything.

Yes...there are going to be some public schools that are better as far as atmosphere goes, but they are schools that are much worse. Just because the public school that your sister went to was better than the SDA school your sister went to does not mean that all public schools are going to be better! It depends on the year, the people, etc. And honestly, you get what you look for in any school. If you go to a school wanting party, you will find it. If you go to a school wanting study, you'll find that too.

You also need to look at boarding academies as a different animal. With boarding school you see the same people all the time therefore more things will happen on campus as opposed to a public school where things can only happen on campus from 8 - 4 or so.

1 and 3)I personally went to Monterey Bay Academy. I loved it there. It was good for me because that it where I first REALLY found Jesus. It started me down the path of being a musician, I found my girlfriend whom I have been with for more than 4 1/2 years, I have made friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life there. Yes, there were a few downs, but honestly, any school I went to would have given me downs. So no, I do not think that boarding schools are past their time. I think they are still needed.

2) I think that schools should be a little more local control. The teachers and parents and students are there all the time whereas the higher ups maybe come every few months. (if that) The bigger boy should listen to the locals a lot more when it comes to the school. I mean, make a general set of rules that we have to live by, and then let us interpret those rules as we see fit.

My two cents...

I went to church school up to grade nine and then on to public school high school. For college and university I went to our schools. following college I taught in our church schools for 11 years.

When I compare my years in church school to my years in public school I would have to say that though I loved the public school, I would not send my children to public school. Yes, our schools have problems, but I learned things in public school which I still struggle with today and much of what I know and remember in the Bible I learned in Bible class in church school. No, I would not want to take a chance of loosing my child/ren for all eternity by sending them to public school.

The years I spent in our college and university I look back on as the best years of my life. A person will always get out of our schools what you want to get. If you are looking for a 'good time' you will find it. If you are looking for scholastic excellence, you will find it. What you want is what you get.

As far as a local church or community taking more control over a school than a conference, as a teacher my response is a definate, NO. The quality of education is a responsibility of the conference. They have more knowledge of government requirements and how to work with the red tape, etc. than would a local church or community. It is their duty to know this. And as a teacher I feel that if there was more local input, the discipline of the school would also decline. Parents are linked too emotionally with the student, their own child/ren to act impartially.

Darlene,
Very well put! The conference administration knows the law, and is also necessary if there is a local problem.
I teach in an Adventist school. Our students are not perfect, but they are disciplined when necessary, and loved all the time. With the public school you will never have a child go home and pick up a Steps to Christ because of a need for a closer relationship with Christ as a result of a month long worship topic.
I've had my children in both schools and I am grateful to God that they went to the Adventist schools. Did they have a bad time in public? No. Did that school help them in their relationship with God? Again, no. And that is one of the main reasons they need Adventist education. What does it benefit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
dedicated

I have two children. I recently took my oldest (15 year old) son, out of church school and sent him to a local state school. At church school he was undisciplined and his grades were declining fast, but after being at this new school, his grades have improved and his attitude to life has also improved. The main reason I first took him out of church school was because of financial reason as I have found that our education system is only for wealthy Adventists. I know he is not receiving spiritual input in his school life, but at home we have regular worship time and attend church every week.

The majority of the experiences I had in church school was horrible. We were dirt poor. Mom, a single parent with 7 children, made sure we all went to church school.

90% of the students were from financially secure families. We were outcasts; and were treated as such by our fellow classmates.

I had a child, adopted 5 more. I sent each and everyone to church school. Can you believe it, the same thing happened! Our daughter drove a VW Rabbit that was 3 years old. Didn't have a scratch on it and kept it clean, but the "rich" kids told her she couldn't park her trash near their cars-BMW's-Mercedes- she had to park in the back of the lot and walk even though she was there before the rich kids.

I still sent them because I believe they need to learn the christian as well as education in Christion Education.

Did I do wrong? I don't believe so. Did we all suffer tramatic experiences? Yes. Some have left scars that are still deep and sore, but we all know the truth! They know how NOT to treat their fellow man. They have compassion on the poor. They are always willing to help. (Except my last one! He is Lazy!)

After being on school boards for years, I believe the true mission of christian education has been forgotten.

I believe in using excess capacity. If a teacher can teach 25, but only 22 have enrolled for that grade, I believe we should place 3 student in that class that could not pay the regular fees.

I also believe that the parents of those 3 students should be required to pay something. They need to sacrifice along with the church. It increases their committment and they will show the child just how important the Christian is in Christian Education.

I fear that as time flies by, we are loosing sight of what we are supposed to do with our children.

Guess I am old fashioned. I have always believed that Christian Education does not cost, it pays!

Well, I guess I am out voted here. I have seen so many kids trained in a strict environment as in our schools, go astray and into the world because they felt like they led a sheltered life. School should not be for a Christian education, it should be for secular education only. Christian education and religion are for the home and church.

I went to SDA schools thru Hi school, and they are largely responsible for where I am today: Not married, not a success at anything, and a drop out. I went to one of those ritzy high class schools where everyone was a doctors son or daughter or a ministers son or daughter. They wouldnt give me the time of day. A few ago I got the e-mail address of one of the brothers of one of the ministers sons in my class. This guy is a Conference president. He wouldnt even give a small reply after all these years. Dirt poor - still dirt. I never went to any of the class reunions. And now by accident I joined Classmates.com and registered. There are very few of my class there. And since they want $36 to send an e-mail to a classmate - I wont buy into that, probly only to get another rejection. Let these rich kids contact me.

But God still led my life and this life on this world doesnt count. The next world does. Sure hope its not like California.
--Ðøug ™

Wow! I really feel badly for those of you that have had such a horrible experience. I know that it is hard to move past that even when you leave school. Where are these schools? I know that some schools are pretty much run by those with money, but I wonder what the rich kids lives would be like if they act like that in church school if their religious education were left to the home and church. My dauaghters all had a wonderful experience in Chkristian schools-ours-and we did not have money either. And at our school that I teach at we have children that receive help and no one else knows about it and they are treated no differently and love the school. Yes, we have privileged children too, but the school (K-10) is like a large family and even our eldest students are wonderful with the youngest. Maybe it's the Midwest, maybe it's the families, maybe, but I like to be believe it is because God is asked to be a part of our school throughout the day. We had a student this year that flunked in public school last year, hang around with the wrong crowd, etc...at our Adventist school he made the honor roll, started avoided his high school buddies because of their activities and is planning to be baptised this summer. Hasn't anyone else out there had a positive experience. And for those less than ideal times, sometimes it probably seemed pretty stinky on the ark too, but Noah probably worked to make it better... dedicated

Wow, when I posted this topic last week I wasn't sure what I would learn. I would like to respond to some of the responses already made.

Background
While I do not have the breadth of teaching experience as some of you, I have taught the past three years at three different SDA Schools. There are clearly children that belong in our schools, and those that would be better off in other schools. I have found that NON-SDA students are not generally happy (though I have always enjoyed having them in the class, and probably identify with them better).

"Rich Adventists"
I was a product of public education till into my college years. I was raised Lutheran, and became an SDA in my 20's. I did graduate work at an SDA university. So, I can't identify with those of you who went through the "system". I did go through a public Elementary school that was ranked number six in the USA, and some of the community leaders included the Governor, members of Congress, corporate leaders in the retail and banking industry, and personal friends of the then President of the United States. Yet, even the rich were not snobs to poorer students. I did see some examples of "rich Adventists" in college and at a school I taught at.

"Public vs. Christian"
I teach the Junior High group, a hard group from what I have been told by others. I see students who are part child part young adult, struggling to share one brain and one body. They are very perceptive of others, especially adults. Most may be Baptised, but most can't tell you much about Adventism except "keep the Sabbath Day Holy". They compete for the attention of their peers, and struggle with the temptations of a world that was far different when we were young. They have to watch what they say on the internet to a faceless person who might be 14 as they claim, or an adult predator waiting for them to slip and provide information which could help them be located. (I had at least three female students in my class this year who bragged that they spent most of the evening in chat rooms communicating with males of all ages.) They need a stronger base in Christianity and Adventism. Something our schools do not seem to provide. I teach some of our fundamental beliefs once we finish the standard religion text book.

"Conference vs. local control"
Financial concerns do account for lack of enrollment. But, so does the teacher, other faculty, the administration, other students, and the school board. There are no doubt some wonderful schools out there. I have experienced one good one out of three (I wish I wouldn't have transferred). There are wonderful teachers and administrators, and then there are some who to share an old college proverb...some who are only there because they couldn't make it anywhere else. The only problem with that is that from my experience, we don't "police" ourselves. The local board is made up of parents, pastors, and concerned local, I say local people members. The Conference may be physically located nearby, or may be a state away. Teachers are conference employees, and the conference has the power to make more changes than the board. What about public schools? The Superintendent answers to an elected public School Board, with the Board having the last say. An Administrator in the public system must have completed a required degree in Administration, our schools do not require that, but may require courses over a period of several years.

I suggest that we...

1) Return to Christian Education as the main point, but provide a strong academic base. (The students will have to earn a living until the Lord returns).

2) Return full school control and the hiring/firing of teachers to the local School Board, with a representative of the Conference available for a legal opinion if needed. We need to "police" ourselves at a local board level. (Teacher credentials and training are already monitored and supervised by the Union Registrar, so the conference doesn't handle that).

3) Make more of an effort to be mission schools, and provide more outreach activities to the non-SDA students, while strictly upholding our fundamental beliefs not pushing our lifestyle preferences "down their throats".

4) Financial - Get away from "us and them" and ask each member of the local congregation who can to help support a student fund for any student who wants to go to their own church's school. Return to local church schools. Small local schools instead of a larger consituency school. Sister White seems to support this. Also, perhaps some of that academy money the conference spends could be diverted to elementary schools.

P.S. Doug, I think you make a big difference, I really enjoy your comments, but I don't agree with all of them.

Mr. D

[ June 15, 2002, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: Mr. D ]