Ten Differences
Public School and Christian School

Jonathan Ekeland and Bob Walton
The Christian Academy, Brookhaven, PA

Understanding differences between secular and Christian education is critical if parents are to make an informed decision in favor of their child.  We offer the following comparison so that parents can see that in every area of education there is a significant difference in approach.  These two different philosophies reflect who is the ultimate source of truth. Please read and pray through these.

Click here for a print version (PDF) of these differences.

Public Schools

 

Christian Schools

Purpose of Education: 
To prepare citizens for a humanistic society that tolerates all lifestyles

 

Purpose of Education: 
To prepare citizens for the Kingdom of God who are equipped to spread the Gospel

Content of Education:
Humanism - no values are absolute and no truth is final

Content of Education:
All of life is studied in submission to the Word of God and its precepts

 

Control of Education:
The State determines the content and methods of education

 

Control of Education:
The school functions
in loco parentis, reinforcing and supporting parental values

 

Science:
Naturalism - everything comes from matter, time, and chance

Science:
God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; science involves knowing God through knowing His world

 

History:
Controlled either by autonomous man or by an impersonal process

 

History:
Controlled by an omnipotent God who knows the end from the beginning

 

Math:
A tool that is useful because it seems to work in manipulating the natural world

Math:
A reflection of the mind of an orderly God who has made us in His image to understand His world

 

English:
Literature must be representative of all cultures, which are seen as having equal value, and has no inherent meaning

English:
Students are exposed to a variety of quality literature, which is appreciated as a demonstration of common grace and interpreted in the light of God’s Word

 

Teachers:
Varied backgrounds - Christianity or some other religion, humanism, atheism; may be straight or gay

 

Teachers:
Born-again, committed believers seeking to model Christ before their students

Rules:
Determined by state and federal laws and guidelines

 

Rules:
Determined by God’s Word and its moral standards

 

Peers:
Varied religious backgrounds, often receiving little moral instruction or values at home or church

Peers:
Students from Christian homes who are there because their parents support Christian values