I was intending to wait for a few more commenters and opinions before sharing my own but alas patience isn't my strong point
Arnie Manitoba said:
We also have a "fundamental" christian school here ... and it uses the PACE curriculum ... it is a smaller school , a bit more strict , and uniforms are required ... trouble was kids wanting to go on to university had problems because the university did not recognize a high school graduate diploma from them.
So guess what happened .... the christian school challenged the secular educational system to a series of tests for all grade 12 graduates .... and you guessed it ... the christian school came out on top every time
Not only that , even the christian grade 10 students were more knowledgeable than the secular grade 12 students
You see the thing is from the age of 7 to 14 (I'm not sure how that relates to grades in the US/Canadian system) I went to a school that used the ACE system, run by, and in, my parents church. However we didn't use their final examinations system and instead sat GCSEs.
And I believe I'm right in saying that over the majority of the years the school did beat other local schools in the league tables (however often the results are somewhat skewed - having on average 5 people in a year group makes it a lot easier to gain high percentages of the top results).
However I would argue that this isn't really a fair measurement of knowledge (the same way as I believe all examinations are flawed) - different people are knowledgeable in different areas and that is displayed in different ways. Also as a Christian; knowledge is a gift of the spirit which some are blessed with others aren't so is it fair to measure intelligence in a Christian school?
I really like the PACE system , kids first learn how to learn , then they learn to set daily and weekly goals , they are allowed to pursue each subject at their own pace .... and guess what ... the kids love it .... and you almost dont even need a teacher there .... the kids are so engrossed in their studies , sometimes they do not want to go for break
But do they really learn to learn, in my experience I learnt to write down the answer from the text, you didn't even have to read the text through first in order to get beyond the questions. The problem I found was that the pacing system was great for those at the lower end of the school and so enabled them to grow from D/E level to a C (which in England is the equivalent of getting over the pass line). It was less succesful at getting those at a C/B level up to an A or A* (the top marks here).
And trust me no child is ever that engrossed that they dont want to go to break, they may well have been a little slower earlier in the day and wanting to get work done in school rather than as homework.
You say that not needing a teacher is a good thing for educating people, that I would also question.
Arnie Manitoba said:
The parents and kids love the uniforms because it saves not having to decide what to wear on a daily basis , and no kids are overdressed or under-dressed nor subject to constant fashion changes .
Another difference between the UK and the Americas is that the majority of schools here have a uniform, and in fact our uniform was so hideous it led to bullying from other schools on the journeys to and from school.
But these points are not where my issues lay:
My issues with these schools are the fact that they teach children science that isn't science.
They teach children ethics but yet they get detentions for leaving flags up, a concept that is VERY bizarre to explain to someone who knows nothing of the system.
They teach that women are inferior to men, and that men should always be the leaders with in any community, family or church.
And segeration of genders within the school.
They teach that leaders are infallible (that as young people they shouldn't question authority).
They teach that bad things happen because of sin, and so if you are suffering then you must have sinned. It is therefore your fault if you get beaten up, not the fault of those that beat you.
Conversely they also teach that suffering is a good thing as God won't allow you to suffer beyond what you can handle.
Arnie Manitoba said:
ps: .... do you consider Saudi Arabia , Iraq , Iran , Pakistan Christan nations ?
How about Canada , Australia , USA ?
This is not complicated
Personally I consider no country Christian. Can a country be saved by grace? Can a country repent of it's sin? There may be Christian people in a country, there may be Christian leaders in a country but that doesn't make it a Christian country. Equally a country with majority muslims still contains Christians so let us not forget about those brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is why I asked you what you thought qualified a country as Christian.
