Matthew finished the first grade on Friday. His school, Providence Christian School of Texas, held their end-of-year school program, which ended with all the children from the lower grades singing the hymns they'd learned that year. I had to get to work and couldn't stay for the entire program, but Julie said there were lots of un-dry eyes listening to those angelic young voices. Julie said these kids were singing with all their hearts, and they knew the words, because each month they study a hymn.
We got to talking last night about what an unsurpassable gift that school has been to our son and our family. Last spring, as we were reaching the end of the line on trying to homeschool Matthew, and didn't know what we were going to do, I got an e-mail from a reader of "Crunchy Cons" who had liked the book, and suggested that we check out his kids' school, Providence, if we ever wanted to put our kids into formal schooling. He said that all the spiritual and educational values I extol in the book are at the center of the school's vision. This kind reader's e-mail came at just the right time, and we took him up on his offer to tour Providence. We were bowled over. By the grace of God -- no, really -- Matthew got the last available place in the first grade class starting fall 2006.
I won't bore you with details of how the year went, but it says something, I think, that on the way to school on Friday, Matthew prayed aloud from the back seat, "Dear God, thank you for my school, thank you for my teachers, thank you for everything about Providence." I could have prayed those words too. Matthew thrived in the orderly environment there, and he has learned so very, very much -- both academically and spiritually. Julie said last night that Providence has pulled off something you don't often see: being a place that is both academically and spiritually rigorous, and a place that provides for astonishing growth for its students. Matthew is somewhat diffident in his outward expression of religion, so we weren't quite sure how much of the religious content of his schooling was taking with him. But when I was at the Kirk conference this spring, and tornado sirens went off here in Dallas, Julie said Matthew kept himself calm by quoting Scripture and repeating lessons he'd learned in school about the power of the presence of God. That boy has picked up a lot more than he lets on.
We owe so much too to his teacher, Sue Windrick, whom he loves dearly. She's been such a light in his life. She's pushed him hard, but with real love and care for him, and she prays for him all the time. He's been so devoted to her that I suspect we're going to have a little trouble in the fall as he tries to get used to not being in Mrs. Windrick's class. I'm confident he'll be fine. I've sensed that the teachers in that school are so missional in their approach to education. The school really is built on the idea that true education not only builds up the mind, but the soul, the character. They don't slack at Providence. The commitment to excellence in every aspect of these children's education is so inspiring.
I hope I don't sound like a commercial for the school, but Julie and I were talking last night about how much Providence, and the people of Providence, have come to mean to our family. The peer group Matthew's been around is also such a gift. These are kids who come from families who are serious about faith and serious about education. I've mentioned before how a minor policy of the school -- no talking about pop culture on campus -- has been a godsend to families like ours, who are trying to raise our kids to learn to love good books and movies and art instead of existing on a diet of junk food. Having our son in a school where the parents are missional too is a blessing. As a matter of policy, Providence insists that parents play a direct role in their children's education. You can't be a Providence parent and offload the education of your children onto the school. It expects parents to play an active role in the mission of educating their children.
I still regret that homeschooling didn't work out for Matthew, but as he gets older, we're learning more about why he, specifically, could not thrive as a homeschooler. Thank God, literally, that through the kindness of a stranger (now a friend), He opened the door to Providence Christian School. That school is, above everything else you might say in its praise, a work of love.

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Thomas Tucker, if the school is the one I think it is, I imagine such differences are handled very gently, given that the tuition is $8K or so per year for the elementary grades. That's not a snark, btw. One of the reasons I homeschool rather than send my children to parochial schools is that where I live, parochial schools are more like private schools and less like religious schools; that is, they charge very high tuitions which ensures exclusivity (whether it's intended to or not) and they accept relatively high numbers of non-Catholic students, both of which have an effect.
My parents complained long ago about some aspect of the religion program in the Catholic school I was attending; it was doctrinally weak to the point of being practically indistinguishable from Protestantism. Their complaint was answered with shocked looks, and a statement to the effect that the school wouldn't want to "overdo" the Catholicism, as the non-Catholic students and their parents might be offended (and take their money elsewhere, one could infer). The situation has only gotten worse from what I hear. That said, I'm not criticizing those who do send their children to private religious schools. Such schools quite often provide a good environment for quality academics and the sharing of some common values. Just don't expect them to be bastions of Christian orthodoxy (large or small "o").
Not really, Thomas. There are a couple of (quite orthodox) Catholic families who send their kids there, and we're an Orthodox family, as you know. We had a thorough conversation with the school administrators about our religious beliefs, and when it might conflict with what the school teaches. We could in good conscience sign the statement of belief (as could the Catholic parents, obviously; I know one of the Catholic fathers is a member of Opus Dei, so he's not someone who doesn't take his faith seriously). Julie and I are deeply grateful that this is a school that gives the kids a thorough grounding in Scripture and piety as well as a first-rate education. We very much like how serious the school is about Christianity, and we talk with Matthew at his level of understanding about how what we believe differs from what most of his classmates believe. He's in first grade, though, so really, it hasn't been an issue at all. Yes, the school costs $8,000 a year. It is a real sacrifice for us to send him there, but God blesses me with freelance work that helps us meet the tuition bill. The extra work I have to do to send Matthew to this school is worth it to me. I would say without a shadow of a doubt that Providence is a bastion of small-o Christian orthodoxy. I don't know how they do it but they certainly do. The thing I'd come to expect is that a school is either religiously solid/academically weak, or vice versa. They do both at Providence.
"I would say without a shadow of a doubt that Providence is a bastion of small-o Christian orthodoxy." That's wonderful, if true, but I honestly don't see exactly how it can be. Orthodoxy in both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions doesn't include 'sola scriptura;' it does include capital "T" Tradition and a rich sacramental life. I suppose having been educated more like a Protestant than a Catholic in my elementary school years it's hard for me to see exactly how such important omissions can be considered orthodoxy--particularly since the Eucharist, the central transcendent reality of both our faiths, must necessarily be downplayed when the school's own religious tradition sees it merely as a memorial and representative meal, not as the literal presence of Christ in our midst.
Granted, these deeper theological realities won't cross your son's radar for several years, but speaking from my own experiences I'd be concerned about a dual presentation of Christianity which is one thing at school, and quite another at home. For myself, though I'd heard certain words and phrases in school all my life, it wasn't until I was in the eighth grade that I learned the term "transubstantiation," and, further, was able to internalize what it meant. I still remember going to Mass shortly after that and being really aware, for the first time, of the incredible and awe-inspiring nature of what was happening there, and Who it was I was receiving. And this happened in a Catholic school environment, where such omissions that occurred were the result of carelessness of catechesis, a spirit of false ecumenism, or that nebulous agenda known as the "Spirit of Vatican II."
That said, please don't take this as criticism of your, or anyone else's, personal family decisions regarding education. We do the best we can, as parents, after all.
Rod,
Must everything be so dang precious? Seriously man, get a hold of yourself.
Amen, Rod! A brief story that might amuse you. My wife, my 13-year old son, my 15-year old daughter, and I went on vacation this past weekend. We were on the bus that takes you from the Miami airport terminal out to the small plane that flies to the Bahamas. The kids noticed a truck with a tank labeled "potable water" and got into a discussion of the root of "potable." My son wondered whether the root was actually from Latin because he knows that "bibere" is the verb "to drink." He was, btw, carrying a fat tome about the Roman Empire (which he read much of on the beach). At this point, the lady standing next to us on the bus asked if we were homeschoolers! I certainly took this as a compliment.
Providence, along with the families whose children go there (and I want to specifically credit my kids' mother, always an avid reader), does a great job of turning out kids who love to read good books. My daughter (who went to Providence through 8th grade and is now at Highland Park) brought, and finished, C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, plus Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, which she has been reading day by day this year. That school is wonderfully orthodox and very strong academically. It has been such a blessing to my kids -- and, I'm sure, to their younger brothers as well.
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