Maybe you and your family are Christian, or Jewish, or Islamic, Buddhist, or Hindi, or not religious at all. What you all have in common is that you want the best education for your children. You want them to receive an education that will allow them to journey through life knowledgeably and judiciously while making good decisions.
I believe that we all want our children to grow to be adults of character- honest and trustworthy citizens of our communities. I really do not believe that there are parents who want to raise with questionable values. So how do we raise our children in an environment where they get a well-rounded education with character education and a universal value system? Consider a religious school for your child’s education!
What Do Religious Schools Offer?
Many religious schools offer a high quality of education while assisting students with their own personal development and supporting an understanding of the moral, social, and cultural questions that have arisen throughout history. Providing a child with a quality education without a moral foundation is to possibly raise the next Lex Luther. The pursuits of an individual should be guided by an ethical code of conduct.
Consider these seven ways that an education at a religious school can shape success for your child:
1. Stability
A religious educational institution can provide stability in the school life of your child. Most religious schools are Pre-K to 8th grade or Pre-K to 12th grade. Schools that require students to change campuses can be disruptive to a child. When Pre-K is one school, then K-5th elementary school, 6th – 8th is middle school, and then 9th – 12th is high school, children feel disconnected from the school as a whole. Children are experiencing early adolescence from 12 to 15 years of age and it can be the absolute worst time to transition them into a larger environment like an all-city middle school. This is the time your child should have a more intimate and caring environment. Keep your children with their close friends and known loving adult role models in a smaller environment.
2. Self-discipline
Students at religious schools are taught that they are responsible for the satisfactory completion of all assignments; not their parents and not their teacher. They are expected to do their very best on all assignments. This requires time and diligence. The goal is to adopt an attitude of excellence in all pursuits. Do it, do it right the first time, do it to the best of your ability. The student is not to pursue the grade, but to pursue mastery of the concepts. Religious schools tend to be strict and structured and many students thrive in this type of environment.
3. Moral Values
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” The religious school is permitted to address the universal truths of honesty, truthfulness, and character from a religious point of view. Whether it is of your religion or not, I believe it gives the teaching of these values meaning. It is more difficult to teach these in a vacuum.
4. Respect
Most religious schools are communities of faith that encourage respect and concern for others in a spirit of hospitality that welcomes all, regardless of their religious traditions. They have very clear guidelines concerning respect for others and their personal belongings. It is not perfect, and children make mistakes, but it is dealt with in a fair and reasonable way. Bullying is kept to a minimum, in most cases. The students of religious schools are disciplined in love, not in anger. This is how they learn. A child who makes a mistake now, in this loving and fair nurturing environment, has an angel on their shoulder. The consequences for poor behavior are worse later when you are older, so these lessons are best learned here and now.
5. Courage
Children are taught in religious schools that to observe bullying or dishonesty and not do something about it, is to erode the fabric of the culture of the school. They are taught to act in some way to help both the offender and offended. The offended needs their help in dealing with the situation and the offender needs to learn the error of their ways. To know that each student is responsible for the culture of their environment is to teach them to act.
6. Service
Most religious schools have service programs by which your child can become part of something bigger than themselves. Whether it is providing food for the homeless or cleaning up a shoreline, they are taught through word and deed that, as a citizen of the community, they do have a responsibility to the greater good. With this fine education, many will become leaders in their community and hopefully leaders who understand service to others.
7. Forgiveness
No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. During the student’s career, they will meet other students and teachers who offend them or mistreat them. Students in religious schools are taught to act with courage to better the situation, and then forgive. When you are wrong, apologize. When wronged, forgive. Resentment is toxic to the person carrying it, not the offender.
If you are considering sending your child to a religious school, here are a few ways that religious schools shape the success of their students.