The Purpose of School

Has anybody ever stopped to think about why we have schools? For many of us, like so many other things in our culture, we never use the useful little word 'why' in conjunction with the word school. Schools have become an almost universally accepted part of western culture and life.

So how should the Christian parent see schooling? What purpose should it have? There are many Christians who see school as the place where children learn the skills they need to get a 'good' job later on in life. I would like to suggest this is a poor purpose for schools. There are others who believe schools mystically show children how to socialise in the real world. Again I would suggest this as well as not being true, is an inadequate reason for school. Related to this idea is the idea that schools teach children how to live in society. Once again I would suggest that this is another inadequate reason for schooling.

So then, what should the purpose of school be? For the Christian, the purpose of school must be seen in how it enables the child to be more competent in glorifying God and enjoying him forever. The goal of education for the Christian is training in godliness. We are to bring our children up in the training and admonition of the Lord, as Ephesians 6 tells us.

This is the primary focus of education as God wants it, and therefore the primary focus of schooling for children of Christian parents. If as we believe God has prepared good works for us to do, we must prepare our children for those good works. We act in faith that God will in time bring them into his fold and use them for his service. Our children learn, we learn, so we can better serve God now and in the future with our gifts. We do our best to be approved workmen who can correctly handle the word of God.

But it is not enough for parents to know the purpose of education, we must constantly tell our children why they are at school. This especially applies if they happen to be in a secular school, which promotes unbiblical ideas about the purpose of education. Since most Christians at this point and time have been educated in secular schools, unhelpful ideas of the purpose of education and schooling are rife within Christian circles. I can’t tell you the number of people who have asked me why I bothered doing an Arts degree in philosophy. There seems to be an unhelpful attitude to Arts degrees, as if they are a second class degree. The reasoning is something like “that’s not going to get you a job”. But as we have discussed, the purpose of learning is not primarily about getting a job. It is to prepare you to serve God in your life.

What I believe I have done is given the true and biblical purpose of education. If this is something we agree with, we must ask the question of ourselves: - Where will my children be best equipped for a life of godliness and service to the Lord?