“Of course you send your children to PCA.  As a staff member you probably get some great deal that makes it work for you.” 

Yes, we do offer a 50% tuition discount for all full-time employees.  Of course, the downside is that I also have to earn wages that are below what a similar position pays elsewhere or what the same skill set might earn in the world of commerce.

My point in writing this is not to be looking for a pay increase, but rather as an excuse to answer the question, “Why in the world do I sacrifice to have my children at PCA?” 

The extended financial crisis has fundamentally altered our US economy.  Average wages are down 6-10% since the beginning of the financial crisis.  Unemployment is up (9.2% as I write).  Inflation in categories such as fuel and food mean that disposable income has decreased as well.  This financial crisis has extended so long that it is changing the way people live and think (Will a new generation be marked by this in the same manner that my grandparents were impacted by the depression?).

Why in the world would I choose to have my children at PCA over any other option in the midst of these realities?

While I support my colleagues who work in the public system and I understand why families choose that option for their children, I do believe that the public system is fundamentally flawed in ways that greatly contribute to my own decision for my children.

First, the public system has embraced a philosophy of knowledge that is just plain wrong because it does not match up well with the realities of the world around us.  The constructivist philosophy states, in a nutshell, that children discover knowledge and “truth.”  At its core is a view of human nature that says that people are basically good and that all truth is relative.  Knowledge should not be imposed, according to the constructivist.  There are things to like about the constructivist approach, but it fails to recognize the role of revealing objective truth to students (all new knowledge and discoveries are built on prior knowledge).

The absurd outcomes to such a constructivist view are being lived out in our educational institutions today.  A friend who is completing a master’s degree in education told me about an observational class that was praised for its constructivist approach.  Students were in a lab working to figure out what happened in their experiment.  The students misinterpreted their results and came up with some new “truths” about our scientific world.  Rather than correcting them, the teachers let it stand because, after all, the students had made conclusions based on their observations, so how could they be wrong? 

Second, the US public system has built in realities that promote mediocrity and fail to stimulate and challenge our brightest and best students.  At the end of the day, the public school classroom has a bell curve of student abilities with a median at the 50^th percentile.  Our typical PCA student is between the 80^th and 85^th percentile.  Like it or not teachers tend to teach to the average student.  In which classroom are my well above average students going to be most challenged, the one where they fit the student profile or the one that is well below them?

A further challenge in the public system is the impact of legislation such as “No Child Left Behind.”  From my own experience I would say that this has placed inordinate emphasis and therefore money on our poorest performing students.  In one sense this does not bother me, except that it has come at the expense of our top performing students.  In fact, philosophically many public districts do not even believe in gifted and talented education (either everyone is construed as “gifted and talented” or “no one should be because it hurts the feelings of others.”).

I do not just choose to not have my children in the public system.  I have made a choice for PCA to the exclusion of other private options.  I have done so for five reasons.

First, I like the fact that PCA teaches a biblical understanding of the world.  If the purpose of education is to come to understand the world around us, then beginning with a philosophical perspective that matches best with the world as we know it would seem to be the best place to start.  Christianity provides a framework for understanding man as incapable of avoiding evil but still capable of doing good (through the fall and creation).  This matches what we see in the world around us.  Christianity provides the basis for human freedom and choice (Adam and Eve in the garden had the opportunity to choose.  God does not “make us” become Christians.).  This matches what we see.  Nations built on principles of freedom and choice have the greatest levels of economic prosperity across the broadest reaches of their populations.  Christianity explains the problem of evil, gives purpose to man’s actions, explains objective truth, provides answers to the questions of origins and answers the innate sense that man possesses that this world is not all that there is.  Seems to me this is a great philosophical perspective from which to educate my children.

Built on this foundation is the importance of my children being able to navigate a world that may not share the same foundation and being able to do so in a winsome manner.

Second, PCA operates with a sincere desire for, and proven record of, academic excellence.  Sure, there are more affordable options that might agree with my first point above, but they wholly fail my own tests for excellence.  I want my children to learn art, music and PE from teachers qualified in each of those fields.  I want my children’s teachers to be highly qualified professionals who have great appreciation for their discipline and a strong desire to see God’s best in the life of my child.  I want high standards where educational mediocrity and the attitude “if they just learn to love Jesus, everything is okay” are not acceptable.  Of course I want my children to love Jesus, but Jesus himself calls us to be “well done, good and faithful.”  Mediocrity in the name of Jesus is a travesty.

I know most schools talk a good game about this topic.  “Excellence” is easy to throw around, but a lot harder to accomplish.  PCA produces evidence for it.  Its NWEA scores demonstrate that 90 to 95% of all PCA students score proficient or higher in language arts and math.  The comparable public school numbers from this region are typically 35 to 45 percent scoring proficient or higher.  PCA has the third highest College Board SATs for any school in our region, public or private, behind only Philips Exeter and Berwick Academy (and close to the latter).

Third, I want my children to realize God’s fullest potential for their lives.  To do this, means to recognize the gifts and abilities that He has given them and then to fully develop those gifts.  I love the emphasis at PCA on understanding my child’s learning style.  I love the fact that PCA sees students as having been given gifts and talents in music, art, theatre and athletics and creates a program to maximize each of those abilities.  While the public school counterparts are making cuts in each of these areas, seeing them as peripheral to a student’s education, PCA continues to strengthen and expand them.

Related to this is my own necessity that every door be opened to them as they exit.  I want my children at PCA because I like the track record the school has for being able to help students who aspire to get into top flight colleges.  I want them to do exactly what God wants them to do, but I do not want any door shut to them simply because the school fails to prepare them for it or fails to give them the opportunities to be successful.

Finally, I choose PCA because I do not feel that comfortable with my children making great sacrifices in the richness of their high school experience simply because I want a Christian school for them.  I want my children to have the opportunity to live through the “stuff” that makes high school a fun, rich experience in social, academic and moral development.  I want the fun of Friday night sports, homecoming, pep rallies, dances, student government, great theatre, true friendships, orchestra, All State music, AP classes, bonfires and student retreats.  I want them surrounded by students whose parents value education in an environment where being “smart” is not a slur.  I want them to be in a place where there is positive peer pressure and where the opportunity to be courageous in standing for the right thing is not met by mockery but admiration.

When I think about these five factors, I find no competition.  To get all this and spend less than $10,000 per year appeals to my New England sensibilities.  At the end of the day, I not only am willing to sacrifice to have my children here, I actually take joy in being able to do so.  This truly is an investment for the future.