Book Review: Going Public

I’m generally a fan of homeschooling.  From kindergarten through the 10th grade, my mom invested countless hours teaching reading, writing, arithmetic and everything between.  But she did more than that.  She taught me to love learning.  

By the 10th grade, however, I reached a point where mom no longer felt capable of teaching my classes.  So off I went to a local public school.  My folks made the decision very carefully.  I remember spending significant time discussing whether or not I was ready to courageously defend my Christian beliefs against the wiles of secularism.  

I walked through the doors of Clover Hill High School convinced I had just set foot on enemy territory - at least in a spiritual sense.  Priority one?  Emerge two years later with my moral convictions intact and my relationship with God unscathed.  Everything outside academics was all about survival.

Now you know why the title of David & Kelli Pritchard’s book, Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School, intrigued me. 

Thriving in enemy territory?  What are you talking about?  The Pritchards write out of a conviction that parents are responsible for obeying God’s command in Deut. 4 to teach their children the fear of the Lord.  Three chapters of the book detail how parents must train their kids to love God with all their heart, to obey mom and dad unconditionally, and to practicing self-control.  And they’re convinced that at least for their 8 children, public school is the best place to get the job done.  

“[God] longs for adults to live up to their calling, a large part of which is nurturing the next generation and preparing them to face the world with character and purpose.  We strongly believe that the public school can be an early training ground - a place where our children have an opportunity to develop that character and find their purpose.” (p. 23)

To be clear, the Pritchards are not on a mission to turn every family into a public school family.  They challenge parents to do the hard work of discerning what educational track will best serve an individual child.  But they make no apology for hammering away at my assumption that a wise parent will not send their child to public school until they’re spiritually mature.  In fact, the book is basically a long testimony of how public school is an ideal setting for children to learn, not just to prove, spiritual maturity.  

The greatest strength of Going Public is the wealth of stories and practical examples of how to harness public education in pursuit of spiritual formation.  Based on the written testimonies of the Pritchard children in the appendix, you can’t deny it’s been successful.  Chapters on the necessity of parental involvement, how to build relationship with teachers and school officials, and using public school as a context for family evangelism are particularly good.  They repeatedly emphasize how successful public education is about partnership not abdication, especially when it comes to the dad’s role.  

On the whole, Going Public is a great resource for Christian parents who are considering public school for their children or already have a child in public school.  My greatest critique of the book is the absence of connections between Christian behavior and gospel motivation.  If you’re looking for counsel on how to teach your children how to obey in response to grace and not just because it’s “right”, you’re better off spending time with Tedd Tripp in Shepherding a Child’s Heart or his brother Paul in Age of Opportunity.

But if you’ve never carefully considered public school as a formative option in discipling your children, then pick up a copy of Going Public.  At a minimum, you’ll be equipped to make a more informed decision about how to educate your children and how to serve families who’ve chosen the public school route.