As a Christmas gift this year, my Dad received a documentary called “IndoctriNation.” The film is produced by Scottish filmmaker Colin Gunn, who is a homeschooling father of seven children. The film deals with public schools and the decline of Christianity in America. It is an unflinching film that has become quite controversial.
But I believe this film is important to anyone who has children or will in the future. While traveling across the U.S. in an old school bus, the Gunn family investigates the public schools, interviews many educators, and answers the following questions:
*Who established the American public school system?
*Are children physically and morally safe in the schools?
*Are the public schools religiously neutral?
*Should Christians try to be “salt and light” in public schools?
*Can the public school system be fixed or redeemed?
The film features interviews with John Taylor Gatto, Ken Ham, Erwin Lutzer, Doug and Howard Phillips, Geoffrey Botkin, R.C. Sproul Jr., Kevin Swanson, and others. My favorite interviews are the ones with Christian public school teachers. They are very revealing of the hostile nature towards Christian students.
‘Though this film isn’t officially rated, I don’t believe it is appropriate for children under the age of 13. I was shocked and saddened to see footage from actual classrooms and the type of materials they were discussing. Footage from 1995 shows a young elementary class discussing an alternative definition of marriage.
I believe this is a very important film that all Christians should see, and I hope that it will cause them to seriously evaluate how and through whom they educate their children! I hope it will also encourage us all to look to scripture for guidance in every area of life, including education.
2 comments:
Sounds sobering.
As a homeschool student I had a very negative view of public schools. Perhaps surprisingly, after observing and working in several public schools, I came to appreciate an institution, which despite it's problems, still does a lot of things right. That said, I wouldn't send my children to public school.
Thank you for your comment, Amy! I agree that public schools aren't all bad. I have many friends who have been public schooled and remain strong Christians and were a positive witness to others. But I believe that when it comes to my own children someday, the cons of public school outweigh the pros.
~Bianca
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