Goals of Education

I just finished a great book by R.C. Sproul, Jr., When You Rise up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling. It is chock full of information about homeschooling. If you homeschool your children, you should read it. If you're thinking about teaching your children at home, you ought to check it out. But if you're perfectly happy to let someone else teach your children, don't bother with this book because it's very convicting.

One of the questions that Sproul asks is, "What is the goal of Christian education?" I was stumped. I mean, I know there are lots of reasons for education, like being well-educated, being successful, knowledge is power, etc.. But what was the answer he was looking for? The goal of Christian education should be to teach our children to be godly people who teach their children to be godly people who teach their children to teach godly people.... When I read this, I thought, "Oh, yeah! Of course!!" What other goal is worthy of my time and effort, and more importantly, honors God?

I am so glad that I read this book before I started our homeschooling experience. Now that I know what my goal should be, I can examine the curriculum that I choose in this light to make sure that its goals and mine are the same. What's the point in having a superiorly taught child who knows nothing about God?

Have you thought about the goals for your children's education? What are they?