While not all may embrace Reformed doctrinal distinctives, or the particular emphases of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in particular, this short Case for Christian Education by James K.A. Smith is helpful. An excerpt:
So why Christian schools? Why did earlier generations commit to Christian education, investing in schools in often sacrificial ways? Their rationale was biblical, comprehensive, and radical.
Stemming from the conviction that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10), the Reformed tradition—and the CRC in particular—has long recognized that Christ’s lordship extends over every sphere of life, including education. There is no sphere of life that is “neutral”; rather, our practices and institutions are always and ultimately shaped and informed by faith commitments. So while an institution might claim to be “secular,” as if it were not religious, Reformed thinkers from Abraham Kuyper to Nicholas Wolterstorff have seen through such claims: what pretends to be neutral or secular in fact masks some other faith commitment.
The vision of Christian education is radical because it stems from the conviction that any and every education is rooted (Latin: radix) in some worldview, some constellation of ultimate beliefs. Therefore, it’s important that the education and formation of Christians be rooted in Christ (Col. 2:7)—rooted in and nourished by a Christian worldview across the curriculum.
Read the whole thing.
HT: Job Dalomba