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Home schooling expert says churches 'missing in action'

An expert on home schooling and author on the collapse of the U.S. public school system insists there are viable and affordable alternatives to secular public schools.

OneNewsNow recently ran a three-part series on a Southern Baptist group's efforts to start more Christian private schools. However, when private schooling is being considered, one issue with many parents is the associated cost. How can a family on a limited budget or a single-parent household, for example, afford the typically high cost of private schooling?

Bruce Shortt is an attorney who has written extensively on the topic of the failing public school system. He says contrary to popular belief, there are affordable options to public school, but ones that may not be easy to institute. Shortt says the issue of cost, with some parents, is a matter of misplaced priorities; but for many others, he acknowledges it is simply a financial impossibility. And he says that's where churches come in.

"Yes, it's a question of what are the priorities of parents, but it also is what are the priorities of our churches." Shortt comments. "One of the reasons that private school education -- Christian education -- is not more widely available is because the churches have really been missing in action. We have buildings all over the country that are empty most of the time [and] that could very easily be transformed into a Christian educational alternative."

Shortt says that could be accomplished not by creating a traditional Christian school, but by taking advantage of the technology and the products that are currently available -- such as the use of satellite-based instruction by teachers and self-guided online lesson plans.
In Part 2 of this three-part series, Shortt talks about the educational voucher system and how, in his opinion, it will not be a savior for those seeking to escape from the public schools.