Religious leaders throughout history have upheld the importance of education being freely provided for all children.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
Luke 2, NRSV
In particular, John Wesley greatly emphasized the importance of education and he specifically focused on making education available for the poor. Public education has taken on greater significance in a pluralized world as a means of socialization and a force for cohesiveness and equality. The public school still represents the primary way for children in society to learn to fully participate in the social, economic, political and communal realms of life.
Public education is funded through the tax dollars of U.S. citizens and should entail access to quality education for all people. While families are free to seek alternatives to public education, involvement in these alternative sources for education should not preclude providing for the education of all children in society. The necessity of providing education for all children includes children who have not yet learned English. Non-English speaking children should not be penalized for being brought to this country and should be provided with services that help them learn their courses as they learn English.
Biblical and Theological Context
"We believe that every person has the right to education. ... In our society, this function can best be fulfilled through public policies that ensure access for all persons to free public elementary and secondary schools and to post-secondary schools of their choice." (Social Principles ¶164E)
Scripture reference: Luke 2:46-47
What GBCS is Doing
Working with the Forum for Educational Accountability and the Women's Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
We must respond to the attempt in some United Methodist conferences to do away with dealing with some of the most challenging and controversial issues of our day.
This is the first session of a five-week study that contains short Scripture reading, questions for group reflection and action, facts on the state of the global poor and congregational prayers.
GBCS, GBGM Advocate Revised Public Education Rules
As Congress considers reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind education act, civic and religious groups believe changes are needed to ensure that no child, indeed, is left behind in the U.S. public school system.
The U.S. Senate is poised to act on a bill to cut student loan interest rates and make college more affordable for all. Please voice your support for this important legislation.
Downloadable Resources
There are currently no downloadable resources available for this issue area.
United Nations Millennium Development Goals The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015, form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest. This Web site lists the goals and ways to get involved.
Links
National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy The National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy focuses on the need for churches to recover their history of support for public schools and the children and teachers in them. The committee seeks to reinforce the importance of the separation of church and state, both for the churches and the schools. It works to strengthen support for public education in our faith communities and to encourage active, appropriate involvement in public schools by congregations. Visit their site for resources such as bulletin inserts, questions for thought and discussion, pamphlets, and reports from committee meetings.
Rethink Learning Now
Rethink Learning Now is a campaign supported by a growing coalition of individuals, education advocates, civil rights groups and philanthropic organizations, each of whom shares a commitment to focus the country's attention on three core pillars of successful education reform – learning, teaching and fairness. The coalition’s web site includes announcements about upcoming events and policy decisions involving education, as well as videos, personal stories, and opportunities for advocacy.
While our allegiance to God takes precedence over our allegiance to any state, we acknowledge the vital function of government as a principal vehicle for the ordering of society. Because we know ourselves to be responsible to God for social and political life, we declare the following relative to governments:
We believe that every person has the right to education. We also believe that the responsibility for education of the young rests with the family, faith communities, and the government. In society, this function can best be fulfilled through public policies that ensure access for all persons to free public elementary and secondary schools and to post-secondary schools of their choice. Persons should not be precluded by financial barriers from access to church-related and other independent institutions of higher education. We affirm the right of public and independent colleges and universities to exist, and we endorse public policies that ensure access and choice and that do not create unconstitutional entanglements between church and state. We believe that colleges and universities are to ensure that academic freedom is protected for all members of the academic community and a learning environment is fostered that allows for a free exchange of ideas. We affirm the joining of reason and faith; therefore, we urge colleges and universities to guard the expression of religious life on campus.
