This is an article I published a few weeks back, as promised, having paused discussion, I intend to return to the subject.
I have picked up recently on the debate about VAT being charged on private education which has had an impact on a number of Christian schools. Recently I engaged with this article in Evangelicals Now. The resulting conversation was fascinating in that I believe it flagged up a number of myths that have become increasingly popularised around both education and private Christian offering.
First of all, there is a belief propagated that Christian private schools and especially those offering what is termed “Christian Classical Education” are offering something positively distinctive that can only be offered in the independent sector. This isn’t the case, the current educational model in England in fact provides for a level of variety in approaches. Specifically, Academies and even more so “Free Schools” are allowed to depart from the National Curriculum. Independent schools must of course still meet Ofsted requirements. Therefore, the freedom in the independent sector is being overstated and for the state sector understated.
Moreover, the presumption that this classical education model, the trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric plus a focus on teaching British history, is unique demonstrates a significant misunderstanding of how education is approached. It is worth noting that generally speaking current education models recognise those basic building blocks. There were certainly some destructive models employed in the UK back in the 70s and 80s but there was a significant shift away from them into the 1990s and beyond. Through the last decade and a half there was an increasing influence from people like ED Hirsch and an emphasis on building a knowledge foundation in cultural literacy.
Proponents of Christian private education will often want to tell us about the dedication of their staff, the quality of teaching and the happiness of their students. I’m sure that this is all true and would not question it. However, this is contrasted with an allegedly deeply unhappy, unfulfilling state sector. Yet, this is a misrepresentation of the reality for many primary schools across the country and certainly around this local area. This does not mean that state schools are without their challenges and problems. All schools including these new, private ventures will soon discover that they have their problems and are not perfect/
One concern I have had as I’ve begun to look at some of the arguments in favour of Christian education is the conflation of Christianity, classical education and an English cultural/nationalist agenda. This reflects other concerns I have in terms of the wider overlap of particularly theological and political agendas. This has been the US experience.
Second, remember that the specific question here is around whether the Government can/should tax private education. The argument made against this seems to be that by seeking alternative education provision, those good citizens are in fact saving the UK Government money. It goes along the lines that it costs the state sector about £6k per student to receive an education but those going to the private sector do not get a rebate on that.
The problem with that argument is first that there is a difference between saying that a school will receive about £6k per student on their roll and saying that it costs £6k. Secondly, taxation doesn’t work like that. You don’t pay 6K of your taxes to fund your child’s education. You pay a level of tax, some will pay more and some will pay less to support all the activities that the Government commits to doing for the whole population. Thirdly, removing a child from a state school may reduce the allocation the school receives but it doesn’t actually reduce the school’s costs. You still have to pay for the teaching staff, you still have to cover all of your heating and maintenance costs etc.
The third myth is that those pursuing this type of education have a right to do so because it is based on a deeply held conviction. People have deeply held convictions about all kinds of things. That doesn’t mean it is right or is their right to pursue those things. In any case, surely if people have a deeply held conviction that Christian classical education is essential, then they wouldn’t be grumbling about having to find extra money to pay your own fees whether that’s because of tax increases, inflation or market forces. Rather, your concern would be to make such education freely available to as many as possible.
The fourth myth is really the conflation between Christian school and Christian education. In the specific example you will find a lot of language about nourishing the soul and not just aiming to get kids to pass exams or be fit for the workplace but to create men and women of virtue. Notice a few things here. First, once you go back to classical (Greco-Roman) methodology you also go back to Greco-Roman philosophy and ethics. We need to find out what the virtue was that those non-Christian worldviews were creating.
Secondly, is the responsibility for cultivating and nurturing virtue or passing on faith actually with the school? Is it something we can subcontract out? At least the homeschool movement is aware to this. The responsibility lies with parents and healthy churches support parents in this. Where I differ from homeschoolers is that I see no problem with using the expertise and skills of others to support us in our role but we don’t subcontract out it relinquish our responsibility.
Thirdly, preparing for exams gets a bad name these days but all that really means is that we are teaching knowledge and skills and will assess progress and outcomes. Similarly, before snark about preparing people for the workplace, we need to remember that work is a good thing and something God made us for.
The fifth myth is that because it is labelled as “Christian” means you are going to agree with tht faith aspects that are taught. This is why you need to be very clear about the roots. I have found that pointing out the close link between promotion of Christian Classical schooling and Doug Wilson doesn’t make me popular. Yet that link has been a consistent theme. He after all was a co-founder of the Association of Classical Christian Schools and his book, Recovering why Lost Tools of Learning is regarded as seminal. Wilson advocates a position on infant baptism and sacraments having an objective affect, on eschatology and on theonomism (Christian nationalism) that needs to be seen as joining up together. It is important to check out the views of those promoting and delivering education on these key things.
Sixth, that because you use the word classical, you are offering something recovered pure and intact from the past. However, remember, as with classical theism that in fact you are getting a contemporary person’s interpretation of the past which may be wrong. In fact they key concepts concerning the Trivium (Grammar logic, Rhetoric) .as an understanding of educational development were popularized by Dorothy L Sayers in the 1920s). Doug Wilson’s book is an expansion on Sayers’ essay by the same name.
It’s funny isn’t it that those claiming to be using a method that dominated until the mid 20th century rely heavily on an argument made before the mid 20th century that these already lost tools needed recovering. It’s perhaps ironic too that her essay starts with an acknowledgement that she has no expertise I experience in the field but that everyone else does the same.
Remember too that just because something is old, even if recovered accurately that this doesn’t in and of itself make it good. Further, it may have been right for its time but don’t assume that the people who would have taught that way 500 years or 200 years ago would do so now in terms of our context. Finally remember that there are two aspects to this, methodology and content.
Seventh, there is a tendency, especially on the political right to assume that private is always good. Yet this again is not necessarily true. It is true that some independent schools are exceptionally good. However, this isn’t always the case and indeed I know of overseas students just have been booked into UK independent schools because of the games Eton and Harrow, only to have a very disappointing experience.
Linked to this is I think a tendency to underestimate the amount of freedom and diversity available in state schools whilst overestimating what is available in the private sector. The primary concern now is around PHSE provision especially around sexuality and gender ethics. Whilst independent schools are not mandated to meet required government standards in this area:
- They are strongly encouraged to incorporate the guidance into their curriculum.
- They are subject to inspections and they can expect the inspection teams to be assessing them in this area.
- They are subject to relevant Equality legislation and have responsibilities for the well being of their students.
The problem is that the arguments for this kind of education provision don’t stand up. They are made with rhetorical flourish but the logic behind them is lacking.
Faithroots 