Children's Crusade: The folly of hoping your kids 'Christianize' public school

The year is 1212. You’re standing on board a ship that’s taking you to Jerusalem. At least you hope it is. You’re exhausted and hungry. You’ve already watched half of your friends and companions die along the way. You’re not really sure any more if this is a good idea, but you still believe in the cause that brought you here — retaking the Holy Land. You are 8 years old.

The Children’s Crusade may not have taken place exactly in 1212, but it did happen in the early 1200s. It’s a common myth that it was an official crusade — the Holy See never authorized it. Rather, it was an attempt by desperate Christian parents to retake the Holy Land from what they saw as godless heathens.

It’s the job of parents to try to control their children’s rate of exposure to ideas that will challenge their fledgling beliefs, while also being diligent about their spiritual formation. You cannot do that if you send your children to public school.

Another Children’s Crusade is happening in public schools today and every day, and it’s being championed by Christianity Today.

Self-congratulatory nonsense

In a recent article, theology editor Stefani McDade encourages Christian parents to consider sending their children to the dangerous heathen lands controlled by the U.S. Department of Education.

“Our daughter is just a toddler, so she’s not in school yet, and it’s possible something in the next few years will lead us to change our minds. But, for now, my husband and I have decided to send her to public school,” McDade writes.

What a load of self-congratulatory nonsense. It’s hilarious that McDade doesn’t have school-age children but is telling you how to navigate your child’s education. Her article is a classic case of thinking you know everything about parenting when you haven’t experienced the majority of it. We’re all perfect parents until we actually have children and reality slaps us in the face.

A mother I know once told me that as your kids age, so do the problems. I have found this to be absolutely true.

McDade tries to muster some authority by recounting her own school years, detailing the variety of schooling options she experienced as a child. She laments how awkward she felt transferring from homeschool in Florida to a Washington state public middle school. “Most of my time in middle school was spent figuring out how to fit in,” McDade wrote. Who didn’t feel awkward during those formative years, much less when you move from one coast to another?

Schools have changed

“While researching this piece, I asked my parents how they had made their schooling decisions each time they moved," McDade writes. "They said they’d weighed the quality of available education against the influence of the local atmosphere — pretty much as most parents do. And it wasn’t until I was approaching high school, they said, that warnings against the 'dangers' of public education really started to influence their Christian circles."

I appreciate the thought her parents put into each stage of her education, but that was 20 years ago. In the intervening time, schools, especially public schools, have gone to hell in a handbasket.

The lions' den

All you have to do is open TikTok, X, or Facebook, and within a matter of minutes you'll see a barrage of videos and posts that tell you what things are really like in the public school system:

• Teachers record themselves discussing openly how they plan to sway children from their families.
• Teachers proudly displaying their array of flags — BLM, LGBTQ, trans, you name it. And not an American flag in sight.
• Chaos in school hallways and classrooms.
• Children being assaulted on public school buses.

And what happens to these out-of-control children? Even if they’re sent to administration, likely nothing. They might even return to class with a snack. I taught public school for 13 years. I have stories.

And in the meantime, where are the Christian kids in all of this? Where are the videos of the Christian kids standing up and converting the nonbelievers? I haven’t seen any.

Salt and light?

I don’t doubt the power of God to use all things for our good, but I do doubt the judgment of any Christian parents who continue to subject their children to this kind of environment because they feel like their kids will be the salt and light in the situation. That is putting a burden on children they are not spiritually ready to bear.

Most adults wouldn’t know how to respond to these kinds of situations. And let’s be honest, if this were happening between grown people, the instigator probably wouldn’t be punished either. If you don’t believe me, look up how many violent criminals get a slap on the hand and are sent back into society.

It’s a fool's errand to think that our Christian children can turn the tide of our culture on their own. Christian adults aren’t even fighting the good fight inside their churches.

In a climate in which pastors recite the “the Sparkle Creed” — a blasphemous LGBTQIABBQ spin on the ancient Nicene Creed — wear Planned Parenthood stoles on Sunday, and speculate that Jesus would gladly walk women into their abortion appointments, I’m not sure active hatred of Christians is even necessary any more. The call is coming from inside the house.

Christians in denial

McDade proposes that “recent research has shown that vitriol toward religion generally and Christians specifically has significantly declined over the last decade or so.” I doubt this, given that the Biden-Harris administration is locking up old ladies for praying in abortion clinics and Clara Jefferey of Mother Jones just had a public meltdown because a flight attendant wished her a “blessed" night.

Bless her heart. My fellow Southerners know what I mean.

McDade says she wants her child to experience challenges to her faith while she is still at home and McDade and her husband can “guide her through the pitfalls of our fallen world.”

OK, but your child won’t be at home. Your child will be at school, and unless you also work there and plan to sit in the classroom with the child like a creeper all day, you are assuming the child will come home and tell you everything.

I can tell you from experience that this is not the case. Our oldest child was having some mild problems at our Christian homeschool co-op last year, and by the time he finally told us about it, he was already done and didn’t want to go back. You cannot send your children anywhere and then assume you’ll hear every detail about it at home so that you and your child can have a therapy session.

And if you do, you’d better be prepared — you may have to talk about some things way sooner than you really care to. My hairstylist told me a story of her daughter going to kindergarten here in rural Tennessee and within weeks coming home to ask this question: “Mommy, what’s a lesbian?” I don’t know about you, but I think kindergarten is a little too young to be talking about sexual preferences.

Homeschooled does not equal 'sheltered'

If you think that the way I parent sounds like a sheltered existence, I have another news flash for you: Homeschool children ARE exposed to the world. The world is way more invasive now than ever. You only have to turn on the television for five minutes and children will be exposed to many alternative lifestyles.

I remember a few years ago watching "The Voice" at my parents’ house when a contestant came on stage with pink hair and an androgynous look. My then-7-year-old son asked, “Mommy, is that a man or a woman?” After some gentle back-and-forth, we changed the channel.

How many risque commercials have you seen in the last week? HIV drugs get advertised during prime watching hours. How many inappropriate YouTube commercials have you seen while watching videos with your child? And have you seen any music videos lately? Innocuous activities have been invaded by the endless sexualization of our culture.

It’s the job of parents to try to control their children’s rate of exposure to ideas that will challenge their fledgling beliefs, while also being diligent about their spiritual formation. You cannot do that if you send your children to public school. Yes, God is everywhere, but so are the forces of evil.

There are good people in the public school system. I spent 13 years working in it, and for most of my former colleagues, I have nothing but good things to say. However, when you sign up to work in or attend the public schools, you have to remember that it is a system.

The classroom does not belong to the teacher or to the students who enter its doors. It’s a cog in the machine that is the American education system, and you only have to spend a few minutes on social media to see that machine doesn’t work well.

And if John Taylor Gatto is right, that’s by design. In his works "Dumbing Us Down" and "Weapons of Mass Instruction," Gatto explains that what seems like malfunction to the rest of us is actually intentional.

Duty to resist

Christian or not, if you’re a parent, you have to decide if you’re OK with your kids becoming fodder for a machine that produces an intentionally terrible product. But especially for Christian parents, do not delude yourself that your children are going to change the system. As Jim Rohn says, “You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Robert Kennedy Jr. said, “We all have a duty to resist in whatever way is going to be most effective in resisting the tyranny.” If you’re interested in standing up against the machine, homeschooling is the best way that you as parents can resist.

I’m going to keep resisting the tyranny. You should consider it too, Stefani McDade.