I wholeheartedly agree that we need spiritual revival. I pray for it daily and, as a family, (personally) we are doing all that we can.
And...I must agree with you, that even if every government school in this nation were closed tomorrow, and every child attended private school, sadly, I believe most parents would choose a secular ( godless) private school for their child.
The point I have been trying to convey in these posts is that government schools can not be reformed. We must move to a system of private schooling.
Our modern system of government schools ( the first opening in the mid-1800s) are socialism. Merely by attending children learn to be comfortable with socialism.
And...Because government schools serve the entire community, even at their best, the Christianity had to be generic enough to accommodate the religious beliefs of parents who had membership in varied denominations. All government schools in this nation are today completely godless. This can't be reformed.
I was a leader in the jr high ministry at my old church for many years, and had a number of homeschooled kids. These guys for the most part were just as/or even smarter. But even beyond that, they were more mature, better behaved, more confident, and in general leaders.
What you have with a homeschooled kid is a parent(s) who has a vested interest in making sure the child learns, whereas a teacher, no matter how good, and how well intentioned, at some point losses interest or doesn't care for a specific child. Compound that with 25-30 other kids in a class room.
Next comes the socialism part. We give public AND (some) private schools are kids, and schools teach"civic pride" or whatever you want to call it. They can't discipline behavior, so they try to mold behavior. But its a behavior molding for society. You know we all need to be good citizens or good neighbors or whatnot. And on the very surface thats fine, but beyond that is the roots of socialism. Where everyone is good neighbor or citizen...for the good of the state.
As opposed to discipline, which drives out folly and corrects bad behavior, for the benefit of the child, that the child may grow up with a proper understanding of right and wrong. Properly applied and taught, that child, when an adult, will understand that discipline when applied from God, in their life.
The difference between civic molding and discipline, is that civic molding is for the sake of the community or state, whereas discipline is for the sake of the child.
Once the child, through discipline, is raised in God, the NATURAL outcome is that they are a good neighbor, friend, brother/sister, husband/wife.
My guys were generally more confident. Why??? Heck, look at the environmental difference.
School: a group of kids, some not well behaved, closed up in a room together, with a virtually powerless teacher attacking each other over clothes, hair, shape, size, financial status, what have you.
Home: For the most part a loving environment with siblings, that if not loving gets quashed real quick.
School: The best teacher only has so much love and time for each student, and SELDOM a personal interest. So students push, shove, and fight for that attention...or they do nothing at all, and quietly disappear in the corner.
Home: Thats a parents child, who they love. There is no need to fight for attention and love, they already get it...ALL DAY LONG...even if they don't realize it.
Homeschooled kids come from the most part, a continually positive atmosphere, as compared to a classroom environment, that in itself will develope a child into a more confident person.
I could go on and on about what I see as the benefits of homeschooling, but I'll swerve a little here, and do a little bragging on a buddy of mine...who homeschools.
My buddy and his wife now have 8 kids. The most recent after almost 5 years from the next. Which is long for them, as all the others were 1 to 1-1/2 years apart. SO until recently they were raising 7 kids, and homeschooling. I know nothing of their "academic" ability, though they all seem normally smart. What I do know is their personalities and character. Its something to go into a restaurant with them, and have waitresses make a big deal about how well behaved they are. To have other customers stop by and comment on them. To have managers buy dessert, because the kids are well behaved.
In church, when my buddy lived around here, and went to what would be considered a traditional church, older folks, those who have raised their kids, and now have grandkids near or into adulthood, make comments calling my buddy Super Dad. Instead of shooing his kids off to "Childrens" church, his kids sit in church. And listen to an adult message (I could do a long post on that alone). Mom sits on one end, dad at the other. And those kids are well behaved. But like ANY child, figity happens, or a little too much or too loud whispering. All it takes is just a SLIGHT look from mom or dad, and the issue is reeled in. Maybe its just a hand, gently and lovingly placed on the child next to thems leg. Sometimes mom or dad leans forward just a little and makes eye contact. Boom...problem solved.
Now, like I said earlier, I was a leader for many years with jr high kids. I know kids. Heck, most people say I am still one myself. You go to my buddies house, and the one thing there is plenty of, is happy laughter. with 8 kids, no matter how quiet, there always seems to be sound in that house. Good sound. Sound that belongs in a house with 8 kids. The point I'm trying to make is, these kids are VERY normal. Home is a wonderful place for them. It is because of the security of home life, and the discipline at home, that allows these kids to be so well behaved everywhere else.
I remember one time, with their 2nd or 3rd child, the mom was holding the ? months old baby, while we all sat and talked (the other kids were off playing or napping. The baby curiously grabbed at moms hair or neck chains and started to pull. Mom gently flicked the hand with a finger until the baby stopped. When the baby tried it again, same thing. They taught me a lesson that day, as well as the baby. They started discipline early. It wasn't harsh, it was just something to grab the babys attention, and stop a behavior. They were starting at a very young age that molding and guiding, not waiting for later, when it becomes harder.
My buddy controls his kids environment and what they are taught. He's not allowing for someone else to teach them something he might not believe in. He understands that a bad apple can spoil the bunch, so he closely monitors their freindships. But those friendships are mostly other kids from church, whose families live and teach the same values.
This was the character and the way things were done with our founding fathers.