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Jen Wilkin Responds to Criticism of Her Views on Sending Children to Public Schools

Jen Wilkin also stressed that she and her husband did not send their kids to public schools to be missionaries, that is, to make the public schools Christian. Their children’s main purpose in being in school was to get an education. The couple certainly wanted their kids to be a positive influence, but “we were not trying to send a second grader into a secular space to share the good news,” said Wilkin.

Some Christian parents do not want to send their children to public school over concerns about teachings on gender identity and critical race theory. Without naming these issues specifically, Wilkin did say that some of the current social issues that are “now more emerged…were already emerging at that time” her kids were in school. The result was that she and her husband were vigilant about knowing what was being taught in the curriculum, and they made an effort to have difficult conversations with their kids at early ages. 

Knowing what a particular school district is actually teaching is crucial, said Wilkin. People often assume that she would not send her kids to public school now if she had the choice, but Wilkin says she would because she knows what her district is teaching.

“One of the big benefits that came from having children in the public school system from our perspective,” said Wilkin, “was they had an exposure to such a broad array of kinds of people so that when we had conversations about something that was going on in the culture or even the hot button issues right now like sexual orientation, gender identity, all of that, those were not just categories that we talked about. Those were people, those were friends…and so we were able to humanize those conversations.”

Another benefit that Wilkin sees from her children attending public school was their exposure to people of different races and socioeconomic levels, children with special needs, and other kids whose “home situations were very different than theirs.” There’s also not the pressure to put on a false face that there can be in some Christian contexts.  “No one is really pretending,” said Wilkin. “It’s all…out there. And so our kids knew very early what it meant to be aliens and strangers.”

Wilkin encouraged believers not to be driven by fear when making the decision of how to educate their children. “What I see happening right now around this conversation is a great deal of misinformation and fear-mongering,” she said. She has also heard from many Christian teachers who have been “vilified and maligned” by other Christians for teaching in the public school system. “That’s not right,” said Wilkin.

Noting that there is no single option that will work for every family, Wilkin encouraged parents to consider how their decision will impact their broader communities and not merely their own families. Philippians 2:4 tells believers to look to the interests of others and not their own interests. “There’s no such thing as a decision that’s made just for our families,” said Wilkin, adding that even if parents choose not to send their children to public schools, they can still take steps to serve others in public school systems.

After Wilkin concluded her opening thoughts, Pennington presented his views on why public schools are not a good option, namely that the purpose of public education is to develop virtue and public education no longer does that. Kids spend so much of their time at school that he believes it would be better for them to receive a private school education or to be homeschooled.

The conversation continued with civility from that point, with each guest even answering questions about what they appreciated about the other’s perspective. Pennington said he valued Wilkin’s point about serving the broader community, while Wilkin agreed with a point Pennington made that homeschooling allows for more special time with young children. 

Critical Responses to Jen Wilkin

Many people responded to the conversation thanking Jen Wilkin for her thoughts, yet quite a few criticized her for what she said—or did not say. 

A number of people retweeted the account, “Steadfast Women,” who said, “Jen Wilkin said on TGC that if a Christian doesn’t send their kid(s) to public school ‘b/c it’s what’s best for our family’ that other Christian’s need to push back on that & remind them sending their kid to public school is for the greater good and used Phil. 2:4 to back it up.”

“1) We will always make decisions based on what’s best for our lives family,” said user Hannah Maz. “2) Has Jen Wilkin seen the current education statistics? It’s not best for the community for my kids to go to public school, lol. Kids are graduating that can’t even read at grade level :-/.”

Protestia and Woke Preacher Clips each responded with tweets critical of the interchange. 

In her Twitter thread, Wilkin corrected misconceptions about her position. “I *did not* say Christians should send their kids to public school to love their neighbor,” she said. “This is a mischaracterization of my argument. I *did* say ‘what’s best for my family’ is only one lens for families who have a choice in education.”

She continued, “I suggested considering an additional lens: the impact withdrawing from public schools has on our communities, particularly on families without a choice in education. I *did not* say that love of neighbor means we must choose public school.”