Christian Teachers in Public Schools

A Guide for Teachers, Administrators, and Parents

by: Julia K. Stronks, Gloria Goris Stronks

• Format

  E-Book

  ISBN

  9781441215222

  Pub. Date

  Aug 1999

  SRP

  $22.00

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About

If Christian teachers in public schools are often unsure how to relate their faith to their work. How can I teach Christian values without Christianity as a foundation? How can my faith influence my teaching? What can I say in the classroom? Or after class?

Christian Teachers in Public Schools provides an invaluable resource for Christian teachers faced with such questions. offers:

• a discussion of how to plan curriculum in ways that stay true to one's faith
• an overview of the legal aspects of religion and the public schools
• ways to teach Christian values in a multicultural community
• practical guidance for applying the law to the classroom
• testimony and advice from numerous Christian teachers in state-sponsored schools

Teachers, administrators, prospective teachers, and parents who wish to learn more about public schooling and the Christian faith will find this a thought-provoking book.

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Endorsements

"This book is exactly what I and many of my students--faithful Christians who are future teachers and principals in public schools--have needed. The combination of legal and educational counsel, offered in an unapologetic way but without any public school bashing, will prove extremely useful. Christian teachers need encouragement to be faithful witnesses (just as some other teachers, consciously or unconsciously, communicate to their students that faith is unimportant) without taking unfair advantage of their public trust; this book will help many to follow that difficult and demanding path. As soon as you can get it into print, I plan to use Christian Teachers in Public Schools as the basis for a discussion group on our very secular campus."
--Charles Glenn, professor and chairman of educational policy, Boston University

"As our society continues to struggle with the role of religion in professional and public life, school teachers work every day on moral and ethical frontiers. Christian Teachers in Public Schools is an engaging, thoughtful, helpful, and very well written guide. It is a welcome gift for teachers who seek responsible ways of living with personal integrity in a pluralistic world and administrators and supervisors who must assess behavior and build policy within complex legal statutes."
--Sharon Daloz Parks, co-author, Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World

"Christian Teachers in Public Schools does an outstanding job of addressing the key issues confronting Christian teachers and administrators in public schools. This thoughtful and practical book makes it clear that it is possible for Christian teachers to be faithful while upholding the religious-liberty principles of the First Amendment."
--Charles Haynes, senior scholar, Religious Freedom Programs, Freedom Forum First Amendment Center

"Gloria and Julia Stronks have authored a book I wish I would have written. On behalf of the estimated 650,000 Christian teachers in public schools, I would classify it as a 'second Bible.' A well-written resource and guide to living out one's faith legally and appropriately in the field of public education. A Christian educator 'must read' book."
--Forrest L. Turpen, executive director, Christian Educators Association International

"Christian teachers who have felt intimidated by court rulings against religious expression or silenced by culture's ambivalence toward moral absolutes will find encouraging options in this book. Making legal language accessible and approachable, the authors unpack thorny litigation issues and challenge the assumption that our faith must always be marginalized in the classroom. With increasing demands for the privatization of faith, teachers will find Christian Teachers in Public Schools to be informative, engaging, and inspirational reading."
--Ruth Givens, Ed.D., assistant professor of education, Wheaton College

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Reviews

"[The authors] provide a ray of light for Christian teachers in public settings as they explore the tensions, laws governing teaching, and the calling many Christian teachers feel for teaching in state-supported or public schools. ... Promote this book for teachers, parents, and school administrators."--CBA Marketplace (July 1999)