In Her Own Words - A Parent's Perspective

Lisa Barry
Radio Host - 98.5 KTIS
Minneapolis/St. Paul

Our family has experienced all forms of education from home school to public to charter schools and private. At our oldest daughters request, we sent her to a public high school. Though she started out fine, by the second year I noticed she was picking up more of the negative influences in the environment. She was nearing a fork in the road and one path was leading toward a destructive lifestyle and though she wasn’t totally on that path yet, she was definitely leaning that way. If I didn’t do something soon, I knew it would be harder to get her to back up and make the choice later.

I talked to a spiritual leader about this and explained to him my dilemma because I had promised my daughter that she could go do public school and that I’d be going back on my word. He told me, “well, we don’t let our children make those important decisions, do we? You’ll need to apologize to her and explain that you made a mistake in promising something that might be wrong for her. "

I realized that as a parent, I needed to put my daughter in an environment where she could make right decisions so I pulled her in March of her sophomore year (crazy timing, I know). And though it was horrible for a while, the following fall, major change began.

She was used to giving status quo work in a multiple-choice world. She didn’t expect much of herself and didn’t think she was capable of more than her minimal work. The teachers at Calvin Christian High School didn’t accept her lack-luster attempts at school work. It’s not to say they expected more of her than she was capable, but they could see that she had more to give, more to offer, more than even she knew. They continued to push, she continued to give a little more and a little more. Even she was surprised at what the teachers were able to pull out of her. Her self confidence grew, her love for learning grew and her desire to grow spiritually grew in leaps and bounds.

These teachers were able to accomplish what I was powerless to do. How can you put a price tag on that? I am so indebted to these individuals and this school, and that is no exaggeration!