Q: What about our children's education if we moved overseas?

In our mission we have nearly 2,000 missionaries and approximately the same number of children, so the education of children is an issue we deal with constantly. Our general policy is that the parents make their decision in consultation with the field leaders. The only real condition we set is that the choice has to show itself to be effective for the individual children over time.

Many of our families send their children to national schools. This is most true in Europe. Many other countries have "International Schools" which have a high academic standard and a price tag to match. Schools for missionary kids are another option. Quite often such a school serves missionary children from several missions and even several countries. Many families also home school for the earliest years, but most eventually opt for another program when the children grow older. There are generally two reasons for this. First, the home schooling becomes more difficult and demanding for the parents who see themselves as missionaries as well as parents. Second, they recognize the social needs of the children that are often met in schools, especially schools specifically for missionary children. A very positive "peer pressure" is generally provided in a spiritual setting.

A study was presented about 15 years ago in the publication "Evangelical Missions Quarterly." It showed that the children of missionaries were on the whole much better prepared educationally, socially, spiritually, and emotionally than the other children in the study. That is a real encouragement. Of course the real answers will come as you begin to consider selecting a mission agency. Some have specific guidelines. Other answers may come as you examine a field. There may only be certain practical options for that field. One thing of which you can be absolutely certain is that God cares as much for your children as He does for any person in the world, and He does not consider them expendable.

There are four major options to consider for your children's education. We talked and prayed and struggled with the best course for our children (now ages 9, 7, and 2) and will probably continue to do so as they grow up.

First, have your children attend the schools that the nationals attend. Probably not the majority, but many missionaries send their children to the public schools in Japan, especially for elementary school. We sent our boys to Japanese preschool and kindergarten.

Second, enroll your children in a nearby mission school or school for foreigners. This is, of course, limited to those areas where such a school exists and such schools may be expensive. In Japan, there are several such schools in or near large cities.

Third, if no such school is available, send your children to boarding school (or to a school where they can board with trusted family or friends). This may be a school in the nation you are serving in or farther away. Some parents even send their children back to live with friends or relatives in their home country (usually only for high school).

Fourth, home school. With the growing amount of materials available, this is becoming a very common option. Similar to this would be for a team or group of missionaries to create a small school with parents taking various responsibilities for the teaching. Another option is for the mission to provide a teacher for the group.

All the options have their pros and cons and the final decision will rest with each individual family depending on finances, options available, convictions, personalities and needs of the children, etc. No matter which course you choose, your children will be "third culture" children with all the special needs and benefits that come with that.

Our son was five when we arrived in Slovakia and we put him in Slovak kindergarten immediately. He loved it from day one (being an only child may have helped). He acquired the language quite rapidly, though his parents were much slower!

He is now in 7th grade in Slovak public schools (the only kind of school he has ever attended). He recently read a 300 page Christian novel (in English) in two days. Slovaks place a much higher value on math and science than Americans do. He has already taken Physics and Algebra.

We spend every second summer in America, which hasn't been a problem though Slovak schools end June 30 and start Sept. 4. Our son enjoys missing that last month of school. He recently decided that he would like to attend an MK boarding school his last two years of high school so that he can develop some Christian friendships.

I was raised in Northern Brazil for 15 years. I did first and second grade in an English language school, most of the rest of my education was either homeschool or correspondence course. The homeschool was based on books we had in the house, much like kids on the American frontier often learned.

My boys go to a Spanish language school here in Colombia. We pay the tuition so they can go to a private school rather than a government school because of the frequent strikes that interrupt the school year for the public schools. It's not too expensive here, about $50 a month a piece for them, plus books and uniforms. And they learn more of the language and the culture they are living in. They get a good education (perhaps better than they would in many places in the US.) We do have to tutor them in English to keep up their reading skills. We speak English in the house, but we want them to maintain their reading skills as well.

Don't let kid worries keep you off the field. Kids are resilient.