# Free Christian education



## nickipicki123 (Sep 20, 2018)

I was listening to a podcast recently, and one of the hosts said that Christian educators, instead of working for public schools, should provide free Christian education in other ways. He didn't give any suggestions as to how such a school would function giving teachers the ability to feed their families. He mentioned to me (I asked on Twitter) that companies like Facebook and YouTube are free but they are still profitable, so a free profitable Christian school is possible. But aren't these companies free and profitable because of advertisers?

TL;DR

What might be a way that Christian educators can provide free education to the masses and make a living at it? Not everyone is able to homeschool, and it would be good to have a free Christian alternative to those who can't afford $10,000+/yr private school. 

This seems like something that the Catholic Church has been successful at. Tuition is subsidized by the diocese, and therefore poor families are able to afford it. Why can't Protestants do something similar?

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## arapahoepark (Sep 20, 2018)

Not sure. However there is Khan Academy.


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## Edward (Sep 20, 2018)

nickipicki123 said:


> But aren't these companies free and profitable because of advertisers?



No, the profit isn't in the advertising. It's in the data gathering and marketing. So ask him how many students he's going to have so he can capture data from their families.

Then tell him to do it to demonstrate how it can be done.


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## nickipicki123 (Sep 20, 2018)

Edward said:


> No, the profit isn't in the advertising. It's in the data gathering and marketing. So ask him how many students he's going to have to capture data from their families.


LOL Edward!

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## nickipicki123 (Sep 20, 2018)

arapahoepark said:


> Not sure. However there is Khan Academy.


Yes, but this is online only. How about for families who cannot afford to stay home with the kids?

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## nickipicki123 (Sep 20, 2018)

arapahoepark said:


> Not sure. However there is Khan Academy.


I'm also not sure how much Khan academy does for elementary education. I think the best education is going to be with an in person human teacher.

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## TheInquirer (Sep 20, 2018)

"Free" is never free, someone is always subsidizing the cost. YouTube and Facebook, advertisers are subsidizing the cost. Secular public education, the tax payers are subsidizing the cost.

Very easy to say someone "should" do something for free but then not offer up any ways that can actually feasibly happen 

The private school we have our kids in caps tuition at a percentage of income so higher income earners end up subsidizing the cost for lower income families. Other schools have things like endowments where donors, over long periods of time, give money that is invested and the return helps subsidize cost and bring tuition down.

Other models include parents banding together and forming homeschool co-ops and can share teaching load but then you usually have cost of curriculum, building, and possibly untrained teachers etc.

If you got enough people to volunteer their time, got free curriculum somewhere, and someone donated building space (or you did it online), you might get something to work. However, once again, all that is being subsidized at the cost of someone else.

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## nickipicki123 (Sep 20, 2018)

TheInquirer said:


> "Free" is never free, someone is always subsidizing the cost. YouTube and Facebook, advertisers are subsidizing the cost. Secular public education, the tax payers are subsidizing the cost.
> 
> Very easy to say someone "should" do something for free but then not offer up any ways that can actually feasibly happen
> 
> ...


I think it's unreasonable to expect teachers to volunteer. They need to feed their families too
Your school sounds reasonable though!

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## ZackF (Sep 20, 2018)

nickipicki123 said:


> He didn't give any suggestions as to how such a school would function giving teachers the ability to feed their families.



There is a big surprise. Only Christians seem to feel comfortable obligating an entire professional class of people to give away their services. [endeth pet peeve]


Though, despite the terrible, evil education lobby and bureaucracy working against them, charter schools and home-school coops are accomplishing this. While curricula, supplies, and so forth are not free it comes close when compared to public and private schools. Mostly because the teachers (most often mothers) 'give' away their services.

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## Edward (Sep 21, 2018)

ZackF said:


> charter schools and home-school coops are accomplishing this. While curricula, supplies, and so forth are not free it comes close when compared to public and private schools.



That may be true up there, but around here the charter schools get the same state funding as do the public schools (but not the local funds). While the funding gaps can be large with regard to the tiny rural districts that are heavily subsidized by the larger districts, the gap is pretty small between the large ISDs and the large charters. Charters schools starting in 2017 also started getting state funding for facilities. 

So at least some of your 'close to free' schools are getting buckets of cash from the taxpayers.


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