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Five Common Objections and Answers (more below)

O1:   "We are teaching our kids to be salt and light by sending them to public schools so that they can reach others. If we pull them out of public school, who will then reach those kids?"

A1: Sounds good, but the scriptures and the statistics don't bear this out. Christian kids aren't reaching the godless at school, rather it is the other way around. Thus the reason that only 18% of Christian kids retain their faith all the way through public school. As pointed out earlier, the scriptures tell us clearly that we are to raise our children up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). They also tell us that we are to teach the scriptures diligently to our children, talking about them during every part of the day. (Deut. 6:6-7) When was the last time that a child was instructed diligently to learn and obey the scriptures in a public school?  

Also, why is it that we are sending our children to fight the battles that we should be fighting instead? We don't hand a rifle to a 6 year old and march him off to war, yet that is what we do in a spiritual sense every day when we send our kids into public schools. How is a 6 year old supposed to win against a 30 year old teacher that has the psychological advantage of being a trusted authority figure, as well as a higher educational level? We are sending our children into the battle FAR before they are trained enough or mature enough to fight effectively. The outcome? Most of them are slaughtered.

O2: "It is different for us because we know our children's teachers, and they are strong Christians."

A2: I'm glad to hear that your child's teachers are believers, but their teachers don't get to choose the curriculum. The only books and curriculum that can be used for instruction in a govt. school are those that have been approved by the federal government. That means that if the textbook mentions God and Christ in a favorable light, it will NOT be allowed for instructional use in a public school.
The curriculum is the problem folks, NOT the teachers.

O3: "I was public schooled, and I turned out okay. In fact, I know kids that went through public school, and they turned out fine."

A3: Yes, I do too. I also know of people who survived the D-Day landing on Omaha beach (which had a casualty rate of about 50%), but that doesn't mean that I would want to volunteer my own son or daughter to go through that kind of living hell when they don't need to. The sad fact is that the casualty rate among Christian children in public schools far out paces that of Omaha beach. Yet we still offer up our own children as living sacrifices to the godless indoctrination station of government schools.

Is it possible for a Christian kid to go through public school and retain a strong faith in Christ? Sure. But it's also possible to jump out of a plane without a parachute and survive.  However, this is not a question of possibility, but rather one of probability. The probability is higher that you will die if you jump without a parachute; it's also more probable that a child will lose their faith while in public school rather than retain it.

O4: "I'm a single mom, so it is impossible for me to homeschool or send my kids to a private school because I have to work."

A4: I can empathize with you, I was raised by a single mom for part of my life, and it wasn't easy. However, I also just read an article about a group of Christian single mothers who wanted to homeschool their kids. They got together, and asked for a different day off of work from the rest (one got Monday's off, the next got Tuesday's off, the next got Wednesday's off, etc.) Then, each mother taught the entire group of kids on their "day off". Ingenious. Perhaps you could do the same, or pray that God would give you wisdom on how to accomplish this goal in your own personal situation. DON'T GIVE UP! 

O5: "Christian schooling is too expensive for us to afford."

A5: This is the most common objection I hear regarding private Christian schools. Because of this, I crunched some numbers and had an epiphany. What I found was that it is usually not a problem of expenses, but rather one of priorities. Allow me to elaborate.

The top homeschool & Christian school curriculum in the country (Abeka) has an option where homeschoolers can order the classes on DVD. It is their most expensive (and I would argue their most effective as well) option. It costs $1000 per year. This is more than affordable for most Americans. The Grace Academy is an entirely online homeschool curriculum that costs around $1500 dollars per year. Both of these are affordable & proven methods.

One of the top Christian schools in Oklahoma costs $4600 per year to enroll 1 student, the 2nd student costs $4140, the 3rd student $3680 and so on down the line. They also charge a $375 charge per student at the beginning of the year for books.

Now, I realize that if someone has a family of 18 kids, a private Christian school would be unaffordable. But the reality is that the AVERAGE Christian family in America has 1.85 children (which in itself shows a major reason that Christianity is declining). This means most parents would have one child in High School, two at the max.

So here are the figures:

1 kid in school is $4600 per year = $383 per month (or $88 a week if you rather figure it that way) 

The average American's car payment is a little over $420 per month, and the average American family of 3.85 people owns almost 3 cars! (double the statistic of only 30 years ago)

So fiscally speaking, the average American Christian thinks it is more important to drive a shiny new vehicle than to procure for their child a God-centered education.  (P.S., if you add in the $375 fee for books, it still only adds up to $414 a month)

2 kids in school is $8740 per year = $728 per month.

The average American Christian family of 3.85 people lives in a house that is roughly 2350 square feet (more than DOUBLE the average size house in 1950... which housed LARGER families in it as well) and pays an average of $1,687 PER MONTH for that mansion. If they were willing to live in a modest 1400 square foot home they could save an estimated $843 per month, which would more than cover the cost of putting both kids through Christian schooling.

So, fiscally speaking, the average American Christian thinks it is more important to live in a big, "roomy" home than to procure for their child a God-centered education. (Again, if costs of books are figured in, it still comes out to only $791 per month for top notch, "expensive" Christian schooling).

Most American Christian's also spend over $1200 per year (or $100 per month) on cable or dish t.v. services. We spend another $1200 per year on technology "gadgets" (new plasma T.V., new CD player, new DVD player, new car stereo, etc.), $780 per year on tobacco and/or alcohol (amazing), $700 a year on cell phones, almost $3,000 annually on fast food, $2,700 on entertainment (gotta see that hot new movie), and just over $5,500 on gas, oil, and vehicle maintenance.

With all that, I have come to the conclusion that USUALLY the problem is not with finances, but rather with priorities. I understand that there are probably extenuating circumstances out there, and I'm not begrudging people who find themselves in them. However, for most people the costs of Christian education are well within their means if they are willing to sacrifice a little short term "pleasure".

For example, get rid of the cable t.v. and ride a bike or car-pool to work. Decide that your family will eat out only once or twice a week (gasp!), and that you don't need that new X-box this year anyway. Instead of going to the theatre, rent a movie this weekend and save $45 on entertainment costs. Do you really need a 3000 square foot home for 4 people, and since when did every kid need their own cell phone? Is a backyard swimming pool or a motorcycle more important than a God-centered education for your kids?
 
Have we become so "Americanized" that we have become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God? Have we become so accustomed to our American comforts that we would rather justify our lifestyles than repent of them?

http://www.getinthebattle.com/Christian_Education.html

MORE

What About the Poor?

Government schools already fail the poor in some of the most spectacular ways — illiteracy, dangerous schools, the worst teachers, low expectations, and the list could go on.

A free market in schooling would open incredible opportunity to the pooras philanthropists, churches, civic groups and all the people who already give of their hard-earned money worked to provide true opportunity.

People literally believe that horrible public schools are better than not quite perfect private options, as long as everyone is suffering. This is, of course, an idea they've learned from their public schools. They've been taught, and believe, that these schools serve ALL children, so regardless of their shortcomings, no matter how truly awful they are, even if they're producing illiterates and societal misfits who will end up in prison, it is okay, because they serve everyone. It's fair, you see.

What About Irresponsible Parents?

Maybe the poor will receive help and maybe they'll accept it and rise to the occasion, but what about parents who just don't care, parents on drugs, parents too uneducated (and how did they get that way?) to think school is important?

The children of these parents are already ill-served and failing. The situation could not be much worse. Some of them will still fall through the cracks, but many more will be rescued by people who care that they succeed, who are willing to take risks to that end.

There is a tremendous amount of damage to be fixed, much of that damage has been done by the schools themselves, as well as by the welfare system. Both have robbed parents of the responsibility to work and take care of their children. The results now stare us in the face and challenge us to begin the rebuilding.

It is significant to note here that this may scare politicians and school authorities more than any other aspect of the potential demise of government control of education. Empowered citizens is frightening enough to a government; empowered poor people is terrifying. In the eyes of authorities, this is tantamount to letting the most dangerous inmates out of the prison, and they've convinced the rest of us that it's too scary to even entertain.

Also see: The Case for Separation and Why Christian Education Is Important.