Christians need a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other— according to theologian Karl Barth. In our Talking It Over series, James Read invites thoughtful Salvationists from around the world to reflect on moral and ethical issues. Here, he speaks with Howard Dalziel about education. 

Howard, “parental rights” legislation has been grabbing headlines here in Canada. While the new laws and regulations pertain to a variety of issues, such as the rights of parents to be informed of their children’s behaviour and achievements in school, what is getting most attention is the right of parents to consent before the school changes the gender identification of their children. 

I don’t know that I could settle my thinking about this important question without addressing more general questions about what schooling is for and (to put it crudely) whose child it is when the child is at school. 

You work with Salvation Army schools around the world. Surely you will have thought about some of these big questions. 

—Jim 

The Salvation Army has a long history of engagement with education and currently works with more than 500,000 children from age three to 18, in more than 5,000 schools, supported by 20,000 teachers. Alongside this we have many education programs that support children to make the most of their education. This may be in the form of a homework club, an after-school youth group or psycho-social support to enable children who have become disengaged from the formal education system to access school. In some instances, we offer further education and vocational training opportunities to youth older than 18. All these Salvation Army schools should be actively engaged with a local corps and have a designated Salvation Army chaplain. 

—Howard 

Wow—500,000 students and 20,000 teachers! That’s more than twice the size of the entire Toronto school system! The Army used to have grade schools in Canada, but it was never on that scale. I still can’t get my head around the magnitude of the Army’s present commitment to schools. 

It’s not that I was completely ignorant of their existence. I got a call one day a few years ago inviting me to present at a small conference on international human rights at Glendon College in Toronto. The organizer of the conference was a professor there and, I discovered, a graduate of Salvation Army schools in Haiti. 

Not every graduate will be like that, of course, but, knowing the little bit I do about where Haiti sits on the United Nations (UN) social development scale, I rejoice for him and can see a reason for the Army to operate schools there. 

—Jim

Haiti is an apt example to explain why the Army still has schools. The UN says that access to formal education is a fundamental human right, and one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure inclusive and equitable high-quality education for all. But low-income countries such as Haiti struggle to provide what they have signed on to, which means that these noble aspirations could be empty words. 

The Salvation Army’s priority is to ensure that children in rural, remote or urban complex communities who might not otherwise be able to access a high-quality education system are able to do so. Adequately funded public schools might eventually make private Salvation Army schools unnecessary, as happened in Canada, but, in too many places, that is not a present possibility. 

Our aim for the foreseeable future needs to be about removing barriers to education for the most vulnerable, and then to ensure that the education received is of a high-enough quality to enable children to either move confidently to the next stage of education, or feel empowered enough to look for employment with the necessary skills, social understanding and mental strength required. 

—Howard 

I sense that a shortage of money is not always the only barrier. Sometimes fear and deeply engrained cultural norms seem to work against some kids, making them extra vulnerable. I recall visiting the Army’s Matumaini Primary School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2019, a residential school for children who live with physical disabilities. My memory is still vivid of one of the students, a 12-year-old girl who stood on her two prosthetic legs to address our group. Her eyes sparkled with energy and intelligence as she told us that she wanted to be a physician when she grew up. I was sure that she would pass the national exams at the end of the year and qualify to go on in a public secondary school. I think it may have been you who told me, however, that in all of Dar es Salaam, a city of four million, there are only two high schools that would even consider admitting children with disabilities like hers. 

—Jim 

If only we in the international Salvation Army could provide another option. When you talk about high-quality education, it’s not just about the books, desks, pens, paper, classrooms and teachers. You have to attend to such things as water and sanitation, too. Proper washing facilities are requisite for everyone’s health. And for girls to continue in school it is vital that there are sufficient toilet facilities. I single out girls here because there are many places where simply being a girl is itself a barrier to formal education. If, however, girls can be welcomed and can remain in school, the evidence is that this leads to a dramatic reduction in child marriage and is a powerful tool against human trafficking and exploitation in the home. 

Within a Salvation Army school, one of our strategic goals is that every child or youth is given equal opportunity to fully participate in all learning activities. Salvation Army schools are to be free from discrimination in all respects, regardless of any person’s background, including their gender, race, religion, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, special needs status or other characteristics. 

—Howard

Thanks for sharing the Army’s strategic goals document (salvationarmy.org/ihq/schools). I see that another of the goals is to be a resource for the communities in which the Army schools are situated and to contribute positively to the life of families. 

This brings me back to the matter of the relationship between schools and parents—the hot topic in Canada. What’s the system of Salvation Army schools doing on that score? 

—Jim

We would hope to build closer relationships with parents. This is particularly important when parents are otherwise disengaged from education. Sometimes we find parents are even disengaged from bringing up a family as a family. 

Again Haiti, regrettably, is a particularly good example. Family life and education have suffered because of countrywide turmoil and economic pressures, security concerns and people working away from home. So, we have a program in Haiti where schools, parents and corps officers are working together, to look at some basic principles of parenting within a Christian framework. For example, looking at how to be consistent with discipline and how to make it more effective in the long term, based on understanding rather than fear. 

Elsewhere, Salvation Army schools organize parenting classes that include budgeting for a household. 

—Howard 

Creative. But budgeting skills assume there’s enough money, and I assume that’s a problem in many of the places where the Army has schools. 

—Jim 

We also look at various income-generation options. In low-margin economies, economic empowerment is crucial for a child’s education— having enough money for school fees, uniforms, textbooks or shoes. Even in fee-free schools, sometimes the expense of getting the supplies can be a barrier. 

We find that small economic empowerment programs are generally the key to lifting families out of poverty. So, the Army—not necessarily the school itself—helps organize self-help groups. About 10-15 women meet to save money and use the collective savings for business enterprises, and then put a portion of the earnings back into the collective fund. The self-help group becomes a resource that enables the women to borrow money when they otherwise have no options for borrowing. 

Women are the target of our economic empowerment programs since it is often women who are responsible for finding the resources to send children to school. There are now many thousands of self-help groups across the Salvation Army world in India. And they do focus on education—on the literacy of parents as well as children. 

—Howard 

I’d like to know more about the economic empowerment programs; however, at the moment I need to stay focused on an approach to schooling. Clearly, what you have described is a more comprehensive relationship between the schools and parents than we would contemplate in Canada, but it seems to me equally clear that the aim is to integrate parents into the schooling of their children, not alienate them. 

—Jim 

Our approach to schooling is not just to focus on the classroom curriculum, and it’s not just ensuring the family has money. Having a focal point in a corps or a church is equally crucial. The relationship between the corps, the school and the parents is another place where The Salvation Army adds value. As we know, navigating life can be quite complicated. The corps can be a point for organization and personal trust, where you get a positive model. 

—Howard 

Dr. James Read, OF, was the executive director of The Salvation Army’s Ethics Centre for many years and served as chair of the International Moral and Social Issues Council. Now retired, he attends Heritage Park Temple in Winnipeg. Howard Dalziel is the director of Salvation Army Schools International.

Photo: Courtesy of Len Millar High School 

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