The greatest problem with primary and secondary education in America today is precisely that it is dominated by government-run schools that people are compelled by force of law to pay for whether they like them or not and whether they send their children there or not. The second greatest problem is that the political power controlling these government-run schools has become increasingly centralized, gradually removing decision-making from local communities, passing it up to the state and federal level.
Classical Education
Greg Strawbridge interviews Douglas Wilson on several pertinent matters concerning classical education. In this interview they discuss how the resurgence of the Christian Classical Education Movement can avoid the syncretism of past classical educational models. Wilson argues that the response to syncretism in classical education is a commitment to the Scriptures in all areas of life. This is a fine interview and I encourage all of you interested in Christian classical education to listen to it.
Nancy Wilson at Trinitas
Saving the Children…
I just returned from our local grocery where, as I was about to enter the store, I was greeted by two young women (probably in their early 20s) who asked me if I wanted “to save the children.” I answered “yes, I would love to. So what is your plan for shutting down the government schools?” They looked at me in total bewilderment, with one asking “why would we do that?” My response: “when you get serious about really wanting to save the children, give me a call.”
Wilson vs. Jordan
I agree with my friend Mike Bull when he writes:
There’s nothing better than theologians who basically agree on lots debating the finer points. Jordan and Wilson have different ideas on what a classical education should consist of. Somehow, I agree with both of them. Typical fanboy. You can watch the video here.
Quote, The Aim of Public Education
Wrote H. L. Mencken:
The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues, and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else…Their purpose, in brief, is to make docile and patriotic citizens, to pile up majorities, and to make John Doe and Richard Doe as nearly alike, in their everyday reactions and ways of thinking, as possible.
Exodus: A Christian Imperative
The Children of Caesar
I have appreciated Voddie’s work on this particular issue for over two years. He is an outstanding defender of the antithesis of Christian and pagan education.
Homeschooling Upheld…
City: Los Angeles, CA August 8, 2008
Homeschooling families throughout California can breathe more easily following a major decision released today in the Rachel L. case by California’s Second District Court of Appeal.
In a reversal of its previous decision, the Court today clearly upheld the right of families to homeschool under California law. In doing so, the court agreed with most of the arguments advanced by Pacific Justice Institute in the briefing and at oral argument. The court deferred to the state legislature, which has allowed homeschooling to flourish in the state with few restrictions. At the same time, the court stopped short of declaring the right to homeschool to be absolute in all circumstances, holding that in rare circumstances, the state may have a compelling interest sufficient to prevent families under the jurisdiction of a dependency court through charges of abuse or neglect from homeschooling. The appellate court remanded the Rachel L. case to the trial court for a specific determination as to the L. family at the center of this case, although the trial court recently determined it no longer needed to exercise jurisdiction over the family.
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, commented, “This is a tremendous victory for thousands of homeschooling families in California. The pall of uncertainty that has hung over so many families for the last few months is gone. Our attorneys will be thoroughly analyzing this 44-page decision and will be communicating further with California homeschooling families as to its additional implications.”
The Deplorable Obama and the Biblical Imperative
According to ABC News, Senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama told Planned Parenthood Tuesday that sex education for kindergarteners, as long as it is “age-appropriate,” is “the right thing to do.”
Plan Parenthood’s founder Margaret Sanger once wrote: “More children to the fit, less to the unfit: that is the chief issue of birth control.” Obama has supported Sanger’s dream for many years and his recent request for sex education is only a sure sign of greater support in the future. I realize he is not endorsing sex videos for toddlers, nevertheless, by affirming such, he is condoning, or at least, encouraging the idea that pre-marital sex is to be expected. Speaking of his own family he writes:
I honor and respect young people who choose to delay sexual activity,” Obama continued. “I’ve got two daughters, and I want them to understand that sex is not something casual.
Notice carefully that he does not condemn sexual interaction for young people, rather he states that he respects their opinion if they choose to wait until marriage.1 He further notes that his own daughters will be taught that sex is not something casual. By casual, I assume he means it is not to be taken lightly. But if sex is practiced outside its intended meaning, then it has become casual and it has turned its intended meaning upside down.
The travesty of such an approach is that for these candidates children will not be able to live healthy and robust lives before their Creator. They will wonder from their early days about sexual experimentation, which may consequently lead to early sex and possible pregnancy for many. It is true that curiosity leads to practice.
One reader commented that of all the things that could be taught to children, sex education is the most foolish. If Obama believes this will decrease pregnancy rates then he is blind. Children are to be taught by their parents, not by any public educators about the morality or immorality of sex.
What must be done?
a) What Obama misses entirely (this is expected in light of his pagan worldview) is that the indoctrination of children begins in the home, not at school. Hence, his reasoning, whatever it may be2 is bound to failure.
b) Christian parents have no other alternative but to pull their children out of public education. Public education has been doomed to failure from its inception. It is both unbiblical3 and finds no root in the Constitution.
c) Parents aware of the immense immorality of public education are compelled to share with other parents (Christians or not) according to I Corinthians 16:14 in a spirit of love. Unbelieving parents may dismiss your concerns outright, nevertheless, it is a worthy cause to instruct them on the harm this will cause on their children.
d) Though unbelieving parents may reject your presuppositions as Christians, there are other ways of making your point clear than through Biblical data.4 John Stossel’s series: “Stupid in America” may serve as an excellent introduction to the uninformed parent.
e) Finally, however the approach may take place, the solution is always a Biblical one: The regeneration of the heart and of the mind. Christian parents are to recognize that children are a gift from the Lord and showing compassion to them is to teach them in God’s laws.
The church has for too long allowed the world to set the standards of education, it is time for reconstruction in this important area. As Gary Demar has expressed: “Whoever controls the schools, rules the world.”
Footnotes
- Here I am assuming this is his meaning [↩ back]
- In this case perhaps one is to dispel myths about where babies come from [↩ back]
- Deuteronomy 6 [↩ back]
- Certainly, the Biblical data compels us to instruct others and frames our thinking as Biblical Christians, nevertheless, the methods used may vary. Gary North once said that if you would like to see liberals fear, remove your children from public education [↩ back]