Join Me Today at “31 Days of Homeschooling Encouragement”!

Jacinda, at Growing Home, is doing a series called, “31 Days of Homeschool Encouragement“, sharing the insight of  different homeschool moms and perspectives. I am delighted that she asked me to share some of my thoughts on the subject….I hope you’ll come join in!

“Inspire him to love to learn–that is the pivotal point of all his learning experiences to follow. How is a person educated? By following their God-given curiosity and love of discovering things. It’s when that natural love is squelched that we lose the real potential for education. Does it take a certified teacher to teach? Absolutely not. It takes nothing more than the ability to lead a child to answers…period.”

Thinking Like a Christian–Part 2 (What Does the Bible Say About Public School?)

(continued from Part 1...)

“There is no God and no soul. Hence, there are no needs for props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or permanent absolutes …. Teaching children to read is a great perversion and a high literacy rate breeds destructive individualism … the child does not go to school to develop individual talents but rather are prepared as “units” in an organic society …. The change in the moral school atmosphere  … are not mere accidents, they are the necessities of the larger social evolution. -John Dewey, “Father of Modern Education”

Religion of the state.

If once we understand that the government actually teaches a religion–Secular Humanism (John Dewey declared Secular Humanism as “our common faith” and it has been granted a tax-exempt status as a religion)–the Christians’ duty should be clear. Just as I would not allow any other religious institution to educate my children (this would be precisely a “false god or teaching”), so I should not consider the most dangerous religion of all…worship of man and his wisdom.

“Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism, and every American school is a school of humanism. What can a theistic Sunday School’s meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children do to stem the tide of the five-day program of humanistic teaching?” Charles F. Potter, Humanism: A New Religion (1930)

“”The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and new – the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism…”
John J. Dunphy, “A New Religion For A New Age”

“I think that the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny how to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is 16tends toward the elimination of religious superstition. The average American child now acquires a high school education, and this militates against Adam and Eve and all other myths of alleged history.” -P. Blanchard, “The Humanist”

(For more chilling humanist quotes and the aim of public education…Quotes and Dirty Little Secrets for as many shocking quotes about the intent of public education as one can stand in a day.)

The Bible does instruct us how to educate our children: in “the way he should go” and “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”. Are these mere cliches, or do we study them and allow them to permeate our lives and our parenting?

If we are to train our children “in the way they should go”, it goes without being said that the their education MUST be Christian. If we are to avoid false teaching, we certainly can’t give our children to the tutelage of a truth-hating system (regardless of where a particular teacher stands). If we are to disciple them in the instruction of the Lord, we must be with them more than anyone else. We must talk to them more than anyone else. We must tie our heart strings to theirs, talk to them in the thousands of moments of life about wisdom, showing them how to walk in the ways of the Lord in the details of the day. This is difficult enough to do without the daily influence of a teaching system opposed to our values.

Moreover, the only true knowledge must begin with “the fear of the Lord”.

“Listen , my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.”

“My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s teaching.”

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deut. 6:6

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:19

Scripture is clear: those who aren’t for Him are against Him. Those who do not walk in light walk in darkness. A worldview (i.e. education, standpoint from which one is taught) is either biblical or worldly, and those are at enmity. This is not neutral ground. We let them walk in the counsel of the godly, meditating in His law day and night, or the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the way of sinners, sitting in the seat of the scornful.

May we be vigilant to seek the Lord and allow His Word to permeate our lives, raising strong men and women of faith to advance the Kingdom of God into the next generation.

Think Outside the Classroom

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Are you a homeschooling mother who worries that you aren’t “doing enough”? Are you thinking of homeschooling but feel afraid that you aren’t qualified? If so, read more…

Thinking Like a Christian: What Does the Bible Say About Public School?

Most parents believe “school is neutral”, are not aware of any agenda outside of “no child left behind”, and often make decisions about educating their children based on visible traits–the reputation of their school, the teachers they know, etc.

My intent for this series is two-fold: first, to reveal some history and background into the admitted agendas of key influences in the educational system, and get you to think beyond “is my school a good school”. (See part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) But secondly, to challenge Christian parents to evaluate their biblical responsibility for educating their children.

Education is NOT neutral, even from a secular standpoint. Social agendas in the last 60 years or so are gaining momentum and academic interests are taking a backseat while our children are being indoctrinated with values not our own. The system is, by and large, interested in making “good citizens”, and often see the family as a hindrance to that aim.

Definition of a “good citizen”? Docile, easily managed, believe-what-we-tell-you men and women driven by consumerism and not likely to challenge the status quo (or recognize the influence of said agenda).

“Schools today do not teach adequately the essential academic subjects. They do not lead by good example. And they do not support traditional family values.  Quite to the contrary, they teach that there is no right or wrong, that tolerance is good and being judgmental bad, that competition is wrong and cooperation good; that all children should have high self-esteem, and that they should explore life and enjoy themselves to the fullest.  Learning to learn, becoming lifelong learners and fitting-in and getting along with the crowd is all that matters. “Progressive” educators, today, promote consensus and group-decision making, and they discourage individual thinking as being egocentric.  They want our children to become “good citizens” that can’t distinguish right from wrong and will fit into the “Global Village” under a “New World Order” that function under a new set of moral values.”  Education News

But for the Christian parent, the stakes are much higher. Does the Bible even speak about education? Since the words “public school” are not found in Scripture, is this an area of neutrality?

The truth is that the Bible most certainly tells us how to educate our children and we are accountable to that knowledge. To think that God would remain silent on such an important issue is naive at best.

Two commonly violated biblical principles of education:

Commonly, it is argued that a child can attend school but still have his parents fulfill the biblical command of nurturing him in the admonition of the Lord. I will not suggest this can’t be true when the child is not at school. Yet the fact remains, that for the majority of the day that child is NOT being nurtured in the admonition of the Lord. The majority of the day the child is being subjected to “the counsel of the ungodly”, even if he has a gagged Christian teacher here and there. The curriculum of the state is decidedly opposed to Christianity and separates the knowledge of God from every subject.

This fact alone violates two biblical principles: “walking not in the counsel of the ungodly” and “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.

To be continued…

More on “What’s Wrong With Public School” from Gatto

More provoking thoughts from John Taylor Gatto (former National Teacher of the Year after 30 years in the public school system). Your thoughts?

“I want you to consider the frightening possibility that we are spending far too much money on schooling, not too little. I want you to consider that we have too many people employed in interfering with the way children grow up – and that all this money and all these people, all the time we take out of children’s lives and away from their homes and families and neighborhoods and private explorations – gets in the way of education.

And yet last year in St. Louis, I heard a vice-president of IBM tell an audience of people assembled to redesign the process of teacher certification that in his opinion this country became computer-literate by self-teaching, not through any action of schools. He said 45 million people were comfortable with computers who had learned through dozens of non-systematic strategies, none of them very formal; if schools had pre-empted the right to teach computer use we would be in a horrible mess right now instead of leading the world in this literacy.”

 

“…schooling after the Prussian fashion removes the ability of the mind to think for itself. It teaches people to wait for a teacher to tell them what to do and if what they have done is good or bad. Prussian teaching paralyses the moral will as well as the intellect.”

“Bertrand Russell once observed that American schooling was among the most radical experiments in human history, that America was deliberately denying its children the tools of critical thinking. When you want to teach children to think, you begin by treating them seriously when they are little, giving them responsibilities, talking to them candidly, providing privacy and solitude for them, and making them readers and thinkers of significant thoughts from the beginning. That’s if you want to teach them to think.

Kindergarten was created to be a way to break the influence of mothers on their children. I note with interest the growth of daycare in the US and the repeated urgings to extend school downward to include 4-year-olds.”

Think Outside the Classroom

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Are you a homeschooling mother who worries that you aren’t “doing enough”? Are you thinking of homeschooling but feel afraid that you aren’t qualified? If so, this book will give you answers. Whether you are one of those tired moms, contemplating giving up, or just need some relief, or whether you are considering homeschooling and don’t know where to start, you’ll find this ebook full of answers and practical help.  Read more…

Public Education: Do You Know?

Continuing the series on public school education, it’s important to note that my intention in these posts is not to promote homeschooling. The point of this series is to specifically discuss the federal government’s control of education and resulting consequences. There are other options available but will only be desirable by a public who realizes that the government’s role should not include that of “Educator”.

Can you answer any of these questions and do you know why they are important for parents to know?

• When was the Federal Department of Education established?

• When did the government’s role in education greatly increase?

• How has increased funding improved the quality of education?

• Do you agree with this statement: “In short, never has public education been more generously supported by the taxpayer and never have our schools seen more violence, academic disarray, and parental dissatisfaction than the present. What is even more shocking is that over four million students must be drugged daily with Ritalin in order to be able to attend class….What is actually taking place is a cultural revolution engineered by behavioral psychologists, humanist educators, and socialist change agents using a whole galaxy of education programs to implement their agenda, financed by the federal government.” Samuel Blumenfield

• Are a people really free if the government controls the education of the public? What happens in other businesses where there is no free market, no accountability and no competition?

A Closer Look at Public Education: Are We Trained to Serve the Economy?

In this series on education, I have and will quote quite often from John Taylor Gatto because I believe he is not only highly qualified to speak, having been intensely involved with the public school system for more than thirty years, but I also believe he has a pure agenda, motivated only by a simple love of truth and people. He is as studied and competent a man I’ve ever read and we would do well to at least consider his observations and conclusions.

Open discussion is encouraged and welcomed, providing it remains respectful and dignified.

The following is a small excerpt from a speech Gatto gave with perhaps some of the most interesting perspectives on compulsory education I have ever read:

“There can be no doubt that the fantastic wealth of American big business is a direct result of school training. Schools training a social lump to be needy, frightened, envious, bored, talentless and incomplete. The successful mass-production economy demands such an audience. It isn’t anybody’s fault. Just as the Amish small business, small farm economy requires intelligence, competence, thoughtfulness and compassion, ours needs a well managed mass — level, anxious, spiritless families, godless and conforming; people who believe that the difference between Coke and Pepsi is matter worth arguing about. The American economy depends on schooling us that status is purchased and others run our lives. We learn there that sources of joy and accomplishment are external, that the contentment comes with the possessions, seldom from within. School cuts our ability to concentrate to a few minutes duration, creating a life-long craving for relief from boredom through outside stimulation. In conjunction with television and computer games, which employ the identical teaching methodology, these lessons are permanently inscribed. We become fearful, stupid, voiceless and addicted to novelty.

The secret of American schooling is that it doesn’t teach the way children learn – nor is it supposed to. Schools were conceived to serve the economy and the social order rather than kids and families — that is why it is compulsory. As a consequence, the school can not help anybody grow up, because its prime directive is to retard maturity. It does that by teaching that everything is difficult, that other people run our lives, that our neighbors are untrustworthy even dangerous. School is the first impression children get of society. Because first impressions are often the decisive ones, school imprints kids with fear, suspicion of one another, and certain addictions for life. It ambushes natural intuition, faith, and love of adventure, wiping these out in favor of a gospel of rational procedure and rational management.

From John Taylor Gatto’s Speech