Reflections on God … Man … Life
Another semester comes to a close tonight with the fall commencement at Southeastern University. I’m in my twenty-fifth year of teaching at the college level and have now witnessed a multitude of these. As I watch the graduates cross the stage and receive their diplomas, I hope that the four years they have invested were worth all the effort and the money that was spent. At least I have a higher comfort level at a university like SEU, knowing that… Read more »
When I talk about the dangers of government-controlled education, I share one of the truisms I use in my American history survey courses. It goes like this: Value-neutral education is a myth; everyone teaches from a distinctive worldview. When certain groups wanted to change education in the nineteenth century, one of the goals was to take education away from the influence of the churches. They said it was wrong to have what they called “sectarian” education. Instead, they promoted a… Read more »
I was a young man on fire for the Lord. At age 22, just after graduation from college, I became part of the ministry of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). As an on-air radio announcer, I played contemporary Christian music and offered whatever spiritual insights a 22-year-old could possibly offer. Then my church started a Christian school and looked around for someone with a degree of some kind to become its headmaster. My radio, television, and film degree seemed to… Read more »
Education in American began as a mostly private affair; the only thing even halfway resembling what we have today was when a New England town collected local taxes to cover the costs of a “common” school. Yet even during that time, private schooling prevailed, whether at home, with a paid tutor, or at a private academy. The big change occurred in Massachusetts in the 1830s. That state became the first to set up a state-level board of education. One of… Read more »
Today’s commentary is more personal. If you would rather find something about the shutdown or the debt ceiling, you won’t find it here today. Now’s your chance to go elsewhere before you read any further. Okay, too late—you must now continue. Professors are people, too. Sometimes we get discouraged. Even those of us who are doing this as a ministry and sense the call of God on our lives to teach can, at times, wonder what we are accomplishing. Although… Read more »
Up until now, I’ve not written anything specific with respect to the Common Core program being promoted from on high and apparently accepted as a guideline/goal by more than forty states. The promise is that it will set standards to prepare students for college and the workplace. Thus far, standards have been set for math and English language, with plans to extend them to other subject areas. One reason why I’ve not waded into this field prior to now is… Read more »
We now come to the end of our listing of the ten top reasons not to homeschool. The final two are in the same vein as the first eight. Let’s throw in a financial factor first: The price tag for government schooling keeps rising. But of course we are always assured this is “free public education.” Why free? Because you don’t have to pay tuition. Yet if it costs thousands to educate one child, that’s hardly free. It’s a semantics… Read more »