Tag: Education

Educating a New Generation

  

The Fourth of July used to be one of the premier American holidays. People celebrated it because they understood the principles behind the resistance to taxation without representation and the potential for government overreach. Those were lessons we used to know. Things have changed. But if you were to take a survey of our current knowledge of America’s founding and the principles upon which it was based, you might get a variety of responses, few of them heartening: If some… Read more »

Education: What’s It All About?

  

As a professor of American history for more than twenty years now, I have ceased to be surprised by the lack of knowledge our students bring to the classroom. American history—particularly early American history—is like a foreign language to many. The majority can still identify George Washington, and most know there was a Civil War, but they’re not sure when it happened. The Constitution is virtually an unknown document when it comes to its basic provisions. This year we celebrate… Read more »

Judgment Begins with the Household of God

  

I don’t know much about Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. What I do know is what I read yesterday—that it’s a Christian university associated with the Georgia Baptist Convention and that it has decided to be consistent with that convention’s beliefs by asking its employees to sign a pledge indicating their agreement with the basic tenets of the church. To me, that’s only common sense. If you say “this is what we believe and this is what we seek to… Read more »

Education & Timeless Truth

  

The end of the semester nears; my classes are winding down this week. Teaching university students can be a joy one minute and a frustration the next. To any of my students reading this, let me emphasize that I like you and that I believe I am carrying out God’s will to be there. Some days are quite fulfilling, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. But there are obstacles to overcome, in general, with the present generation. All that… Read more »

Christian School Graduates: What Are They Like?

  

I just read through the results of a recent survey of Christian school graduates [pre-college] that sought to determine whether graduates from those Christian schools were achieving the goals of the schools—academic excellence, spiritual formation, and the engagement of the larger culture. Some of those results are heartening, while one in particular is discouraging, to me at least. The positives for Protestant Christian schools, the ones with which I am most familiar and am closer to in spirit, can be… Read more »

Education & the Soul

  

This past week a new academic year began. I always enjoy the beginning of a new year. It can be that way when you believe you have a calling from God to do what you’re doing. I’ve used this blog on a number of occasions to express my gratitude for the opportunity I have to teach at Southeastern University, where I can provide a Biblical basis for every course and analyze American history through that Biblical lens. For me, there… Read more »

The Present Crisis

  

The intent of yesterday’s post was to ensure we understand that there have always been bad times in American history, and that we’ve been at the point of despair before. Our future as a nation is still open; the decisions we make now will determine our path. Today I do want to emphasize the severity of our current problems, as a kind of counterpoint to yesterday’s hopeful thoughts. It’s important that we don’t put our heads in the sand, figuratively… Read more »