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All articles found on this web site may be reprinted, but only exactly as found here and with
"Joseph Harris" and www.miniedition.net included in the body.
Concerning Education
Replacing the System
You have heard the saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but what if it is broken? What
if it's not just broken, but smashed beyond repair? Then what do you do? Usually, things broken beyond repair are replaced.
Public Education is in serious trouble with a capital T. Now before you get twisted out of shape
thinking this is an attack, if you are personally involved with a public school, just hear me out. If I had to list all my
gripes and complaints about education in government schools, the majority of them would be secondary. The one REAL problem
is this: public schools are not Christian schools. Period! Some people may say they are not supposed to be Christian, because
they are public, but that just reveals how secular philosophy has pervaded and prevailed.
Knowledge can be imparted without God, but when education takes place apart from God, it is
incomplete and usually erroneous. Physical Science is incomplete when taught with no mention of God, and is in error when
it teaches all matter came into existence without God. Biology misses the mark when it teaches of the wonder and intricacies
of life, yet denies the Creator and Sustainer of life. History classes that deny the providence and influence of God in dealing
with man, fall short, and create and nurture a purposeless, existential mindset in students.
I don't want to "get God into the schools" in the sense of just adding Him by way of prayer
or a moment of silent meditation. I'm not satisfied with just adding God into the curriculum wherever and whenever there may
be an opening. The philosophy of education in schools should be God-centered, supported by a Christian worldview, presented
and modeled by every teacher in every subject, consistently. You don't "add" God to the curriculum and extra-curricular activities.
You BEGIN first with God, centering everything else around Him.
I know it sounds radical, but is it any more radical than the current agenda to completely
eradicate all traces of God from education? The system has been severely smashed for so long, it can't be fixed. That's why
more and more parents are choosing to replace the system with Christian schools and home education. Thank God for the freedom
we still have to choose public, private, Christian, or home education. Joseph Harris www.miniedition.net
School Vouchers?
The issue of school vouchers has always been a hot issue. Emotions run high on both sides. As
I understand it, the voucher system would give parents education tax money to pay tuition for their kids in private schools.
Supposedly, this is money already paid in to the system by the parents, for education.
Now here is my opinion, which I treasure immensely. For the following statements, I am now ready
to be offered on the opinion altar of sacrifice. I am also fully prepared to be boiled in oil, flayed alive, drawn and quartered,
buried, have my bones dug up and crushed, for the following statements(Keep those cards and letters coming). Here Goes. "Education
should not be a public, government endeavor." Government, whether state of federal, shouldn't have it's nose and fingers in
a lot of the current government programs it sponsors. So the real issue goes beyond education and questions whether government
should be sponsoring all the programs it sponsors.
I realize this statement is alien to most because it's hard to get beyond a lifetime of a government
dependent mentality. Not one person reading this has ever lived in a time when government sponsored public education did not
exist. So the thought has never occurred to most. The private sector out-performs government programs and agencies almost
every time. One of the best examples government can offer is the United States Postal Service, and private delivery businesses
are more efficient than the USPS most of the time. And there is always a hint of a postage hike around the corner.
When it comes to education, parents are the primary responsible parties for their children's
education. There are, however, many parent and church sponsored schools that do an excellent job. And now home education is
growing by leaps and bounds. Parents have discovered they like having a voice and a choice in matters. Plus, Christian and
home education affords the control to offer an education that has a God centered world view philosophy, rather than a secular,
humanistic, evolutionary, Dewey world view philosophy.
Here is my idealistic proposal: just as houses of worship are owned, sponsored and funded privately,
education could be also. It could be done in the home or through churches or groups of families. And forget the vouchers.
I don't want them. Instead of giving money back to parents to pay for education, the government could just stop taking it
to begin with. You know, cut out the middle man. We know of course, it ain't gonna happen. The infrastructure is set and entrenched.
It's like abolishing or restructuring the IRS (Flat tax, yeah, riiiight! That would be too simple and fair, plus IRS employees,
tax attorneys and accountants would be out of work).
I don't believe government, through it's provision, can better educate(Public School System),
offer a better retirement program (Social Security) or provide better social or benevolent services(Welfare and Medicaid)
more efficiently (key word) than I or groups of individuals or churches or private businesses can provide. But hey,
that's just me. One lone voice crying in the internet wilderness. It is, however, my opinion. Joseph Harris www.miniedition.net
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Beware of Home School Demons
Much has been said in the debate on education about public schooling versus
home schooling. The issues range from who is really responsible for the education of children, who can best educate them,
and the problem of "socialization" for home schooled children, to name a few. From my experience, the socialization that takes
place in school settings is usually a major problem itself.
Concerning the public government school system, much has been said about revamping,
restructuring and renewing the system. All such talk is nonsense and misses the mark. To speak of fixing the system is tantamount
to arguing over how to repair a watch that has been smashed under the tire of an eighteen wheeler. Replacement is the issue,
not repair. And that is exactly what home schooling parents have chosen to do. Replace the broken government school system
with an effective system known as home education. Thank God for the freedom parents have to exercise the God given responsibility
to educate their children.
However, home education in itself does not guarantee quality education. The
quality of education provided in the home will be determined by the education of the parents(to a degree) and their commitment(key
word) to providing a God centered, holistic education with a true biblical world view, characterized by consistency. I believe
home education is superior to the God-excluding government program offered in the current system. I am a home school parent,
so naturally you would not expect me to say anything different. With that said, however, let's be realistic about some "demons"
that can appear and hinder or destroy the effectiveness of home education.
(1) Lack of commitment. No one should begin home education unless they
are absolutely committed to following through. It may seem like an easy alternative to some who pull their children from school
because they are failing. But if they are failing in a public school, and the cause of failure is rooted in lack of commitment
from the parents to initially support and assist their children, it will only get worse in home education, because it requires
serious dedication.
(2) Not enough structure. I notice a tendency among some home schooling
parents to be too laid back. Since home education is not "formal" education (and why shouldn't it be) requirements are sometimes
not tough enough(and this can depend of the parents), schedules are not followed, deadlines are not always met and curriculum
not completed.
(3) Lack of accountability. If some deadlines are not met and some
requirements not enforced, who is going to know? If a parent tends to be too laid back with not enough structure, always waiting
for that "teachable moment", lack of accountability adds to the problem. Teachable moments are a reality and are great, but
structure and accountability are "evils" that are necessary. Besides, we don't wait for "eatable" moments and depend on "sleepable"
moments, but schedule them.
(4) Denial of reality. Though I believe some real learning disabilities
exist, they are not near as common as the purveyors of Ritalin would have us believe. But there can be a tendency among home
school parents to go in denial about a legitimate problem that may exist, thinking, hoping, and praying that home schooling
in and of itself will effect the remedy. Home schooling is superior, but is not a cure-all, fix-all remedy for real
processing problems, genuine cases of dyslexia, etc.
(5) Arrogance. Here is a demon that Satan can use in a subtle way.
"Our home school kids are better than the heathen in public government schools"
Actually, home school kids have the same level of depravity as all kids.
They are inherently no better than other kids, but certainly have a better opportunity for a superior God centered education
and less exposure to ungodliness than kids in government and private so-called Christian schools. Perspective will help keep
this demon at bay. Joseph Harris www.miniedition.net
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