EDUCATION: Brainwashed or Informed?
In April of 1983, an eighteen-member panel appointed by then Education
Secretary Terrel H. Bell revealed the results of a year-and-a-half-long study by
the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its report, entitled "A
Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," stated:
If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the
mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have
viewed it as an act of war.?1?
We have every reason to be outraged concerning the quality of public
education in the United States. In 1910 the U.S. Bureau of Education stated
that public schools would "in a short time practically eliminate illiteracy."?2?
Today, according to Department of Education statistics, there are "24 million
functional illiterates in the United States, virtually all of whom have had from
eight to twelve years of compulsory public schooling," says historian and
educator, Samuel Blumenfeld.?3? Time magazine reports that 13 percent of all
seventeen-year-olds are functionally illiterate. ?4?
By almost any means of evaluation, our system of public education is in trouble.
As "A Nation at Risk" states:
Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in
literacy and in economic attainment.
For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one
generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their
parents.
The report concluded that "our very future as a Nation and a people" are at
stake.?5?
It is impossible to address so large a concern in the space of such a few pages.
However, we hope to stimulate you to think about the problem and take action.
We propose at least five ways people can become involved in reforming the
ideas that drive our system of education.
A Call to Action: What is the Purpose of Education?
1. All we do in education must be done in light of its purpose.
Much of what happens concerning our schools goes unquestioned because we
have forgotten the roots of public education. In fact, it was not until the
mid-1800s that government at the local and state levels began assuming a
major role. The first public schools, called common schools, were created in
New England as a means of communicating Calvinist Puritan religion from one
generation to the next. Greek, Latin, and Hebrew were taught to aid students in
their study of Scripture. Harvard College (later University) was founded in
1636, with the aid of government funds, as a seminary for educating the
commonwealth's future Christian leaders.?6?
Horace Mann is generally considered the father of modern education, for he is
the one who diligently worked in his position as secretary of the Board of
Education in Massachusetts in the 1830s and '40s to organize a centralized,
state controlled school system financed by taxes on property. But it was
primarily the ideas of British social reformer Robert Owen that influenced
Mann. Owen wrote extensively about the transformation of society, to make it
free from what he saw as the restricting influence of religion. The following is a
sample, written by Owen in the August 4, 1832, Free Enquirer:
Do ye ask me wherein I put my trust, if religious responsibilities are annihilated?
In human goodness. Do ye enquire what I propose as a substitute for religion?
Cultivation of the noble faculties of the human mind ....
Let us train children to integrity, and we shall have honest men and women
.....Let us give children facts for spiritualities, good habits for long sermons, the
truths of science for the mysteries of creeds, kindness for fear, and liberality for
sectarianism .... I would as little prejudice a child against any religion as in its
favor; I would not speak to it on the subject. It should learn first what it could
see and understand: its judgment should be carefully matured, and its reasoning
powers sedulously cultivated.?7?
That philosophy pervades education today. The National Education
Association, ostensibly a labor union for public school teachers, is a powerful
lobby that zealously advocates the liberal view of education. "It is virtually a
political party," claims Blumenfeld. "From my study of NEA resolutions, it is
obvious that it is aiming for a total educational dictatorship under which it will
be impossible for anyone to teach anybody anything in this country without a
license from the NEA."?8?
The NEA goals, reflecting its world view, are clearly stated:
....the goal of education must be to develop individuals who are open to
change... to develop a society in which people can live more comfortably with
change than with rigidity. In the coming world the capacity to face the new
appropriately is more important than the ability to know and repeat the old.?9?
....this view of humankind requires the educative process to free people to be
themselves. It values autonomy... and interdependence .... The imposition of
constraints and conventions ...can retard the individual's growth.?10?
Why do we educate our children? We need to answer that question in light of
our world view. The Bible has much to say about that, including our second
principle.
Whose Responsibility to Educate?
2. Education is ultimately the responsibility of parents, not the state.
The basic center of learning should be the home, not the school. The church
and school should be extensions of the home and the parents. Moses
commanded the Israelites to teach the commands of God "diligently unto thy
children."?11? The Writer of Proverbs says to parents, "Train up a child in the
way he should go."?12? The psalmist wrote, "The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom."?13? We could refer to many scriptural passages that
demonstrate how God has given the responsibility of education to parents and
that education is not simply intellectual, but requires us to teach our children the
ways of God.
If that is true, then we are abdicating our responsibility and authority when we
simply send our children to school public or private-without providing any
further input. Parents need to be active in the education of their children. This
goes far beyond sending them to a Christian school. This can help, but it does
not replace the personal responsibility of the mother, and particularly, the
father.?14? At the very least, parents need to talk with their children about
what they are learning in school. In addition, they should communicate
frequently with the children's teachers and school administrators, in order to
understand what is being taught and the purpose behind that teaching. Many
teachers welcome parents as teacher's aides in their classrooms.
We believe Christian parents should be active in their local school associations
and knowledgeable about every aspect of their children's schools. If so led,
they should run for the local school board and actively work to influence their
educational system.
Many parents today are "home schooling." In this approach the parents fully
educate their children at home for a period of time.?15? In fact, Ron and his
wife, Mary, have "home schooled" their children, Matt and Molly, for a couple
of years of their education. They have found this to be rewarding, highly
gratifying, and effective for children and parents alike.
What is the Foundation of Education?
3. Parents and teachers should actively work to see that a biblical world view is
the foundation of education.
Steve Wyper teaches World Civilization and United States History at Arlington
High School in Riverside, California. He admits what many educators refuse to
admit, that "I cannot separate my total beliefs from what I am doing," though he
does not force his beliefs on his students."?16?
His approach is to teach contrasting beliefs side by side so that students can
make intelligent decisions about what they believe. He teaches creation and
evolution and comparative religions in this manner, helping his students to
evaluate underlying presuppositions. "For example, one statement in our
textbook said that we can't learn much about Jesus because there's no reliable
historical information. Since it's in the book, most students would readily
accept it. I took that statement and showed them the problem with it by
presenting some evidence."
Wyper's methods have had interesting repercussions. Once after a class in
which he had discussed chemical dating methods, some of his students went to
biology class where the instructor began saying, "This fossil has been dated as
three million years old." Several students challenged that assumption, and the
teacher in turn challenged Wyper. That led to a three-year debate, and
eventually the biology teacher committed his life to Christ.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal for teachers or students to talk about
their faith in the classroom. Constitutional lawyer John W. Whitehead has
addressed this:
The First Amendment, as interpreted and defined by the United States
Supreme Court, means that the government has no authority to restrict
expression because of "its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content."
(Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley, 408 U.S. 92, 95 (1972).) As the
Court has said: "It is the purpose of the First Amendment to preserve an
uninhibited marketplace of ideas in which truth will ultimately prevail, rather than
to countenance monopolization of that market, whether it be by the government
itself or a private licensee." (Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. Federal
Communication Commission, 395 U.S. 367, 390 (1969).)?17?
The Supreme Court also ruled in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines
Independent School District: "It can hardly be argued that either students or
teachers shed their constitutional rights... at the schoolhouse gate."?18?
Steve Wyper has some practical advice for Christian teachers. First, live your
faith realistically in the classroom and among your peers. Second, learn your
subject well, not just the facts, but the underlying presuppositions so that you
can deal with Christian truth in the context of your teaching. Third, remember
that man is created in the image of God, therefore each person in your
classroom is special. Finally, don't preach, but be prepared to lead people to
Christ when the opportunity presents itself.
Teachers are Examples
4. Teachers need to use their influence as examples of a godly life-style.
Ann Landers printed a letter from a school teacher that emphasizes the
influence of a teacher in the life of a student:
I have come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the
classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily
mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess a tremendous power to
make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an
instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations
it is my response that decides whether the crisis will be escalated or
deescalated and a child humanized or dehumanized. ?19?
Sometimes a biblical world view and a godly life-style can be costly. Biblically
based convictions may lead to actions that could cost you your job. In any
battle, there are wounds, but God will be faithful no matter what the outcome.
Steve Wyper took such a stand when he refused to support a teachers' strike:
"I refused to strike on the basis of biblical principles. I did not have the right to
tell my employer what to pay me. My reason for being a teacher was not
determined by salary. Naturally, I want a bigger salary like everyone else. But,
striking was not going to help my teaching of the kids, and that was my primary
function."
Steve is doing what we all should do, whatever our profession: model ourselves
after biblical principles, look for opportunities to win people to Christ, speak
out on issues, and work for fundamental moral change.
Educational Reform
5. We need to work to reform higher education.
The reason for many of the problems in elementary and secondary education
relates to the fact that most teachers go through a training program that is
permeated with humanistic philosophy. Steven Muller, president of Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, is concerned about that problem:
The biggest failing in higher education today is that we fall short in exposing
students to values .... This situation has come about because the modern
university is rooted in the scientific method, having essentially turned its back on
religion. I'm not hostile to the scientific method-it is a marvelous means of
inquiry, and it has been highly productive-but it really doesn't provide a value
system.?20?
That is precisely why we have begun the International Christian Graduate
University. There are many fine Christian colleges, but very few graduate
programs that allow students to prepare from a biblical world view perspective
for professions like medicine, law, and media communications. Our dream is
that this university might be a vehicle to inspire millions of men and women to
go into these professions and help restore them to the moral foundation on
which they were started.
Here too we must identify, develop, and "network" the key Christian leaders in
order to influence this sphere of activity, both locally and nationally, for the
cause of Christ and societal change.
Humanistic View
1. Education is the state's responsibility
2. Educational choices belong to the state
3. The goal is to make good citizens
4. The teacher is a change agent to spread secular values
5. Education is the way of salvation
Biblical View
1. Education is the parents' responsibility
2. Educational choices belong to the parents
3. The goal is godly character and biblical thinkers
4. The teacher is a model of godly character and parental values
5. Education begins with the fear of the Lord
In this comparison chart, the points listed in the humanistic view column are
perspectives that persons from a humanist position have expressed. We do not
mean to imply that every person claiming to be a humanist would hold to every
statement listed.
[1]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
1 Newsweek (May 9, 1983), p. 50.
2 James McKeen Cattell, School and Society (January 30, 1915), Vol. 1, No.
5, p. 179; cited by Samuel L. Blumenfeld, N.E.A.: Trojan Horse in American
Education (Boise: The Paradigm Co., 1984), p. 102.
3 Ibid.
4 TIME (May 9, 1983), p. 62.
5 Newsweek (May 9, 1983), p. 50.
6 Blumenfeld, N.E.A.: Trojan Horse, pp. 1-5.
7 Samuel L. Blumenfeld, Is Public Education Necessary? (Old Greenwich,
Conn.: The Devin-Adair Co., 1981), pp. 101-02.
8 Interview with Samuel L. Blumenfeld, by John Rees in The Review of the
News (January 2, 1985), pp. 35-40.
9 Carl R. Rogers, "A Plan for Self-Directed Change in an Educational
System," Educational Leadership (May, 1967), p. 717; cited by Barbara M.
Morris, Change Agents in the Schools, (Upland, CA: The Barbara M. Morris
Report, 1979), p. 49.
10 William D. Hedges and Marian L. Martinello, "What the Schools Might Do:
Some Alternatives for the Here and Now," Louise M. Berman and James A.
Roderick, editors, Feeling, Valuing, and the Art of Growing (Washington, DC:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1977), p. 231; cited
by Barbara M. Morris in Change Agents, pp. 23-24.
11 Deuteronomy 6:7.
12 Proverbs 22:6.
13 Psalm 111:10.
14 Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:5-8; Ephesians 6:4.
15 For excellent introduction to Home Education see books by Raymond and
Dorothy Moore, such as Home Grown Kids (Waco: Word, 1981).
16 Interview with Steve Wyper (February 10, 1985).
17 John W. Whitehead, The Freedom of Religious Expression in the Public
High Schools (Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1983), p. 34.
18 Ibid.
19 Ann Landers column, (March 24, 1986).
20 Alvin Sanoff interview with Steven Muller, "Universities Are Turning Out
Highly Skilled Barbarians," U.S. News and World Report (November 10,
1980), pp. 57-58.
[1]Bright, B., & Jenson, R. (1986). Kingdoms at war (156). San Bernardino,
CA: Here's Life Publishers.
All Blessings,
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