There are 13 assumptions that pave the road of good educational intentions. Most Christian parents who send their children to college have adopted eleven of the 13.
The first one is this: “The state has both the authority and the moral obligation to fund education.” Then come the other 12.
2. “Our local public schools are not like all the others. I will enroll my child in kindergarten.”3. “The teachers there are conservative.”
4. “I have joined the PTA. My opinions are being heard.”
5. “The teachers have the sexual revolution under control in our middle school.”
6. “The high school’s textbooks are conservative.”
7. “Our high school’s teachers are conservatives.”
8. “The curriculum in our high school is religiously neutral.”
9. “My children will resist temptation.”
10. “I want my children to be missionaries on campus.”
11. “I am sending my kids to a Christian college. They will be safe.”
12. “The college is accredited. They will get a good education.”
13. “My kids will have high-paying jobs after they graduate in the humanities.”
Here are assumptions that parents make when they make these implicit confessions of faith.
2. “Our local public schools are not like all the others. I will enroll my child in kindergarten.”
This is what I call Lake Wobegon statistics. The parent assumes that his local school is above average. But all of the nation’s parents assume this, at least those outside the ghettos. Otherwise, half of the parents would be self-consciously deciding to send their children into substandard schools. None of them would admit that they are doing this voluntarily. So, the parent sends the child off to kindergarten, which is the first step in a 13-year or 14-year process. It begins with this assumption: the parent can legitimately transfer the authority over his child’s education to the state. It also begins with this assumption: there will be no negative consequences for this decision.
(For the rest of my article, click the link.)
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Posted on March 26, 2013. The original is here.
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