A Happy Home
Apr. 30, 2007
4:03 PM
Education of a Sheeple
I’ve been very interested in education from the time I was a wee babe, chewing on rattles to discover textures and sounds, to “schooling” my younger brother in the summer months (until he got wise of that!), to excelling in all of my classes, to becoming certified and employed as a public school teacher. By the time I was 25, I was getting paid $50 an hour to deliver inservices to other schools, training teachers that were twice my age how to teach reading and writing individually in classes of 34. Never did I think I would homeschool. Never did I dream I would leave the classroom. Surprised by grace and blessed with children, education became more than an idealistic cornucopia of lesson plans, goals and academic benchmarks.
I think that once my children began to arrive, it became clear to me that I would homeschool, even though I didn’t know many people doing that at the time. I allowed my daughter’s strengths in early reading (at 4 years old) and my teaching certifications to give comfort to the naysayers around us. But throughout the years I have come to understand that life isn’t about *schooling* at all, and the need I have to spotlight academic achievements is slowly fading into the background of other, more important, gems. Gems such as a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, sacrifice and service, love and diligence. What good is it to make straight A’s through school and yet never to pay your neighbors a visit with homemade brownies? What fruit comes about from mastering multiplication on paper, and yet practicing division in family relationships? Do I really want the McMansion at the expense of Daddy being at work 24/7?
Many people I know roll their eyes when I suggest bringing their children home as a means of restoring and repairing their families. I don’t know their children. They don’t have patience. There isn’t time. It’s just “not for them”. Their kids deserve the “best” (“best” being judged by the amount of money it takes). It is too hard. There isn’t hope. So, it goes. “Just wait, “ they tell me, “until they’re ten (or teenagers.....or driving......or just don’t care...)” They are wiser than I, pressing their children onwards to the *best* of everything, college accounts that were readied before teeth are cut. I say, nay, not I. Let us see. Let us wait, slow to make assumptions and expectations of their lives. Let us instead be one in heart, in relationship, in the peace and joy of the Lord. Let us see where your talents and skills lead. And let us see what He will do.
One wonderful article I just read caused me to think in a different, more clarifying light in regards to what education is all about. It is titled, Home Education and the Clash of Two Worldviews, by Tom Eldredge, and begins thus:
The first conflict in recorded history was a battle over education. Since He loved His creatures, God graciously revealed a vast body of knowledge to Adam and clearly intended to share much more as they walked together daily in the Garden. This relationship of the Creator to His creature formed the basis of an educational process that could be described as the first discipleship program. For Adam and Eve, however, the process was not fast enough. Why wait for God to reveal knowledge when you could simply eat some fruit, "have your eyes opened," and receive knowledge? Adam took what looked like a shortcut to receive knowledge, and he gave up the relationship he had with God. Satan has never forgotten that man tends to sacrifice relationship for knowledge.
Wow! The article then goes on to describe the differences between Hebraic and Greek modes of thinking, and what an eye-opener that was! I am so amazed at how easy it is to succumb to the philosophies and “common sense” modes of the culture around us. The little ditty from No Greater Joy’s ABC CD rings in my head: All we like sheep have gone astray (baa baa baa!), we have turned every one to his own way (baa baa baa); Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 53:6. I can still hear the bell ringing round my neck at times (how did that get there?!)
Here is a great chart to see what the differences are between these two modes of thought. Two different worldviews and a world of difference between them.
Worldview shapes not only how we see the education of our children, but also how we understand areas such as politics and economics. Tom and I took the PEERS test and that was an eye-opener as well! The PEERS test judges the color of your glasses through agree/disagree statements that focus on Politics, Economics, Education, Religion, and Social Issues. Here is an example of how seniors in high school scored:
Results from seniors in high school have ranged from -59.43 (did you see that? NEGATIVE 59.43?) to +100.00. The average was 33.34.
Biblical Theism worldview- 70 - 100
Moderate Christian worldview- 30-69
Secular Humanist worldview- 0-29
Socialist worldview- less than 0
I wish I could say that I was at the top (being that I’m a “good student” and all), but no, I still have much to learn (and thank God, His grace never runs dry!) Of course, I am a little amazed that the scores were that high given the 14,000 plus hours kids are spending in seat work in Secular Humanistic public schools . And is it just me, or are we not heading down the paths of socialism more and more? I did not want to believe this, but it was been reported elsewhere that less than 10% of professing Christians operate from a Christian worldview. (source: Voddie Baucham)
Less than 10%?! So less than one in every ten people that profess Christ do not have a Biblical worldview? Are you kidding me? It is amazing to me to think how close I was to sending my children on paths that would, at best, strain our relationship, and at worse, break it altogether and just about guarantee that their purpose in life would be focused either on the bumper sticker philosophy of “Whoever dies with the most toys wins” or with a mentality of victimization.
What is your worldview? Do you know? Do you know that what you think and believe becomes how you live your lives? Impossible, I say, to believe that family is important and then, in example, to find it splintered off into five different directions on any given day, never to meet up even for a meal. The PEERS test and articles such as these have given me ample opportunity to think things through, to ponder and consider my ways, and to test and bear the weight of our family decisions on what God really says in His Word. Most of all, I am GRATEFUL not to be at the beck and call of Babel voices and philosophies, all of which sound so right, so reasonable, so full of “common sense” and meshing "miraculously" with my experiences.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. But when I am an old woman, I am going to have fond memories of my daughter baking banana bread, my son building elaborate Lego creations, my two young daughters “reading” piles of books on their beds, and the baby chasing after balls that tease across the floor. Education is not the totality of life; it is a tool that is honed and polished as we walk along the way with our children, discipling them and teaching them what is truly important. All we like sheep have gone astray, but it is so good to find the narrow gate by which the Shepherd calls. And it doesn’t take a PhD.
I think that once my children began to arrive, it became clear to me that I would homeschool, even though I didn’t know many people doing that at the time. I allowed my daughter’s strengths in early reading (at 4 years old) and my teaching certifications to give comfort to the naysayers around us. But throughout the years I have come to understand that life isn’t about *schooling* at all, and the need I have to spotlight academic achievements is slowly fading into the background of other, more important, gems. Gems such as a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, sacrifice and service, love and diligence. What good is it to make straight A’s through school and yet never to pay your neighbors a visit with homemade brownies? What fruit comes about from mastering multiplication on paper, and yet practicing division in family relationships? Do I really want the McMansion at the expense of Daddy being at work 24/7?
Many people I know roll their eyes when I suggest bringing their children home as a means of restoring and repairing their families. I don’t know their children. They don’t have patience. There isn’t time. It’s just “not for them”. Their kids deserve the “best” (“best” being judged by the amount of money it takes). It is too hard. There isn’t hope. So, it goes. “Just wait, “ they tell me, “until they’re ten (or teenagers.....or driving......or just don’t care...)” They are wiser than I, pressing their children onwards to the *best* of everything, college accounts that were readied before teeth are cut. I say, nay, not I. Let us see. Let us wait, slow to make assumptions and expectations of their lives. Let us instead be one in heart, in relationship, in the peace and joy of the Lord. Let us see where your talents and skills lead. And let us see what He will do.
One wonderful article I just read caused me to think in a different, more clarifying light in regards to what education is all about. It is titled, Home Education and the Clash of Two Worldviews, by Tom Eldredge, and begins thus:
The first conflict in recorded history was a battle over education. Since He loved His creatures, God graciously revealed a vast body of knowledge to Adam and clearly intended to share much more as they walked together daily in the Garden. This relationship of the Creator to His creature formed the basis of an educational process that could be described as the first discipleship program. For Adam and Eve, however, the process was not fast enough. Why wait for God to reveal knowledge when you could simply eat some fruit, "have your eyes opened," and receive knowledge? Adam took what looked like a shortcut to receive knowledge, and he gave up the relationship he had with God. Satan has never forgotten that man tends to sacrifice relationship for knowledge.
Wow! The article then goes on to describe the differences between Hebraic and Greek modes of thinking, and what an eye-opener that was! I am so amazed at how easy it is to succumb to the philosophies and “common sense” modes of the culture around us. The little ditty from No Greater Joy’s ABC CD rings in my head: All we like sheep have gone astray (baa baa baa!), we have turned every one to his own way (baa baa baa); Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 53:6. I can still hear the bell ringing round my neck at times (how did that get there?!)
Here is a great chart to see what the differences are between these two modes of thought. Two different worldviews and a world of difference between them.
Worldview shapes not only how we see the education of our children, but also how we understand areas such as politics and economics. Tom and I took the PEERS test and that was an eye-opener as well! The PEERS test judges the color of your glasses through agree/disagree statements that focus on Politics, Economics, Education, Religion, and Social Issues. Here is an example of how seniors in high school scored:
Results from seniors in high school have ranged from -59.43 (did you see that? NEGATIVE 59.43?) to +100.00. The average was 33.34.
Biblical Theism worldview- 70 - 100
Moderate Christian worldview- 30-69
Secular Humanist worldview- 0-29
Socialist worldview- less than 0
I wish I could say that I was at the top (being that I’m a “good student” and all), but no, I still have much to learn (and thank God, His grace never runs dry!) Of course, I am a little amazed that the scores were that high given the 14,000 plus hours kids are spending in seat work in Secular Humanistic public schools . And is it just me, or are we not heading down the paths of socialism more and more? I did not want to believe this, but it was been reported elsewhere that less than 10% of professing Christians operate from a Christian worldview. (source: Voddie Baucham)
Less than 10%?! So less than one in every ten people that profess Christ do not have a Biblical worldview? Are you kidding me? It is amazing to me to think how close I was to sending my children on paths that would, at best, strain our relationship, and at worse, break it altogether and just about guarantee that their purpose in life would be focused either on the bumper sticker philosophy of “Whoever dies with the most toys wins” or with a mentality of victimization.
What is your worldview? Do you know? Do you know that what you think and believe becomes how you live your lives? Impossible, I say, to believe that family is important and then, in example, to find it splintered off into five different directions on any given day, never to meet up even for a meal. The PEERS test and articles such as these have given me ample opportunity to think things through, to ponder and consider my ways, and to test and bear the weight of our family decisions on what God really says in His Word. Most of all, I am GRATEFUL not to be at the beck and call of Babel voices and philosophies, all of which sound so right, so reasonable, so full of “common sense” and meshing "miraculously" with my experiences.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. But when I am an old woman, I am going to have fond memories of my daughter baking banana bread, my son building elaborate Lego creations, my two young daughters “reading” piles of books on their beds, and the baby chasing after balls that tease across the floor. Education is not the totality of life; it is a tool that is honed and polished as we walk along the way with our children, discipling them and teaching them what is truly important. All we like sheep have gone astray, but it is so good to find the narrow gate by which the Shepherd calls. And it doesn’t take a PhD.
Blessings,
Keri Mae
Keri Mae
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