Christian rockers - here's a song about education you ought to sing...
posted by Matt Friedeman @ 11:07 AM
5 comments
Friday, January 13, 2006
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'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world. (William Booth)
5 Comments:
Your propaganda against public schools is both contradictory and laughable.
1: You suggest Belgium students are better educated than Americans simply because Americans did not do well on an identical test. However, identical students were not taking the same tests. In nearly every case I've seen with such "comparisions", is that a much larger percentage of students of a particular group took a test vs. the elites of the group you compare them with. Of course, I've seen John Stoessel do a number of hack reports with a conservaitve bias, so it's not surprising he invewnted that tripe.
2. You claim that 10 year olds are doing great but as they get older they do worse, that "free enterprise" will get public schools to do better. You've got your head elsewhere to believe that.
In Michigan, school "choice" results in free enterprise setting up schools for lower grades only in nearly all cases. So much for your "free enterprise" does it better, heck, they don't do it all. Charter schools also actively discourage students with disabilities from applying. All in the name of making a profit, as it costs more to educate high school students and those with disabilities.
Despite charter schools skimming off most profitable students, they consistently have much lower scores, which can be accounted for lower paid inexperienced teachers whose ranks have a high turnover, higher student/pupil ratios and inferior funding for educational materials. Finally, unacceptably poor performing charter schools are allowed to stay open year after year with excuses and extensions. Quality education is not a priority for "free enterprise".
Fact is quality education costs money and people don't want to pay taxes for it.
How long has it been since you've been in public school, anonymous? Being a 2004 graduate, I can tell you that the public schools are pathetic. I can tell you that most of the stuff in John Stossel's report ring true for the school district I attended. Many of the students I went to high school with could barely read above a 5th or 6th grade reading level. In my 11th grade history class, we rarely did work, and I was such a good student in terms of behavior, I didn't even have to take the final (which was against the rules). The problem with this system is that schools hire bad teachers and unions make it take years to get rid of them. On to your points:
1: Do you happen to have the specifics of these tests and who took them? If not, I can't see the validity of this argument. If you have proof that a gifted class in Belgium took the test, then I can see the argument.
2: This doesn't even give a reason for the comment. Why does he have his head elsewhere?
Does Michigan also shut down schools that don't make the grade, that is to say, that are actually teaching students what they need to know? And if people have the choice, why do they not go to a better school?
My mom has fought the school system for years. My sister is still stuck in it unfortunately. The fact of the matter is, no matter what you do (unless you're a union), you cannot get anything done in the school system. Money isn't going to help that. It's a people (teacher and administrator) problem, and no amount of money can help that.
I agree that competition is needed to encourage excellence. My wife and I homeschool our kids because, for us, it seems to be the most economical way to get them the best education that we can provide for them. And we don't have to worry about what they're going to be indoctrinated with. (evolution, homosexuality is OK, and who knows what else)
I also agree that putting more money into the school system is not the answer. How about just putting more of the money toward actual education. Cut down on all of the beaurocracy in administration. I really like the idea of education vouchers. That way maybe I could get some of the money I pay in taxes. Right now, my wife and I pay taxes for public school, then fork out money on top of that for our homeschool needs. With choice, people could choose to not use the schools that fail. Currently, there is no incentive to do better than average. Not even average in many cases.
It is unbelievable were it not true that christian musicians can be sucked into the lies of the liberal disease.It is not even about competition or free enterprise being better.Sending your holy children to the school of unchristian people groups of America is like the Israelites sending thier children to the canaanites for education.Wake up already,understand,accept that many peole in charge of education in this country are enemies of Christ and your children salvation.They are set against The faith and actively promote ungodliness.I We need to seperate our children from them until our children are strong.Yet that alone is not enough,we must be spiritual and devoted parents,well educated ourselves in order to be able to stimulate them towards the good.Let me put it this way,if any so called Christian is supporting public schools and not the household of fatih then he is near being a heretic and my enemy,that is how serious this is.We must take care of our own first always.These musicians are sappy and disloyal liberals in the bad sense.It is good to be liberal in a good thing but not indisciminately liberal which is the modern demmented version from hell.What have these unchristian people to do with us,daring to open their mouths on holy subjects.Enough said.
What a painful topic to come across! As a public school educator and a Christian for over 30 years, it's painful to see this become an "either/or" situation. While the merits of smaller classes, which private schools and homeschooling provides, have been proven by studies, it's also a fact that ALL students do better when they have smaller classes and better attention paid to them. Two points: 1. Many families can neither afford to homeschool nor afford tuition. 2. Not all areas of the country HAVE private Christian schools in their areas for families to send their children to if they so choose. There is no choice when there is nothing to choose from. If you have a family with one parent or even two parents who are living at or below the poverty line, there is no choice for them-they must provide a home and they must work.
There are many Christians who teach in the public schools who are being deeply hurt by the comments of those who decry the public schools as totally evil and without redemption. We forgive you, but you need to know that you cut us deeply by your comments. We have been called to educate the poor, the disabled, and those who are at this point lost. If all Christians were to abandon the public schools-who would go there for them?
Our mission field may not be in a foreign country, but our mission and our call is just as real. For those who are called to pull their children out of the public schools and into other educational situations, God Bless you. For those of us who labor in the fields known as public education-we need your prayers and your support-not another brick thrown at us. Bricks thrown by our brothers and sisters in Christ have a curiously deeper hurt.
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