As a head’s up, I wanted to let you know that I have a book (or at least part of a book) that just came out. The title is Perspectives On Your Child’s Education. It is from B&H and Dr. Tim Jones of Southern Baptist Seminary was the editor of the book. In it four different perspectives on Christian education are defended: Christians should stay in the public schools, Christians should homeschool, Christians should send their kids to Covenantal schools (professing Christians only schools), and everyone should go to (more…)
Archive for October, 2009
Interesting Reading?
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009Easy Listening
Monday, October 26th, 2009Last weekend, I spent some time with Michael Collender. He is the Producer of St. Anne’s Public House, a interesting Christian audio journal. If you have not listened to it, you should. Collender is also a professor at
Gonzaga University in
Spokane . He works in the field of analyzing complex systems. He is a very interesting fellow. I wanted to send you a few links to some of the most interesting interviews on St. Anne’s (note that only about half of it is serious and if the humor, which is offbeat, is not your cup of tea, sorry). Here are a few great St. Anne’s Interviews:
Seven Scrawny Cows. This is their current journal on the economic crisis. The interview with Peter Schiff is both frightening and enlightening.
War. This is their journal on war. The interview with Colonel John Warden the architect of the Gulf War and the creator of rings theory is very interesting as they apply some of strategic thinking to Christianity.
Finding Rest. This is their jounal on finding rest. Listen to Stuart Bryan’s reading of the Guy de Maupassant’s short story called “The Necklace.”You will not be sorry.
St. Anne’s work deserves a broader audience. If you listen, you will probably get hooked, but it is good stuff. Enjoy.
Drug Testing?
Monday, October 19th, 2009The paper this morning announced that Manheim Township School District is considering implementing a random drug testing policy for its students. It saddens me that these sorts of things are becoming something that is common (and necessary?) in our culture.
Teen drug problems usually elicit two distinctive responses. Some folks have the law and order response—test, catch, jail. Punishment will cure crime (forget the evidence that this approach is too costly to continue and only marginally effective). Others condemn this law and order approach. They want to train and treat. (This approach seems to be slightly more effective and costs less.)
Both miss the mark. Both ignore the deeper questions that should greatly trouble our society. Why are vast groups of young people taking drugs? Maybe some of it is peer pressure. Maybe some don’t get hooked. For those that do, however, there are deeper problems. Evacuating your mind, numbing yourself to reality, or living in a haze or at a frenetic pace are symptoms not of a happy life. They point to desperation.
Why is our culture so hopeless? My analysis: we have abandoned the source of life (God) and the hub of all knowledge (Christ). We have seen our communities crumble because nothing can stand without Him.
Here is the article:
Life is The Comedy
Thursday, October 15th, 2009I just finished Anthony Esolen’s Article in First Things called, “The Freedom of Heaven & the Freedom of Hell.” If you have not read this article stop whatever you are doing and read it. It is that good:
It unmasks the difference between the freedom (autonomous freedom of Hell and of the Enlightenment) with the freedom that we have when we are moved by the will of another. Esolen, a wonderful Dante scholar, pulls most of his examples from The Comedy. It is brilliant. If you have a love for Dante or for life—is there a difference between these two things—you will love this article. Enjoy.
Say Goodbye to Books?
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009I just breezed through Dr. Barrett Mosbacker’s “Welcome to the Library. Say Goodbye to Books” article from the Christian School Journal: (more…)
The Healthcare Dilemma
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009In Washington now, our leaders are discussing our healthcare. Just reread the previous sentence and let it meander around in your mind for a while. The unstated premise lurking somewhere under this discussion is that the national government might be able in some way to fix my healthcare problems. This is a dubious premise. Generally (universally?), the national government does not fix individual problems. It was not made for this purpose and is actually too far away from each of us (thank the Lord) to know any of us well. The best thing that our leaders could do is to stop the hubris and stop talking about fixing healthcare.
Were they to do that, however, then you and I would have to . . . .
State PA Budget Chops Funding for Education
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009Ok, I was just going to let this pass, but on my way through the channels looking for baseball I happened to see Governor Rendell celebrating the budget now passed. I listened for a moment. He said something like, “This budget met my demands. First, that we would not cut funding for education and we did not.” In fact, funding for public education was increased by $300 million this year. What the governor said, however, was not completely true.
The Value of a Classical Christian Education
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009We spend a lot of time reading the Great Books at Veritas Academy. Our Omnibus has been a paradigm that has encouraged a great number of people to read the Bible and Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Milton and Melville. But why spend so much time on this?
Recently, I realized that there was a discussion going on in my mind concerning the Christianity and the power, purpose and usefulness of the arts (particularly music) in the life of our culture. It is a discussion that was initiated by Plato, entered into by Augustine and brought to resolution by Dante. It goes something like this:
Educational Fear
Monday, October 5th, 2009
Two stories have been published in the local papers recently concerning educational progress at the local public schools. I have been waiting for someone to put the two numbers together, but they have not—or I have not seen it. Together they raise some fairly substantial fears for me—and they should for you. Before I jump into this analysis, which will be critical, I need to remind you of what is deep in my heart.
The Value of Classical Christian Education
Friday, October 2nd, 2009What comes along with an education at Veritas Academy ? What is its value? As a father of three students, I ponder these questions just like everyone else. This last week I was interacting with a second grader. The group that we were both in had just finished praying. She said of a certain teacher, “She really taught me about godliness. She taught me that when someone prays you need to be praying with them in your head–agreeing.” She nodded her head to show me what she is doing in her heart. “I do that all the time now.” The child left. She went off to play or eat or do a multiplication table. Who knows? I just sat there. I count my educational experience as a student as fairly positive. I had some good teachers and some average ones. None ever taught me like this, however. The best thing about this story was that the little girl had no idea that what she had experienced was extraordinary at all. She thinks that this is what every teacher does with her students. I was so proud to be a parent at Veritas Academy . Know that as your children have experiences like this one, as they take them to heart and practice them “in their heads”, they will thank God for learning lessons like this while they are young.
