A Big Challenge for Public Education

Public education... you don't want any child to go without any education, but the decision of what is included in the curriculum is almost as significant or important. There are so many different views of how life should be lived. I am grateful our country's freedoms still allow my family and I to pursue our lives as best we see fit. I know many feel the same way with their own views on life. The principles we each live by make up who we are. And these days, those principles are often times quite diverse.

While we can live with and respect one another's views on life, what should be taught in public school? Should efforts be made to find common ground and then form a curriculum around just those common principles? Then there is the question of who will sufficiently represent everyone in order to create that curriculum? A Christian-based math program will often times try to influence its principles through story problems. Another science program may give a couple sentences to creationism and dedicate 2 whole chapters to the big-bang theory. Not even math and science are left on neutral ground.

Perhaps just as there are different views of life, there should also be schools that teach different principle sets. I guess that's what a private school is. That way a child's education isn't so watered down trying to represent every possible view on life that exists. If public schools became in essence a private school sponsored by the government, education suppliers should enjoy that! With the diminishing use of public schools and their common curricula determined by the government, educational materials would become more and more diverse. New private schools would continue to be established and the requests for new materials would provide a good opportunity to make some money!

Where would that leave the government in terms of what it thinks it's responsibility is for education? Perhaps their job should be to ensure that the next generation knows how government is run and encourage civic involvement at all levels, starting with local community government. What purposes are realized by a government that regulates education? It is not likely that the reason is to blatantly subdue and repress the next generation so that a select group of individuals retain power for themselves. Most likely, intentions are genuinely to do good.

But again, what is 'good'? The definition for 'good' as defined by our country collectively is becoming more ambiguous all the time. I think we still all agree that killing someone is bad, but abortion, water rights, and marriage do not have a common consensus. These particular disagreements have existed for a long time, but the number of other disagreements continue to grow by leaps and bounds. And common ground is becoming more scarce.

Getting back to the motives of the government-regulated education... perhaps the government wants to ensure there is a middle class to keep the economy thriving. May be the government wants to help America rise in its standings of scientific discovery. What ever the true motives are, no matter how altruistic they may be, it becomes a very difficult challenge for government leadership to adequately and accurately regulate the public school system across the country.

I've often times considered the pros and cons there are to J and I homeschooling our children. I don't necessarily think that our own children's education is superior to what is being taught by some fabulous teachers in the public or private school systems. Our reasons for home-schooling can be summed up in two points. First we feel inspired that we should home school our children. Next, I firmly believe that ultimately, it is parents who are responsible for providing the opportunities for their children's education -- public, private or homeschool.

It is, perhaps, more the feeling of my own parental responsibility that encourages us to continue homeschooling. Perhaps it's the fear of Facism or Orwell's "1982". I don't want to feel that I'm simply giving away all my parental influence to the any external school system. If the school supports and teaches principles similar to those I believe in, then it should be an educational tool I can use to teach my children. While I hope my kids won't be exactly like me, I do hope to pass on what I feel are important principles of life to live by. I don't believe that public school really gives a flying hoot about the principles I live by; with so many different principle sets in existence, how could they?

This Earth life is precious and fleeting. We are not all the same. Each person adds something beneficial for everyone else. If we're all forced through a meat grinder, assembly-line education, we will all be missing out. Thank goodness for dreamers and creative-minds. Thank goodness for the individuals who are technically minded, even if they may not have much of an imagination. Thank goodness for the people-persons. And thank goodness for the teachers who must balance the red tape of the public school system with the desire to truly help young minds learn how to learn.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:N Krotik Ct,Atwater,United States

True Confidence

Where does true confidence come from?

The topic of my self-confidence has been a life-long struggle thus far. I am only just beginning to understand the source of true confidence. The turning point in my life was the realization that my parenting skills were deficient, that things just weren't working out and I was desperate for some good advice. I felt like I was failing at parenthood and was without hope. I felt I was willing to read any book, attend any seminar; I was ready to be taught, realizing my knowledge and skills were not enough.

Perhaps the family culture in which I grew up fostered a perfectionistic attitude. Perhaps it was simply built into my psyche. I was the kid who felt that because he was getting high grades in school, he was worth something. Because he wasn't going to the principal's office, he was ok. If you won soccer games, you were ok. If people laughed at your jokes, you were ok. If you were accepted by the popular crowd, you were ok. If you had a girlfriend, you were ok.

I have spent my life building up my self-confidence with material "where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal" (Matt 6:19) wondering why I continued to feel unhappy. As much as we admire another fellow brother or sister on this planet, we are still all human. We have no right to expect that someone else will not make mistakes. So for us to leech on to someone else's enthusiasm is quite risky. Ever hear the phrase, "If Mom ain't happy, nobody is happy"?

Let's say that I'm the world's greatest athlete (which I am far from!) and I win at pretty much every sport I put my hand to. At the end of each victory, I receive accolades, money, fame. Eventually, the day closes, I go to sleep and I wake up the next day. The recognition staunches to a trickle and I find myself looking for the next pursuit to prove my worth. Don't get me wrong; to be in the pursuit of excellence is a good thing, but perhaps more important is the motive behind the desire.

The changing point in my life was preceded by a visit to a social therapist. We talked about the burdens that I carry around. What images come to my mind when I think of them? What color are they? I was encouraged to expose those feelings to the light, to make them as public as possible. Then I was asked to hand over those slime-covered objects I held onto so tightly to the Lord, to my Savior, Jesus Christ. I found myself quite resistant at first. I don't want to soil my Savior's clothes or his perfect hands.

Have you ever been treated to a dinner at a fancy restaurant where the food is brought out in display fashion? It's a work of art. Then you are served the food to eat. Wouldn't it seem silly to refuse to eat because you feel it serves a greater purpose as art than to nourish your body? The Savior has suffered greatly for every one of God's children, for you and me. Whether you believe in Christ or not, he has made that sacrifice so we can be forgiven of our sins. That gift is just that -- a gift. Christ will not force the atonement on our lives, but He invites us to accept that gift and use it to cleanse ourselves from sin.

I am a child of God. You are a child of God. And He loves us very much. He is perfect. That immutable fact is a solid foundation for us to build our self-confidence on. If we daily seek out the assurance of God's love for us, we will have what's necessary to build our self-confidence. Personal self-confidence leads to being more accepting of those around us, having greater patience, feeling more direction in life. We spend less time with self-absorbed comparison and more time seeking to help others around us. If our needs are met, we are in a better position to pour out the milk of happiness over our fellowmen.

One of the first steps I made to greater self-confidence and happiness was to throw away the thought that I have to prove to anyone that I have value. I have value, we all have value, because we are children of God. Period. With that value firmly in place, I care more about doing the right thing because my Father in Heaven wishes it. And while I care about my family, friends and those around me, I don't allow my wandering thoughts about what I think others think about me to form a shaky foundation for my self-confidence. I cherish and rejoice in the day I realized this precious truth and I say, "God bless it!"

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:N Krotik Ct,Atwater,United States