Homework!

Homework! There is either too much homework, not enough homework, or no need for homework at all. These days, schools can not win no matter what their views regarding homework are.

Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering have some interested things to say about homework in their article, The Case For and Against Homework. It seems that attitudes have changed regarding homework in the last 50 years.

"Throughout the first few decades of the 20th century, educators commonly believed that homework helped create disciplined minds. By 1940, growing concern that homework interfered with other home activities sparked a reaction against it. This trend was reversed in the late 1950s when the Soviets' launch of Sputnik led to concern that U.S. education lacked rigor; schools viewed more rigorous homework as a partial solution to the problem. By 1980, the trend had reversed again, with some learning theorists claiming that homework could be detrimental to students' mental health. Since then, impassioned arguments for and against homework have continued to proliferate."

What is the right answer? At WCA we believe several truths about homework.

First, homework must be assigned in a qualitative manner (quality over shear quantity). Second, homework is an opportunity for each student to learn to work independently.
Third, homework is an opportunity for each student to work independently in a successful way.
Finally, homework provides students with opportunities to master organization and priority skills.

When it comes to being successful at the next level, whether it be college or life, these traits must be mastered or there will be no chance of success. Paul tells us in Corinthians that "those who run in a race all run" and those of us who run are to "run in such a way that you may obtain it (the prize)." There will only be one winner of the race, but we are all commanded to train in such a way as to win.

Homework is too important to throw out with the bath water, but we must approach it with caution and never use it in vain. Marzano and Pickering have a wonderful article that is full of useful information. Please click the link below to read the article in its entirety. You will be glad you did!

http://www.marzanoandassociates.com/pdf/homework.pdf

My Type of Medicine

Thanksgiving is a time reserved for being thankful. I am thankful for so many things that they are too numerous to list, but I am most thankful for my family, my church, my school, and my health. This Thanksgiving I was recovering from being sick and was forced to relax. Part of my cure was to curl up and read a good book. In just four days time, I was able to polish off an excellent book. David McCullough's 1776 is exceptional. It is well written and full of history not found in most texts. McCullough presents a different perspective to the War of Independence and General George Washington. If you like history or just like to read, I highly recommend this book. I will eagerly fill this prescription every time; it is my type of medicine!

R.C. Sproul on Christian Education

R.C. Sproul has written an excellent article addressing one of the many false beliefs of fellow Christians concerning Christian education.

"Recently a Christian educator remarked to me, “The modern student faces the alternatives of a Christian education or a good education.”Though on the surface the remark seems bathed in cynicism, it was actually delivered in a tone of profound alarm. The speaker is committed to the enterprise of Christian education, but is concerned that in an effort to maintain a spiritual purity unblemished by the world, much of Christian education may be compromising the goal of academic excellence."

Dr. Sproul's response is brilliant; please click the link below to read the entire article.

http://alliancenet.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID307086%7CCHID560462%7CCIID2066498,00.html

On another note, I will not be posting for several days due to the Thanksgiving holiday. My prayers are that we would all be truly thankful for what our Lord has given us! May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Reading Hard Books...

I believe one of the major obstacles in education today is motivating students to read difficult books. Today's students have so many other passive forms of entertainment at their disposal that reading a book has become dull and laborious to them. This is not only tragic but concerning as well. Reading is a higher form of thinking and a disciplined process that must be mastered for future academic success. Reading hard books is the only path.

Mortimer J. Adler has a great article on reading hard books. Before we can teach our kids to read hard books, we too must learn how to read them, and then carve out some time to read. Please click on the link below to read the entire article, and then read a hard book over the holidays. You will be glad you did!

http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/how-to-read.html

Christian Education equals Christian Thinking

Os Guinness, in his book, Prophetic Untimeliness, discusses our greatest need today. "In other words, what followers of Jesus need is the freedom from the forces of the modern world that prevent independent thinking and living with integrity. Our deepest necessity is to be shaped by our faith rather than by the pushes and pulls of the world."

He then discusses the three cultural forces, or sirens as he calls them, from which we Christians in the modern world must be freed; the first two are relevant to us. "The first siren...is conformity, the power of the pull of others. Always a danger in human thinking, the lure of conformity to others' ideas and practices is greatly increased in the age of democracy." In light of this, our children must be educated to think critically and independently.

His second siren is "popularity, the power of the pull of approval." Guinness references John Lukacs and his thoughts on popularity. According to Lukacs there is a danger here of the "rule of the minority in the name of the majority." As the minority takes center stage and becomes vocal, they can rule the more powerful majority through thoughts and ideas.

As we educate our children in a Christian environment, we must educate them to think critically and in higher categories. They must learn to defend their faith in a loving articulate manner and stand strong in the face of opposition. For too long, we have succumbed to the lure of conformity in the name of tolerance and to the lure of popularity in the name of evangelism. If we learn only one thing from these passages then let it be that we do not have to be in majority to make a difference. We live and teach through our Lord, with the power of the Holy Spirit and inside the Truth. An education rooted in these absolutes, when done correctly, ought to be a blazing inferno in a broken world of darkness. Christian education must be synonymous with thinking that is Christian, critical, and correct.

The Heart of the Matter

Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Tedd Tripp, is a must-read for all Christians. In a world being torn apart by the self-centered agenda, Dr. Tripp provides a book that goes straight to the heart of the matter. As Christians many of us have unknowingly succumbed to the world, and we parent accordingly. Dr. Tripp's book is that life preserver in the stormy sea: parents, grab it and never let go of it.

As the Head of a School, this book is the model for our discipline system. Discipline is not a naughty word; it is good to be disciplined, and our parents and our children need to understand that. Discipline that addresses the heart is discipline rooted in the truth. When we all understand the kind of discipline that addresses the heart we look at issues with different eyes. Policies go from being oppressive legalistic rules to pathways of grace leading to obedient submissive hearts. For example, I am almost positive that God is not concerned with the tucking in of shirts, but in the same spirit, I am almost positive that God is concerned with a student that has been asked to tuck in his or her shirt and fails to comply or, complies until around the corner and then untucks again. These actions are heart issues, acts of willful disobedience, deliberate choices to rebel, and steps onto the path of destruction.

Discipline, according to Dr. Tripp, is very different than punishment. "Discipline as positive instruction rather than negative punishment does not rule out consequences or outcomes of behavior. Consequences and outcomes of behavior are certainly part of the process God uses to chasten His people." We can all think back to examples of this in our own lives, but Dr. Tripp encourages us to think deeper about discipline. "Your objective in discipline is to move toward your children, not against them. You move toward them with reproofs and entreaties of life. Discipline has a corrective objective. It is therapeutic, not penal. It is designed to produce growth, not pain."

This is the discipline we should find in a Christian home and a Christian school. I encourage you to read this book; it will be one of the most important books in your library.

Why Christian Education?

The decision of where your child attends classes for grades K - 12 should be a long laborious process. It ought to take more time than buying a house or selecting a college.

Many have bought into the myth of neutral education. There is no such thing. There are many questions to be asked when considering the educational choices for one's own children. Michael W. Lee of Cherokee Christian School in Woodstock, GA has an article that covers some of these questions. The article is informative and helpful for two reasons. First, these are his questions and his answers. He gives valuable insight into the questions to ask and pray over when considering the educational choices available. Secondly, his answers, while not mine, are solidly backed by scripture and worth examining. Please click on the link below to read the entire article; I promise it will be well worth the time!

http://www.cherokeechristian.org/pdf_files/whychristianeducation.pdf

Thinking About Thinking...

Have you ever asked yourself how the concept of God made its way into your thinking? If there has never really been "God" as we believe, then how did we feeble human beings come up with such a concept? If we believe what the experts say about thinking, or cognition, it really is rather impossible for the concept to have been, first, created by man, and then sold as truth for such a long period of time. Getting into the middle of cognition means dabbling inside the various semantically interpretative opinions of the many. There are some concrete theories on cognition, but no one really knows, in an absolute way, how we think. Most will promote their subjective theories in the language of objectivity, but the reality is that there are still more questions than answers.

We suspect that cognition, or sensory cognition, is a material process that supplies the material foundation for the sensible form to become existent within the mind. According to a Dictionary of Philosophy, copyright 1965, "cognition is, therefore, 'assimilation' of the mind to its object." The entry goes on to state that "the cognitive mental state as well the species by which it originates are 'images' of the object, in a metaphorical or analogical sense, not to be taken as anything like a copy... the senses, depending directly on the physical influence exercised by the object, cannot err; error is of the judging reason which may be mislead by imagination and neglects to use the necessary critique."

Looking at many of the modern semantics surrounding cognition, not much has changed about the general idea. Yes, there are many theories about the environment's impact on the mind and the subconscious, but a simple fact remains: most will agree with the above definition of cognition. If that is true then the concept of God must have originated in man in much the same way that the Bible describes. A Holy God revealed Himself to His creation.

Those who now claim that there is no God are doing so in judgment and are just as the dictionary described: mislead by imagination and neglecting to use the necessary critique. We have allowed many to use subjective theories as objective truth in explaining away the existence of God. There is always a realm of unexplained possibility and as long as that realm exists man will never become the god he so desires to be. Man is only right until the next discovery, and then he must adjust once again and redefine himself. Next time you are thinking about thinking...think about a Holy God who sent His Son to die for your sins and mine!

Dr. Al Mohler on True Education

Dr. Al Mohler has some interesting things to say regarding the current educational choices for our children.

"Far too many Christians neglect to pay attention to what is distinctively Christian about Christian education. In Romans 12:2, Paul wrote, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." That powerful sentence represents the very heart of Christian education. Rather than conforming to the prevailing worldview of the secular culture, Christian education is to be transformative--demonstrating the power of God's truth in human lives.
A true Christian education is like a light shining in the darkness. In a day when the prevailing secular culture is not even certain that truth exists, Christian education is established in the name and to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Read another important quote from his article!

"While secular worldviews attract the attention of so many in the academy, an authentically Christian education must take root among God's people. Christians must learn once again to be thinking disciples, constantly at work learning God's truth for God's glory.

This is no time for intellectual sloth or sloppiness. The secular world is hard at work, framing its secular worldviews and exercising an incalculable influence on the broader culture. Now is the time for vigorous Christian thinking, for the development of authentic Christian scholars who are able to confront the wisdom of the world. Generations to come will be shaped by the worldviews that prevail in this age. We dare not look on the battle of worldviews as mere spectators--we must enter the battle of ideas with both credibility and vigor.

The moral vacuum of the postmodern age is the direct result of an education that denies absolute truth and universal meaning. As C.S. Lewis once warned, such an educational system produces "men without chests." They lack the crucial faculty of moral reasoning that links facts to feelings. Lewis warned that a generation of "men without chests" would lead to the virtual abolition of humanity."

If you are a Christian you must read this entire article! As parents and educators, we must understand the non-Christian environment awaiting our precious children in all secular school settings. Read the article, and you will think differently about that Ivy League education. Click on the link below to read the entire article.

http://www.almohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-05

Flavius Josephus: An Important Historian

Flavius Josephus (A.D. 37 -c.100) is the author of two works considered by academia to be two of the most important accounts of history. His first work, The Wars of the Jews, was written as a general historical account of wars from the time of the Maccabees to the Great War with Rome. It was this war that ultimately destroyed the nation of Israel.

His other major work, The Antiquities of the Jews, is important for one reason: it was written for the benefit of the non-Jewish world. It is the history of the Jewish nation from earliest times to his own time. Josephus was born into a wealthy Jewish family; he was well educated and rose quickly to positions of stature in the Jewish community.

A trip to Rome profoundly changed his life. He was impressed by the power of the empire and began to fall on the side of Rome in disputes. Ultimately, he gained his rights as a Roman citizen and adopted the emperor's family name, Flavius. Why am I rambling on about Flavius Josephus? Two reasons! One, he is considered to be "the" historical record by all of academia on the history of the Jews, and his works are the principle source for the history of the Jews from the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 175 - 163) to the fall of Masada in A.D. 73.

And two, the quote below, which is often forgotten by many historians.

"Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works - a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not forsake him for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."

If you study history or read history you will hear his name often, and you will hear it in a very positive light. The next time you hear the name, Josephus, remember this passage and be encouraged for Jesus Christ lives!

Another Great Book!

Cornelius Plantiga's book is a must read. Read the summary below, and you will agree.


"The Bible admonishes Christians to love God with the mind as well as with the heart. Engaging God's World clearly links this scriptural mandate with the pursuit of academic life, extolling the crucial role of Christian higher education in the intellectual and spiritual formation of believers.Chiefly intended to serve as a primer for students beginning college careers but valuable to thoughtful Christians at every stage of life, this volume spells out the central themes of the Christian faith from a Reformed perspective. More important, however, the book shows how Christian higher education fits inside a view of the world and of human life that is formed by these ideas."Learning, " Cornelius Plantinga writes, "is a spiritual calling; properly done, it attaches us to God." Approaching the topic of education from a variety of angles, Plantinga shows that Christ-centered learning teaches people to correctly see the world as God's creation, to see providence in history, to handle secular knowledge critically, to develop good judgment and, ultimately, to use faith-filled learning in the service of God's kingdom."