Tom Askew calls for conservatives to relax about President Obama's upcoming address to schools

My friend Jamey Bennett called yesterday wondering why I had not weighed in on the current controversy about President Obama addressing school children next Tuesday. I guess some things seem too absurd to even point out. But here goes.

I'm sure those of you who have pegged me as a conservative are expecting me to prop up the protesters who don't want their children exposed to political propaganda on school time. Actually, I am more conservative than any conservative I know. I love liberty.

Propaganda in the government schools? Are you kidding? Have you ever seen the political agenda of the National Education Association? Do you imagine that the President can say anything more liberal in a single address than the day-to-day diet being delivered by Miss Peach? Can anyone possibly imagine that government schools are politically neutral? I dropped my membership in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development years ago because I dared to "read the fine print," thereby finding out all the politically liberal causes my dues had been supporting.

And just what political cause are these protesters afraid the President will support in his talk to the children? Socialism? Does socialism refer to a government monopoly over an enterprise that could be conducted better and cheaper, with more consumer input, in the private sector? Then to those parents, I say, don't worry. Children always learn more by example than they can grasp in a short speech. And you have already demonstrated your commitment to socialism by sending your children to government schools.

Check out Tom's blog, Issues in Education.

My friends at Life In a Shoe have this to say about how to do homeschool phonics for free.

A friend asked the other day what phonics program we use. My answer: none. We tried a few, but always end up doing phonics in a more natural way.

It works something like this:

A child writes a story, a letter or a blog post. Anything that is leaving the house takes at least 2 steps: a rough draft and a final version. Often there is another step or two, but that's the minimum. The child brings me her first version, and we go over it. I point out a word that is misspelled and give her the correct spelling. If this is a new sort of word for her (or if she's very new to this, and everything is new for her) then we talk about other words that are spelled that way:

"Would is spelled with ould, like could and should. "

"Talk is spelled with the same pattern as walk."

"Heard is spelled with ear in the middle. It doesn't seem like it needs the a, but learn, earth and early are also spelled that way. Hey, can anybody think of other examples for her?"

A younger child might ask for help spelling even on her first draft. I rarely give just the spelling that she is asking for. Instead, I answer with a rule.

Homeschooling with the Trivium will be giving away two books tomorrow (Monday). Check out their contest details in the morning. Prizes are Twenty American Heroes: Writing Biographies of Christians (Jamey Bennett & David Raymond) and Monks' Tales: The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers (Jamey Bennett & Katherine Chaffee).

A Catechism of Trinitarian Academics
by Jamey Bennett

This simple catechism integrates faith and academics, penetrating subjects such as Math and Grammar with God’s Word. Hear George Grant: “This is an essential primer for anyone who wants to get a firm grasp on the true character of Biblical discipleship and classical education. I plan on giving copies to all my students and their parents.” 10.00

Twenty Saints: Writing Biographies of Christians
by Jamey Bennett

From Veritas Press: "Writing is an extremely important, often overlooked skill. Twenty Saints is written to provide stand-alone writing exercises or to provide superb material for the Institute of Excellence in Writing seminar. Biographies cover such luminous figures of Church history as Augustine, Ignatius, Patrick, Anselm, Benedict, Irenaeus, and Chrysostom. Designed for ease of use by the busy teacher, these exercises are also flexible enough for the more experienced teacher to adapt as necessary. These exercises build writing skills while strengthening vocabulary skills, historical knowledge, and understanding the Christian faith. Good tools for teaching writing are hard to find. This is a gem." 15.00

Monks' Tales: The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers
by Jamey Bennett & Katherine Chaffee

George Grant writes: "History is of course, His Stoy. So the history we don't know is the unexplored territory, the uncharted geography, the undiscovered landscape of God's good providence in the world. What Bennett and Chaffee have provided us with in these tales and their accompanying exercises are the necessary tools, provisions and supplies for the grand adventure of discovery." Drawing on the wisdom of the ages, this volume is a collection of enjoyable stories about medieval monks, full of spiritual insight and rigorous Christianity, designed for composition instruction by imitation. Freshly translated from the Greek, a few of these appear popularly in English for the first time. 15.00

Twenty Reformers & Puritans: Writing Biographies of Christians
by Jamey Bennett

From Veritas Press: "Writing is an extremely important, often overlooked skill. Biographies of Christians: Reformers & Puritans is written to provide stand-alone writing exercises or to provide superb material for the Institute of Excellence in Writing seminar. Biographies cover such luminous figures of Church history as Calvin, Luther, Baxter, Bucer, Watts, and Bunyan. Designed for ease of use by the busy teacher, these exercises are also flexible enough for the more experienced teacher to adapt as necessary. These exercises build writing skills while strengthening vocabulary skills, historical knowledge, and understanding the Christian faith. Good tools for teaching writing are hard to find. This is a gem." 15.00

Twenty American Heroes: Writing Biographies of Christians
by Jamey Bennett & David Raymond

This is the latest in our Bios of Christians series! Here’s what George Grant had to say about this one: “Jamey Bennett and Dave Raymond have done yeomen’s work in reminding us of two great legacies simultaneously: the grand adventure of American hero tales and the rich feast of American educational pedagogy.” 15.00

Alternatively, you can buy Twenty Saints from Veritas Press here, or Twenty Reformers from them here. Also, if you prefer to purchase digital editions of some of these titles for a lower price, those are available here.

My two books

- Twenty Saints (http://tr.im/saP8) & preview (http://tr.im/svQc)
- Twenty Reformers & Puritans (http://tr.im/saPe) & preview (http://tr.im/svPD)

will be given away on Friday to the winners of a contest held at the new Facebook Homeschooling page!

Not a thing, if we mean by “house church” a church that meets in a house. One can make all manner of arguments about the best architectural forms for public worship, but no one, I suspect, would suggest that this kind of building or that is, in itself, sinful. The issue with house churches then isn’t with the house, but with the church (or lack thereof). There is a rather great gap between a group of people who are under authority gathering together to worship the living God while meeting in a house, and a home wherein the father, or the parents, decide for themselves that they are a church. The one has biblical precedent and standing. The other is rank rebellion, and a recipe for disaster.

I understand the temptation. It’s not often easy to find a church that does well what it’s called to do. It can get frustrating showing up Sunday after Sunday and being gawked at for not only having a large family, but for keeping them together during the service. It can be maddening when the pastor keeps preaching against judging others, all because he suspects you of judging him. Wouldn’t it be so mu... Continue Reading

Posted by Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. - 7/30/2009 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

Robbie Grayson returns educators to the foundation of transcendant truth in a post-modern society

It is vital to the post-modern student like never before that he knows the chief principle for all variety: if it is not to be found in the revealed character of God, then it is not binding or lawful. To not illuminate for the student this truth is to at best help him to plant his feet firmly upon a cloud, because apart from the unity of all things for which the character of God provides we can only teach arbitrary law. We can only pick and choose what we think is important for the student to know, putting those dear children at our mercy. 

By not referencing God as Lord of all things, the educator demonstrates to the student that there is no Solvent for all things save the sense one can make of it on the basis of one’s own intellect. I am telling you: lesson plans aside, this is where the real battle lies.

Do you know the beautiful thing about this truth? The beautiful thing is that if you as an individual put your whole weight upon this truth, you as a finite being begin to make yourself indispensable. How is it that a finite object can become indispensable after all t... Continue Reading

Posted by Robbie Grayson III - 7/17/2009 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

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When Convenience Defines Morality

Tom Askew considers the role of expediency in our failure to privatize education

In a recent article for The Public Discourse, Princeton Professor Robert George compared public tolerance for the institution of slavery along lines of expediency to the contemporary issue of legalized abortion. In setting up his argument, Prof. George made this commentary about the climate of U.S. culture during the time when slavery was legal:

Many people at the time of the American founding would have preferred a world without slavery but nonetheless opposed abolition. Such people…reasoned that, given the world as it was, with slavery woven into the fabric of society just as it had often been throughout history, the economic consequences of abolition for society as a whole and for owners of plantations and other businesses that relied on slave labor would be dire. Many people who argued in this way were not monsters but honest and sincere, albeit profoundly mistaken. Some… showed their personal opposition to slavery by declining to own slaves themselves or freeing slaves whom they had purchased or inherited. They certainly didn't think anyone should be forced to own slaves. Still, they maintained that slavery should remain a legally permitted option and be given constitutional protection.

I could not help but think of the “expediency” argument I often hear when I support the idea of privatizing all education in the United States. The disruption to the status quo which would result from such a realignment is deemed to be too inconvenient to even consider. Numerous (and largely unlikely) worst case scenarios are offered in counterarguments which overlook current travesties as they imagine that something could be worse.

I couldn’t resist paraphrasing Professor George’s paragraph as I see it applying to education:

Many people, seeing the failures of America’s public schools, would prefer an educational environment that rewards successful schools and eliminates, through attrition, failing schools. But that would require a free and open market, with all parents entrusted with the resources to make responsible school choices for their children. Given U.S. society as it is, with government schooling woven into the fabric of society as it has been for only the last century and a quarter, the economic consequences of teachers incapable of maintaining their jobs in a more competitive environment and the requisite re-investment of resources toward paying quality salaries for quality teachers (while eliminating multiple layers of useless bureaucracy) would be dire. Many people who argue that poor quality, state-funded babysitting is better than the alternatives are not monsters, but honest and sincere, albeit profoundly mistaken. Some have shown their opposition to government-funded ideological indoctrination by contributing their tax credits to private schools or being vaguely supportive of homeschooling. They certainly don’t think that anyone should be forced to go to public school. Still, they maintain that government schooling should remain an economically favored option and be given legislative and judicial protection.

This makes me think of the situation that resulted from the fall of the totalitarian regimes in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the 1990’s. Yes, there was disruption and societal upheaval for a time. Some people don’t even remember it now. But since it was inconvenient for a period, maybe they should have stuck with communism.

Posted by Dr. Thomas Askew - 10/19/2008 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

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Idols For Destruction

R.C. Sproul Jr. is losing sleep over Christians' lost investments (and it's not what you think)

I’m confident that many Christians have not slept well these last few nights. I suspect that tonight they won’t do much better. Over the last several days, as I write, the stock market has not performed well. It has reached a five year low, having lost over forty percent of its value since its peak. It is not difficult to muster sympathy in these difficult economic times. Forty percent is rather much to lose, though only slightly more than half of seventy percent.

I lose sleep at night not because Christians have lost forty percent of their investments. I lose sleep at night because Christians are losing seventy percent of their children. They spend their days in institutions where Jesus doesn’t matter. Seven hours a day, 180 days a year, Jesus doesn’t matter. I am not surprised that when they graduate Jesus doesn’t matter to them. The children of professing Christians wh... Continue Reading

Posted by Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. - 10/19/2008 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

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How Would Jesus Spank A Child?

Eric Holmberg wonders what Jesus would use to spank

…with a flexible switch made from an olive branch, across the fleshy part of the buttocks or upper thigh.

While this answer is only a semi-serious one − I would never presume to speak for the Lord when it comes to precisely how He would mete out His perfect justice – there is nothing facetious about the central truth behind it. To suggest, as some have of late, that the Son of God would never use any form of corporal punishment to discipline a child is to present, as the Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians, “another Jesus” (2 Cor. 11:3, 4). Such seems more and more to characterize our present time.

I am specifically referencing here a bill that has been considered by the Massachusetts’s legislature that would make it illegal for parents to spank their children. One of the prime movers behind it is Dr. Teresa Whitehurst, a clinical psychologist, co-founder of Christ-Centered Christians for... Continue Reading

Posted by Eric Holmberg - 7/24/2008 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

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Pomp and Circumstance

RC Sproul Jr. attends the school of Christ, and you should, too

One of the great evils of the government school system is that it has taught us to divide up our lives. When we are young, we are learning, schooling, working toward graduation. After graduation we put education behind us, and set about getting to work. The Bible knows no such categories. Children, contra Rousseau, are not designed to flourish in a context of play that is to be extended as long as possible before the cruelty of reality breaks in. They are supposed to work, now.

The flipside, however, is likewise true. That is, we are not done learning. There is no graduation, at least until we die, from the school of Christ . We are His disciples, His students. Our calling is ever and always to move forward in this school, to become more and more each day like Jesus. This is why we read our Bibles. This is why we attend Bible studies. This is why we spend time in prayer, and why we meditate ... Continue Reading

Posted by Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr. - 6/5/2008 | Link to this post | Print this post | 0 Responses

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Prince Caspian: A Worthy Sequel

Tom Askew reviews the new blockbuster take on Lewis' classic

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”
“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

Having reviewed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when it debuted in 2005, it seems only fitting that I pass on my thoughts about the newest film in the Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian, which I saw this past week end. And anyway, I have been a Narnian since before it was cool to be Narnian, so I can’t resist.

Just as Aslan seemed bigger to Lucy in her second visit to Narnia, so does the world of Narnia seem bigger and more believable in our second visit via film. Much of this is because of the nature of the plot (since we are fallen creatures, the introduction of wicked usurper into the otherwise idyllic Narnia doesn’t surpri... Continue Reading

Posted by Dr. Thomas Askew - 5/20/2008 | Link to this post | Print this post | 3 Responses

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