Student-initiated violence, drug use and related problems must be
dealt with in a serious manner. But we should not allow campus
incidents, whether outside the walls or in the halls, to distract us
from the business of the classroom. The concern over matters of
curricula extend far beyond the effectiveness with which the basic
subjects are taught. The influence of radical secular ideas
presents an ever-growing problem in academic institutions at every
level. Given the stakes involved, we should not be surprised that
the classroom is one of the premier battlefields of today's culture
wars. This battle over the mind and soul of our youth, headlines
notwithstanding, surpasses the significance of school violence.
IV. Education: Higher Education and Great Ideas
Feature Article:
Outcome Based Education
Don Closson
This article explains why many Christians have reacted negatively
to OBE curricula. While the methodology may be neutral, the
learner outcomes never are.
I. Education: Culture Wars and Ideology
Education and New Age Humanism
Russ Wise
An examination of the subtle, insidious ways humanism,
relativism, and New Age thought have been introduced into
American public education, from a Christian perspective.
Culture Wars
Don Closson
Starting with a comparison of books by James Hunter and William
Bennett on the current culture war, this essay asks some
important questions for Christians to consider.
Education Beyond the Classroom
Jerry Solomon
A significant portion of a child's education takes place beyond a
formal classroom. Parents are encouraged to give attention to what
their children hear, read, and see. The "curriculum" often includes
naturalism, hedonism, syncretism, pragmatism, existentialism,
and postmodernism. Sensitive parents will encourage their children
to recognize these ideas and respond by thinking God's thoughts
after Him.
Multiculturalism
Don Closson
Multiculturalism is a politically correct attempt to over-correct
cultural bias by elevating all subcultures to equal status. It features
the new tolerance, inclusivism, and a profound lack of discernment.
Sex Education
Kerby Anderson
Addresses the issue of sex education. Also examines arguments
for school-based health clinics and parental notification. Concludes
with a biblical perspective on sex education.
II. Education: Church and State
Can Public Schools Be Religiously Neutral?
Paul G. Kussrow and Loren Vannest
The Supreme Court ordered that all religious activities be removed from the public
schools (Engel v. Vatale, l962) and in subsequent years strengthened its decision
through further restrictions. Has the Court been able to remove religion from the
public schools or has only certain types of traditional (God based) religion been
removed while non-God religions fill the vacuum?
State Education and the Decline in Morality
Paul A. Cleveland
Developing the personal moral character of children is an essential
prerequisite for the continuation of civilization. Further, education is
an important component of that process since moral behavior
requires empathy for others. Regrettably, state schools are wholly
unsuited to this task.
The Courts: Order in the Classroom
Bruce C. Hafen and Jonathan O. Hafen
Schools, with public support, can develop within our young people
the intellectual values and skills the First Amendment was
designed to protect. To do so, teachers have to intervene
constructively in children's lives, and students must be protected
against possible abuses.
The Morality of the West: From Bad to Worse
Ray Cotton
A critique of the ethics being taught in our schools and how it has
changed from bibically based values to the morality of political
rationalism. The reasoning of moral relativism is destroying our
society and corrupting the minds of our youth.
III. Education: Reform and Alternatives
Schooling Choices
Don Closson
Using the book Schooling Choices: An Examination of Private,
Public and Home Education by Dr. Wayne House, this essay
considers the arguments for each type of educational environment.
School Choice, The Law, And The Constitution:
A Primer For Parents And Reformers
Clint Bolick
A consideration of the legal and constiutional aspects for school
choice alternatives.
Teaching Christian Humanism
Virgil Nemoianu
Conservatives often denounce the many flaws of today's
secularized curricula. Developing a positive alternative, however, is
another matter entirely. The author ventures to do just this as he
defines and advocates a curriculum of Christian
humanism. He also provides the philosophical and historical basis
for such a program.
Reforming Education: A Whole New World
Chester E. Finn, Jr.
In the early 1980's, the "A Nation at Risk" study, produced by the
National Commission on Excellence in Education, provided the
standard for education reform: raise standards and improve quality.
Recent studies have done more to call into question the actual
paradigm behind public education itself, a model that has
remained in place since the turn of the century. The author of this
review essay considers several recent books that argue for a
radical transformation of our educational system in terms of
bringing about a paradigmatic shift.
Virtuous Reality: Character-Building in the Information Age
Jeb Bush and Brian Yablonski
The Founding Fathers believed democracy depended on the virtue
of its people. Today, however, we speak of values rather than
virtues. Understanding the difference between the two enables us
to better comprehend the nature of social problems and their
solutions.
Schooling for Virtue
Charles L. Glenn & Joshua Glenn
The authors review two books on the subject of morality in
education.
IV. Education: Higher Education and Great Ideas
The Christian University: Eleven Theses
Richard John Neuhaus
Fr. Neuhaus establishes several general guidelines for defining the
role of a university in providing a distinctly Christian form of higher
education.
When Worldviews Collide (Part One)
Armand Nicholi
A comparison of the thoughts and viewpoints of C.S. Lewis and
Sigmund Freud. Dr. Armand Nicholi, who serves on the faculty of
the Harvard Medical School, examines the worldviews of Lewis
and Freud, and in particular their ideas concerning life, pain and
death.
When Worldviews Collide (Part Two)
Armand Nicholi
Armand Nicholi, Jr., M.D. concludes his anaylsis
of the worldviews of Freud and Lewis by writing of their thoughts
on death and life. Nicholi has done much original work in his
research on their respective thoughts on such substantial topics.
His knowledge helps Christians to reevaluate their own views on
these important subjects.
Idols of the Century
James Nuechterlein
Marx, Freud and Darwin fueled many of the intellectual
movements of this century. The former two are no longer in
vogue in today's university. Darwinism finds itself being challenged
ever more frequently. With modernity no longer serving as a model
for secular intellectuals, what is the status of its heir,
postmodernity?
The Closing of the American Heart
Don Closson
Using Ronald Nash's book as a starting point, this essay looks at
the philosophical foundations of modern education in America and
how they have contributed to low performance.
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