My daughter goes to a state university.
She is a chemistry major, but last semester she had to take some biology. Well, you know state education and biology. Or do you?
One day she came home and said, "My botany professor is a Christian."
Come again?
It was the day (yes... "the day," as in the, singular, day) that they learned about evolution. He rushed through it. He presented it as theory. She told me, "I have, like, a total of a half a page of notes on evolution."
On top of that, he wore a shirt that said, "Campus on a Hill," on the front of it. And when he turned around, the back proclaimed Matthew 5:14--"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. "
Over Christmas break, this same state university educated daughter of ours got together with a good friend who attends a "Christian" college in Pennsylvania. In the Christian college's science classes, they are teaching the kids evolution. They present it this way: "God originated the big bang, but after that, it all happened just the way the evolutionists say it did." No intelligent design there.
I am reading a book by Ann Coulter. Sometimes she is funny, and sometimes she is right, but she really made me mad the way she talked about public education. There are many good people in public education. The more good people we get in public education, the better it will be. You don't get good people to go into public education if you say the kinds of things Ann Coulter says.
Public education is a good thing, even though it is sometimes badly done. I don't want to take away people's rights to homeschool, but public education is in the best interest of the society. If people choose not to use public education, fine, but they still ought to contribute to the education system. There are people who can't homeschool, for various reasons. And there are people who won't--how does it benefit society not to help their children? These kids need a chance--exposure to thoughts and ideas and opportunities that they have been denied at home. That is part of what America is all about.
The best way to influence public education is to get involved in it. Raise Godly children and encourage them to become teachers, administrators, college professors of education.
5 comments:
What your daughter said about the teacher and his t shirt... tragic, but sadly becoming the norm.
I hope he didn't stumble her but am VERY glad for her and proud of her parents (!) that she even noticed... Well done parent!
I'm not exactly sure what you mean? Tragic that, as a Christian, he would teach evolution anyway? He had no choice. This really isn't a free country, and there really isn't freedom of speech. But he did do what he could do to minimize evolution. And my daughter saw and appreciated.
My daughter knows there isn't really freedom of speech or freedom of religion in the USA. But she believes anyway. She is really smart, too, one of the best students they have there. So one day a guy was talking to her about a girl he was thinking about dating and he said, "But I don't know--she doesn't even believe in evolution." And my daughter said, "Well, *I* don't believe in evolution." And he nearly spit out his lunch and choked and said he NEVER would have guessed that, and she said, "Why? Because nobody smart, nobody who is a competent scientist would ever reject evolution? That's what you thought, isn't it? Admit it! That's what you thought!"
My kids are learning to navigate a post-Christian society. But it is a blessing when they discover the others out there who are like them. It reminds me of the secret ichthus.
What a great teacher! And good for your daughter for noticing.
hey. um, I was just wondering if you couldn't possibly find a better picture of me for the sidebar on your blog because let's face it: that picture is kind of washed out.
I'll send you my senior picture if you want!
I like this post. I agree that the only way to change public education is by getting better people involved. The hard part is that you can't get great people at terrible pay and teaching kids with no respect. My sister-in-law used to teach 2nd grade at a close by public school and she said she spent most of the day breaking up fights. Not only was she not allowed to touch them, they were usually not punished beyond a warning. Most of her students were extremely disrespectful as well. And this is the 2nd grade!! And we wonder why there aren't many good teachers out there.
BTW, I am sure that some Christian colleges are not all they are cracked up to be. I went to one about 8 years ago that was great. Even in the "Christian" schooling, you have to be choosy. How fortunate for your daughter to have a teacher like she did.
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