NAME
Prof. Ronald Miller
GOVT 329-XXX
20 February 2020
Discussion Board Four: Educating the Exceptional
Prompt: What can be applied from the early American approach to education to today’s
educational challenges? Remember to include discussion on homeschooling, private/Christian
schools, as well as the Public-School setting.
Response:
When comparing the early American approach to education to today’s approach, the stark
contrast between the two is apparent, with more differences than similarities. For example,
modern public schools are widespread and abundant, whereas they were nowhere near as
predominant in early America.1 In fact, according to David Barton, one-fourth of the United
States’ founding fathers were either self-taught or homeschooled.2 Since early America,
homeschooling has gone from a significant decrease to now a continuous increase.3
One American founding father, Benjamin Rush, claimed the main purpose of public
schools is a three-fold objective: to love and to serve God, to love and to serve America, and to
love and to serve the family.4 To those who have any knowledge of today’s public school system,
this definition may be laughable because of how far these schools have strayed from those three
crucial goals. Nowadays, there is an embarrassingly low number of students who can name the
three branches of government or know that the U.S. Constitution is the highest law of the land.
The reason for this predicament is the education system’s lack of sufficient civics curriculum.5 It
is not news that the education system makes a profound impact on students, and it is clear that
the system has failed its students.
While early American schools focused on the virtues of religion, community, and family,
modern schools have drifted far away into other concentrations. Public schools do not teach the
Bible and, given that history cannot be understood apart from the Bible nor can the Bible be
studied apart from history,6 it is a restraint of history even from a secular viewpoint. As for
1 Burke, Lindsey. 2009. “Homeschooling Sees Dramatic Rise in Popularity.” The Heritage Foundation, January 28,
2009, 1.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538887-dt-content-rid-
344470549_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_ImportedContent_20160316010122/
Popularity%20of%20homeschooling%281%29.pdf
2 Barton, David. 2012. “Introduction: Our Purpose and Approach.” Constitution Alive! Series, 21:09.
https://wallbuilders.com/constitution-alive/#
3 Gaither, Milton. 2008. “Why Homeschooling Happened.” Educational Horizons 86, no. 4 (Summer), 226.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538886-dt-content-rid-
344470563_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_ImportedContent_20160316010122/
Why%20homeschooling%20happened%281%29.pdf
4 Barton, David. 2012. “Introduction: Our Purpose and Approach.” Constitution Alive! Series, 21:09.
https://wallbuilders.com/constitution-alive/#
5 Ibid.
6 White, Wilbert W. "THE BIBLE IN EDUCATION." Christian Education 12, no. 3 (1928): 168. Accessed
February 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/41174169.
homeschooling, it has become a political movement in response to mainstream society in recent
years.7 Homeschooling happened primarily because of the change in public schooling and
families throughout the second part of the twentieth century: families started to feel alienated as
public schools became larger, less personal, more bureaucratic, and less responsive to parents.8
Homeschooling has allowed parents the opportunity to have more say so over what their children
are learning and how they are learning it. Charter, private, and Christian schools have also
managed to escape the dangers of the public-school system, joining homeschooling as one of the
fastest growing trends.9
The United States public education system has been failing millions of students for the
past fifty years.10 Steps shloud be taken by both local and state policymakers to increase school
choice options and place the education power back into the hands of parents. The House and
Senate chambers of Congress should pass laws to allow states to use education resources to best
fit local needs and also allow states the opportunity to opt out of the No Child Left Behind
program.11The government should no longer have control of the classroom. As former President
Abraham Lincoln said, “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation with be the
philosophy of government in the next.”12 Christians should be the first to take action and stand up
for these principles. Afterall, we must “Train up a child in the way he should go,” so that, “even
when he is old he will not depart from it.”13
Bibliography
Barton, David. 2012. “Introduction: Our Purpose and Approach.” Constitution Alive! Series,
21:09. https://wallbuilders.com/constitution-alive/#
Burke, Lindsey. 2009. “Homeschooling Sees Dramatic Rise in Popularity.” The Heritage
Foundation, January 28, 2009.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538887-dt-content-rid-
344470549_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_Imported
Content_20160316010122/Popularity%20of%20homeschooling%281%29.pdf
Burke, Lindsey M. and Rachel Sheffield. 2011. “School Choice in America 2011: Educational
Opportunity Reaches New Heights.” The Heritage Foundation, August 17, 2011.
7 Gaither, Milton. 2008. “Why Homeschooling Happened.” Educational Horizons 86, no. 4 (Summer), 226.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538886-dt-content-rid-
344470563_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_ImportedContent_20160316010122/
Why%20homeschooling%20happened%281%29.pdf
8 Ibid, 234.
9 Burke, Lindsey M. and Rachel Sheffield. 2011. “School Choice in America 2011: Educational
Opportunity Reaches New Heights.” The Heritage Foundation, August 17, 2011, 15.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538885-dt-content-rid-
344470553_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_ImportedContent_20160316
010122/School%20choice%20in%20America%281%29.pdf
10 Ibid, 21.
11 Ibid, 22.
12 Barton, David. 2012. “Introduction: Our Purpose and Approach.” Constitution Alive! Series,
21:09. https://wallbuilders.com/constitution-alive/#
13 Proverbs 22:6, ESV.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538885-dt-content-rid-
344470553_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_Imported
Content_20160316010122/School%20choice%20in%20America%281%29.pdf
Gaither, Milton. 2008. “Why Homeschooling Happened.” Educational Horizons 86, no. 4
(Summer): 226-237.
https://learn.liberty.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-28538886-dt-content-rid-
344470563_1/courses/GOVT329_B01_201920/GOVT329_LUO_8WK_DEV_Imported
Content_20160316010122/Why%20homeschooling%20happened%281%29.pdf
White, Wilbert W. "THE BIBLE IN EDUCATION." Christian Education 12, no. 3 (1928): 168-
77. Accessed February 19, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/41174169.
Replies: (200+ words. 1 source from text, reading, or outside)
William,
Thank you for your discussion post. I enjoyed reading your perspective on what can be applied
from early America’s approach to education to today’s educational challenges. Your carefully
formulated analysis was beneficial to furthering my understanding of this topic, especially your
point that American education once used to be the leading education system in the world. When I
was younger, my mom used to drive the school bus for the public-school system. She would tell
us stories that were sad and unfortunate, and, from a young age, I always believed the public
education system was seriously flawed. I was very surprised to hear that it has not always been
this way.
As we both discussed in our posts, religion and God have largely been taken out of public
schools. You summed it up well by saying, “Like much of government, [the modern American
public education] has turned against Christianity in favor of secularism.” One thing I have
struggled to make up my mind about is the level religion should be involved in schools. Afterall,
the separate of church and state is necessary to ensure that Americans will have religious
freedom.14 However, while these two are separate on account of their different functions, they are
still both under God. He is still sovereign over them.15 Not to mention, our nation was founded
on Judeo-Christian principles. As one researcher argues, “a stronger argument for mandating
courses on religion in schools would be that…it is important for students to be exposed to
alternative understandings that promote reflection on and criticism of one's own beliefs,
including religious beliefs.”16 Where do you think the line should be drawn?
14 Martin, Glenn R. “The Biblical Christian Worldview: Institutional Structure & Procedure” in Prevailing
Worldviews of Western Society Since 1500. Marion: Triangle Publishing, 2006.
15 Chronicles 20:6, ESV.
16 Feinberg, Walter. “Teaching Religion in Public Schools: Review of Warren A. Nord,Does God Make A
Difference?” Educational Theory 63, no. 4 (August 20, 2013): 431–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12032.
Ethan,
I enjoyed reading your analysis on what can be applied from early America’s approach to
education to today’s educational challenges. Thank you for your post and for providing ample
sources to support your claims. I did not previously know about the literacy laws which were
passed by early settlements for the purpose of ensuring all could read the Word of God and be
connected to Him. With that in mind, it is sad to look at the reality of today’s society and
education system. How far we have strayed from our founding Judeo-Christian principles!
After reading through the various students’ discussion posts, the issue of religion in
schools has been prevalent on my mind. As you said, many parents choose homeschooling,
Christian schools, or private schools because they have a desire to ensure their children are in
safe environments with moral or religious instruction. However, with the necessity for the
separation of church and state in mind, should we really want our schools to be religious? And if
so, how religious should they be? As the researcher Feinberg found, “if religion is to be taught in
the public schools, it needs to be justified on civic rather than religious grounds.”17 I have long
struggled with how to balance religion in schools, and I must say I am starting to agree with his
view. It is important to ensure that all Americans have the freedom to choose their religion and
that there is no one single religion that controls the nation or state. I think it is vital for Christians
to research and determine where they believe the line should be drawn. Otherwise, we might
spend years trying to force something upon the public-school system that really does not belong
there. To be sure, the public-school system is dire need of change and improvement. I believe we
should approach the issue carefully in order to ensure that we are not infringing upon the
religious freedoms of all American citizens.
17 Feinberg, Walter. “Teaching Religion in Public Schools: Review of Warren A. Nord,Does God Make A
Difference?” Educational Theory 63, no. 4 (August 20, 2013): 431–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12032.
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