Education Reform: The Larger Question

By T. M. Moore | Published Date: January 17, 2012
The schools in America are a reflection of the surrounding culture. Whatever the culture values will be reflected in the education we give our children. For example, in colonial New York, a public school teacher had to be able to lead children in worship and explain the Gospel, or he could not expect to be hired by the local school board.

In America prior to the Civil War, the education of children was purely a local matter. Schools boards abounded – one for every political precinct. Parents were responsible to oversee the work of the school board and to fund the local program of education. Naturally, the education they sanctioned reflected their values, experience, and aspirations for their children.

As the program of public education became more centralized throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries, local school boards were merged and state and federal funding began flowing toward local education. The creation of teachers’ unions created a new vested interest that did not exist in earlier American education.

Between school boards, now beholden to states and federal governments, and teachers’ unions whose interest is first in their members and then in the education of children, the earlier model of local, community-based education began to be replaced by a model focused more on creating informed producers and consumers.

All over the country the process of transforming the schools was as gradual as the emerging nation’s increasing commitment to secularism and material prosperity. Hardly anyone noticed the change that was taking place in the education of our children, because the schools were merely reflecting our changing national agenda. Almost without noticing, America had gone from a nation that firmly believed in God and the values of a Christian worldview to one almost wholly consumed with getting-and-spending as the highest value in life (see James Turner’s, Without God, Without Creed).

And this is where the schools are today. To talk about reforming education, therefore, we need to think more broadly about the culture – the paideia – which supports that education. Unless the values of the culture change, the values of the schools will not. No amount of short-term tweaking the educational program of the land will have any lasting effects unless something happens to reform the larger culture.

Educational reform is thus connected with moral reform, and the moral reform we as Christians desire requires revival in the churches. In short, if we would reform our schools, we must begin by reforming ourselves, renewing our spirits before the Lord and exchanging our materialistic values for those of the Kingdom of God.

Resources for this topic

Charles Colson, “Grassroots Revival”
Charles Colson, “Revival at Home”
David R. Mains, “Praying Boldly”
T. M. Moore, “Jonathan Edwards’ Praying Together for True Revival”
T. M. Moore, “The Religion of Education”
T. M. Moore, “The Tipping Point for Revival” (ViewPoint series)
T. M. Moore, “What We Seek”
Jennifer Roback Morse, “There has to be a Better Way”
Edward Tingley, “True Knowledge is Made Possible by True Religion”
Education necessarily involves matters of ethics. A good place to begin in helping your friends and fellow Christians to get involved in changing the schools is by alerting them to the ethical crisis in the nation. Order your copy of our new DVD series, Doing the Right Thing. Here’s a resource you can share even with your non-Christian friends, to help them think about the ethical crisis which has settled on our nation, and what we can do about it.

Next steps:

1. Is your church seeking the Lord for revival? Do the following: First, interview some of your church leaders to find out if the leadership team talks about revival, seeks it for your church, or even thinks it is necessary. Then copy some of the resources listed above and give them to some of your church leaders. Ask them to read them and then get back with them to talk further about how your church might begin seeking the Lord for revival.
2. Show this week’s Two-minute Warning to your pastor. Does he seem to think that Christians can do anything to help improve the education of American children? Offer yourself to help in your church’s education program in any way you can.
3. Email today’s Talking Points column to several Christian friends. Challenge them to read some of the resources, watch the Two-Minute Warning, and take on one of the activities.

A conversation starter

Here’s a conversation starter you should try with several of your Christian friends: “Everyone’s talking about education reform these days. But I don’t think we’ll ever have real, lasting education reform until we experience revival in the churches of the land. What do you think?”