More Thoughts On Education

I spoke the other day about how this so-called emergency could change the way we educate our children.  In that post, I hinted at some of the great things that the internet provides.  Of course, the internet can provide knowledge and facts.  Knowing, for example, the density of various materials is important for calculating the forces on a retaining wall, or the outward force of water on water tank.  But the internet can provide the even more important purpose of receiving an education, learning how to learn, how to evaluate what you read, what you hear, what you see.  In other words, a proper education teaches you how to think, not what to think.

Using the current public school curriculum, students are limited in which texts they can use and in what teaching method to which they are confined.  This in turn limits them in the way they learn and think.  For example, the current curriculum requires what is known as common core mathematics.  But we have also been through various "new" math teaching systems, all of which have, to one degree or another failed to teach our children to work logically with numerical information.  But the truth is that the best way to teach children mathematics was already known centuries ago.  My math books are as useful as any modern book, and more understandable.  But in terms of philosophy, literature, history, political theory, economics, and more, the world provides a wide range of ideas that should be explored.  The current system provides one single idea in each of these areas.

Perhaps even more important, though, is that a parent can seek out the best teachers, the best texts, the best curriculum, and that these classes can be conducted on line.  Homework could be sent to the teacher through email, and receive back corrected assignments.  One would no longer be stuck with whatever teacher happened to be at your public school.  If the best teacher is across the country, that is no obstacle.

Another thing about such teaching is that classes can be customized to the child's own rate of learning.  In a classroom setting, some children learn faster than others.  The slower learners get behind, and feel hopeless and stupid.  Even slower learners, though, often do learn and eventually prove to be even more capable than those who initially take to the subject.

The fact that some teachers are demonstrably better introduces competition into the profession.  The best teachers could command more money for their superior instruction, while the bad ones would have to find more suitable work in another field.

Of course, mathematics is subject that all students must take at some level.  But it is in electives that the idea of on line learning becomes exciting.  In my school, for example, languages taught besides English were French, Spanish, and Latin.  What if you wanted to take German or Russian?  Tough luck.    But with on line learning, you have access to pretty much any language.  Now, some electives probably can not be taught on line entirely.  For example, it is possible to take music classes on line.  Indeed Music and Arts stores now teach instrumental classes online using Zoom.  However, playing with other instruments in a band requires something that so far does not exist.  But bands or orchestras for students could be established.  Similarly, student choirs could be established for vocal students

Sports is another area where we may have to change the way things have been done.  Typically, school have a mascot, under which banner each school plays the other schools in football, baseball, basketball, and sometimes track and field.  In my grand daughters case, because she pole vaults for her school, but they don't have a coach for that, she goes to a private teacher for training in pole vaulting.

But there are other alternatives.  In an article today at the American Thinker Zachery D. Rogers writes in an article entitled Kommisar Bartholet of Harvard Cast Her Jaundiced Eye on Homeschooling:

It is a common misconception that homeschoolers do not have opportunities to socialize with others. They are able to do so by participating in numerous church activities, the local 4-H or Future Business Leaders of America, and the local parks and recreation sports teams. Many homeschoolers join homeschool cooperatives for speech and debate, science and math classes, etc

Bartholet's concern with homeschooled children's exposure to the larger society is not so they may attain a familiarity with how people live on the farms of Kansas and Nebraska, the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, or the ranches of Big Sky Country. No, she is afraid that parents want to raise their children to have "views and values that are in serious conflict with [the] culture." The views she has in question include looking to the Bible to explain the world, which she invidiously coupled in the same sentence with a disbelief in the scientific method. Perhaps she is unaware that people who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture at the same time think God created a rational universe that operates according to the laws of nature and that these laws are discoverable through man's reason (science). Faith in Scripture does not preclude the use of reason to understand the world around us. Bartholet's view of education is entirely secular and mainstream.

Please note that in comparison to a truly liberal education, the kind that our Founding Fathers enjoyed, and that even was enjoyed by public school students a generation ago.   Bartholet's view is a pinched, withered view that would indoctrinate, rather than educate children. Unfortunately, this is the view of much of the educational elite in this country. They don't want to let go of their charges for fear the little skulls full of much will discover a greater world. However, without being exposed to different ideas, children are unlikely to go looking. After all, why would you go looking for something if a person is unaware there is something to be found?

Of course, you are probably wondering how one is supposed to pay for all this pie in the sky education for our children. Sure, it sounds pretty good, but families' budgets are already stretched thin.  The first thing is that for parents that do not wish to be involved in their children' education, public schools will need to remain, if taking a decidedly lesser role.  Here is North Carolina, we spend $8.8K per student.  A significant amount of that money should be returned to parents as vouchers used for their children's' education.  After all, with more students being homeschooled, there would be less, though not a zero, need for school infrastructure, to include buildings, busses, administrators and so forth.

The Left often creates policies that backfire and create unintended consequences for society.  I suspect that the current house arrest of America is one that gives us the opportunity to take back the education of our children   That is a good thing for society.

Our Rehearsal For A Police State

I've got a lot to do today, so time to comment on articles I read is tight. Let me just pass alone Dennis Prager's article today at Townhall.com entitled Our Dress Rehearsal For A Police State. The article is short, so go read the whole article.

Dennis captures what I have been trying to get across.  Even if the risk posed by the Covid-19 virus was as great as the media makes it out to be, and the data doesn't seem to bear that out, we can not become a police state.  Police officers will have to learn, as did the Nazis at Nuremberg, that following orders is no justification for denying people their God given rights.

Putting Parents In The Education Loop

One of the bright spots to these house arrests is that children are now being home schooled.  I had a walk with my grand daughter the other day, and I was asking her about being schooled at home.  She averred that she did enjoy it generally, though the lack of a sports program was a definite problem.  She is very athletic.

I suggested that she could also undertake some independent study. For instance, she could read the Illiad and the Odyssey, or read the Federalist Papers. The sky is really the limit, only limited by her own imagination and obviously limited time.  But that is the point, that the education is finally undergoing a renaissance.

We have the technology that permits anyone, anywhere to access the greatest books ever written, much as the renaissance was kicked off by the rediscovery of the works of Aristotle and the ancient Greeks.  Certainly, the Bible could be one of the great books studied.  But a parent could design a curriculum for each of his or her children.  As the child grows in knowledge and understanding, he or she could have ever more say so over that curriculum, giving him buy in to the process of education.

But, while I see a potentially beneficial effect of this period of lock down, apparently a Harvard professor is appalled.  According to an article by Katie Jay and Sarah Campbell today, in The Federalist entitled Harvard Attack On Homeschooling Has Nothing To Do With Children's Best Interests.

As Americans get a mandatory crash course in teaching their children at home, one Harvard Law professor is running the other way, arguing homeschooling should be banned. Elizabeth Bartholet, the faculty director of Harvard Law School’s Child Advocacy Program, was recently interviewed for an incendiary Harvard Magazine article titled “The Risks of Homeschooling,” but she fleshes out her case in the Arizona Law Review.

In an 80-page screed against conservative Christian homeschoolers, Bartholet proposes a “presumptive ban” on homeschooling, alleging that some parents choose homeschooling to (1) abuse their children, and (2) provide religious instruction. The article also appears to conflate religious instruction with child abuse: Bartholet maintains that the fact that conservative Christians were among the first to embrace homeschooling is itself reason enough to discredit this educational model. She has planned a Harvard Law symposium this summer, solely for homeschooling opponents to support her misguided proposal.

Go read the whole article. Please ponder the possibilities Maybe now is the time to transfer process back to parents. Parents have the responsibility. We should put them back in the loop.

Christ is our only port in this storm

My pastor, Kevin Martin, and my congregation, Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, NC, made the national news!  Joy Pullman has the story at The Federalist today entitled Violent Threats, Hate Mail, Hit Raleigh Church For Holding Services With Under 10 People. Unlike other states, North Carolina allowed people to apply as "essential" services, which Pastor Martin did. Technically, the state letter of approval would allow Pastor Martin to hold services with up to 56 persons. But he decided to limit the number of people to 10 or fewer. Martin, of course, speaks quite well for himself, and Pullman makes use of a number of quotes, all of which sound like our Pastor:

Members of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, N.C. were filmed by local television as they walked with their spouses and children into the church to worship and receive critical spiritual care at a time of unprecedented global panic. Families kept six feet apart and came in limited numbers, and the sanctuary was sanitized between services.

...snip...

“The fact that we’re so afraid to die surely shows that it’s not natural. I know only one remedy,” Martin said. “I know only one person who has died and come back victorious, and that’s Jesus. That’s why I see him as the only port in this storm.”

So he, unlike the vast majority of pastors in the United States, has continued to bring his flock to the altar during this pandemic, while abiding by government health guidelines to allay fears and respect authorities so long as they don’t outlaw the practice of his people’s faith.

For Lutherans, like the Roman Catholics, the Divine Service, during which Communion is served is the central point of worship. We believe that the true Blood and Body of Christ is delivered during this service. We believe that Christ is actively present in the Divine service. Pastor Martin is accomplished in ancient languages, and notes that the words of institution where Jesus says "Do this in remembrance of Me" should be better translated as "Do this to My remembrance." So, we are really performing the Divine service so that on the last day, Jesus remembers each of us. Either way, we see it as a duty and an act of Faith.

Martin is correct that fear of death is driving the effort to separate us and lock us down.  He is also correct that the only real assurance is in Christ.  But for those who may have less faith, something else that Christ said is true as well: " For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  While true as taken literally, it is true as a metaphor as well.  For when we think more about others, with a desire to be helpful, we are indeed giving up our lives, if temporarily, for Christ sake.  But the more we do that, the more our faith takes action in the world, to the betterment of society.  The more we think upon ourselves, and worry about our lives, the less we can make other's lives better.  Thus Faith takes many forms, not all of which involve martyrdom.

It is the clear historic teaching of the Christian church that Christians eat and drink Christ’s own true blood and body in the sacrament of communion, and that doing so strengthens their faith “to life everlasting.” So for faithful sacramentalists like those at this Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregation, taking communion is not an option but a duty, and necessary for their eternal salvation, which is far more important than their physical health or even mortal life.

“I find my strength, my purpose for living not just from the Word, but from the Sacrament,” Martin said. “It’s a matter of faith, and you either have it or don’t. If you don’t it’s not something I can reason you into. It’s just one of those things where it’s a matter of belief. The thing I like so much about the First Amendment is, it’s supposed to safeguard our right to believe something other people might find crazy.”

Martin says the disparate treatment of religion during the coronavirus shutdown, and governments’ demand that citizens prioritize physical health over spiritual health, are wakeup calls to himself and the church at large.

As is usual, Pastor Martin said it better, and more succinctly than I could have.  Please read all of Pullman's article.

We all of us need to defend the First Amendment vigorously, even if we are not faithful.  The Lefties used to make the point that we should defend freedom of speech even if we disagree with the person saying it.  The same holds for freedom of religion.  For me, I see the current situation as a Satanic attack on us, which must be resisted.  May I suggest as a first step that we all pray for Pastor Martin, and for the whole Church universal.  Christ truly is our  only port in a storm.

Corona Is Just Too Convenient For the Left

We have two articles to highlight today for you, gentle readers. The first is from Townhall.com by Kevin McCullough entitled Antibody Testing Proves We've Been Had!. Apparently, New York Governor Cuomo let the cat out of the bag during yesterday's press conference.

Cuomo announced that antibody testing in New York state, which only began four days previous, was already demonstrating that at minimum 13.9% of New Yorkers, had COVID-19 late stage antibodies.

The implication of this is a shockwave to the system.

With a population of 19,540,500 the findings point out that over 2,500,000 New Yorkers had the virus and have recovered. Keep in mind that as of this writing that only 263,000 New Yorkers have currently confirmed cases. Also as of this writing New York has reported 19,543 fatalities.

We’ve been told that the true death rate is 7.4% in New York. We were told there would be hundreds of thousands dead. We were told that this was worse than the flu, which has still recorded more deaths to date in this past flu season—even though the CDC instructed medical personnel to start counting influenza, heart disease, pulmonary, respiratory, drug overdose, and possibly even car crash deaths as COVID-19 deaths.

...snip...

The death rate in New York State isn’t 7.4%, it is actually .75%...

Indeed, we have all been had. McCullough says that whether it is because of malfeasance, or incompetence, either one is unacceptable. But frankly, I do believe that this entire episode is malfeasance, another deep state attempt to impose socialism on our nation by globalist elites. Glenn Beck has reported that Bill Gates and a committee that included Dr. Anthony Fauci "war gamed" a pandemic just months before the coronavirus panic hit. And, of course, many of the actions taken were those tested in the war game. Now it could all be coincidence. But you will pardon me if I find such coincidences entirely too convenient for the Left.

Next up is a piece at the American Thinker by Debbie Georgatos entitled Coronavirus Immunity Cards? Kill The Idea Right Now. This is yet another Bill Gates idea, probably part of the "war games," and resembles not so much as the reference to Revelation Chapter 13, in which no one can buy and sell unless he is marked with the number of the beast. Or, the idea also resembles Communist regimes travel bans unless you've got the right papers. The notion that the police could set up check points and stop every car, ask for your drivers license, proof of insurance, and your coronavirus card. People who do not have a card presumable would be hauled off to jail. Can you imagine something so Un-American?

Please read both articles.  Lee Smith has an article embedded in the second article, which is worth reading as well.

Update:  The American Partisan has more on this topic. Particularly more information on the war gamed scenario and the WHO How much do you think this is all just a coincidence?

Live Life As Fully As You Can

From the beginning, I have argued for a balance between the risks that the Wuhan Flu presents, and the risks that shutting down the economy and placing all under virtual house arrest presents.  I have, of course, been accused by family members of potentially killing my grandchildren or my admittedly chronically ill wife.  I have been accused by those outside the family of being heartless because I place money ahead of lives.

However, what has been clear to me all along is that despite the virus, life must go on.  There is a great cost in lives lost due to poverty resulting from the governments reaction to the virus.  Believing as I do that the Constitutionally enumerated rights are indeed gifted to us by the Creator God, it is natural then that I would question the morality of anyone who claims the authority to snatch those rights from us.  Moreover, it seems to me that those that are especially vulnerable, or who think they may be, should look to isolate themselves from society.  It is not society's job to isolate itself for the sake of the vulnerable, because society can not know each individual's circumstance.

All these ideas and more are contained in a well written article today at The Federalist by Jonathon Ashbach entitled How Cowardice and Class Privilege Divide Support For Coronavirus Lockdowns Indeed, Ashbach says what I have been trying to say much better than I do, which gentle readers, is why he is a professional while your servant is but a gifted amateur. So here is the money quote:

Point out the compounded economic and personal hardship that our response has inflicted, and in many quarters you will meet at best the dismissive retort that one can’t measure lives against the economy and at worst with the accusation that you are a selfish &^%$# who values your freedom over others’ wellbeing.

Now, there is a kernel of insight in this response. As a severe critic of libertarianism, I find it heartening that people are expressing at least subconscious recognition that freedom is not an intrinsic good. Valuable as it is, it is only a means to human excellence and happiness. So if the tradeoff were really as simple as amoral freedom versus the wellbeing of the nation, then this response would be entirely appropriate.

...snip...

It is not true that those who value the plethora of activities that make up human life are prioritizing selfishness over the real wellbeing of the nation. Exactly the contrary. Months of people’s lives are slipping away forever. It is those who dismiss that who devalue the human.

The jobs we have taken from tens of millions of our fellow citizens cannot simply be dismissed as amoral dollars and cents. They are sources of meaning and provision, arenas of excellence of profound moral worth—and especially valuable, one might add, to the less economically privileged, who are disproportionately suffering under our new rules.

The hundreds of thousands of small businesses that we are driving into the ground are not simply abstract “companies.” They represent the investment of the dreams and life work of millions of our fellow citizens. A class is not merely an instrument for increasing average worker productivity. It is a sacred activity—opening the mind to truth, crafting the character, unfolding the understanding.

The personal, face-to-face human interactions that we have cut off at the source are the very stuff of meaningful life. To respond that all of these activities can be moved online would be to engage in an exercise in self-delusion.

Once again, I have to mention that Martin Luther was a profound thinker on things that the average priest did not at the time comprehend.  In the middle ages, and it continues today in the Roman Catholic Church, the priesthood, the monks and the nuns, were considered to be above the laymen, spending their lives in contemplation of, and preparing for, the afterlife.  They believed themselves more Holy than the unwashed masses.  Remind you of anyone?  One of Luther's great teachings was that everyone could be on equal footings with the highest priest by dedicating the work he does daily  to Christ.  So, if a baker, bake honestly, to the health of his customers and the betterment of society as a whole, he is doing God's work.  Every vocation can be carried out in a similar manor.  One can make money, even a lot of it, for it is not money that is the root of evil, but the LOVE of money.  That is the sin.

But, if Martin Luther is correct, and I believe he is, then doing our jobs, day in and day out is an incredibly important part of living out a Christian life.  It is just as important as attending church services, confessing sins and receiving communion.  Our jobs, our businesses, our providing for ourselves and our families is part of what makes us human.  But of course there is so much more to living a full and meaningful life, as Ashbach says.  Music, art, poetry and literature, gathering together, feasts, and of course fasting.  To quote Ecclesiastes, "to everything there is a season, and time for every purpose under heaven."

Besides all of that, however, there is also the human concern for the fact that everything we do, and everything we don't do contains risk.

All worthwhile activities always involve risk of death—to oneself and others. That is no excuse for assuming a fetal position and failing to live one’s life. Complete human beings will live in awareness and acceptance of their own and others’ mortality.

As the sense of panic caused by the unfamiliarity of the new virus passes away, the quality of much elite moral discourse over the past few weeks will hopefully be recognized for the embarrassment it is.Where is the vitality that led a young Jewish queen to say, “If I perish, I perish?” That led a mad German genius to say “You have given your life to your work and now your work has taken your life. Therefore I will bury you with my own hands”?

For those unfamiliar, the reference to the Jewish princess is to the Book of Esther, Chapter 4, verse 16.

Please go read the whole article, because it is a balanced approach, not just to the current situation, but to everything.  One thing I do to keep my serenity and my sanity, though I am far from perfect at it, is to repeat the Serenity prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change,
The courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Because, in truth, the only thing I can change is me and my reactions.

In the end, though, we must live our lives.  Live yours as fully as you can.

Perhaps The Reason For Conspicuous Beauty Is Just Because

I have made a point several times that music has no evolutionary value, and yet the ability to produce music and the ability to appreciate it is a common trait of humanity.  I have said that music is evidence of, though not proof of, the existence of God.  But humans are not the only ones in nature to display what author Glenn T. Stanton describes at The Federalist as Extravagant Beauty. While Stanton doesn't say it, I think I will: such extravagant beauty in nature may be more evidence of, though not proof of, the existence of God.

So why am I so insistent that these things provide evidence of the existence of God?  Because I believe that there can be no proof of God in this world.  Our God wants us to demonstrate faith in Him, and having proof would make that more difficult.

Stanton seems to want to stick to strictly scientific grounds, and to tweak the evolutionists nose.

In survival of the fittest, the fittest is the least complex and needy — Occam’s razor applied to living things. Extravagant, superfluous beauty is not evolution’s friend. Ironically, isn’t the environmental movement built on this very fact? Some species are less adaptive to changing environments, man-made or not, and rightly require protection.

Thus, beauty is one of evolution’s most serious and persistent problems. Its adherents have no good answer for it, and not for want of trying.

If we are at all like Him, one must suspect that He has a sense of humor, an appreciation of beauty, indeed all the traits that make us human. If so, it is not hard to imagine that He would have put such conspicuously beautiful creatures in the environment just because.