We are now living under the tyranny of America\u2019s only home-grown philosophy, pragmatism. The worse the economy becomes and the higher the price for college gets, the more we all want an education that gets us a job. There is even a movement to force colleges to offer students full disclosure of how much money they can make with each major and degree. In my classes I often\u00a0have full attendance only when a quiz is scheduled. I regularly hear, \u201cWill that be on the test?\u201d And in the halls of every college that has general education requirements, one hears students grumbling, \u201cI don\u2019t know when I will every use this junk!\u201d<\/p>\n
Vocational and technical colleges have even launched advertising campaigns claiming that unlike other colleges, they will only teach you stuff you can use. In the quest for education that leads to careers, Americans are a lot like tots playing soccer\u2014a little mob of kids chasing the ball all over the field. Colleges notice that baby-boomers are retiring, so they train a lot of nurses. But by the time the students get trained there is a surplus of nurses so the college runs to the next big thing\u2014computer programming. And then the \u201ctech bubble\u201d bursts.<\/p>\n
As a parent I too want good jobs for my kids. And if a person is going to go deeply in debt for college, it just makes sense that the graduate needs to make enough to pay off the loans. I get this. However, even though training for a job is wise, it should not be confused with education. In fact, education may have very little to do with career training. The heart of real education will often be what students discover and pursue on our own.<\/p>\n
The beginning point isn\u2019t a certain curriculum or methodology; it is embracing a biblical approach to education. Unfortunately many Christian parents and educators have been infected with the spirit of pragmatism and have strayed from truly biblical values. As we will see, the biblical\u00a0focus\u00a0of\u00a0education is not utilitity but rather joy and wonder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Note: This is the first of several blogs presenting\u00a0ideas I shared at the 2012 OYAN Summer\u00a0 Writing Workshop in a talk titled “Of Mice and Miracles”] We are now living under the tyranny of America\u2019s only home-grown philosophy, pragmatism. The … Continue reading