Today’s podcast tackles the subject of schools and education today. In a time of turmoil, many people are questioning their kids’ education and pulling their kids out of public school. The question is why. What is happening that has parents so concerned? What are the kids being taught?
Education Today
Steve and World Revival Church have run Lee’s Summit Academy, a private Christian school, for many years, and they have seen a recent increase in parents looking to give their kids a non-public education. However, Steve also highly supports public education, having grown up in public school and then getting his teaching certificate and starting out his adult life teaching in public schools. Steve and his guests, Zion Vierra, and J.D King, recall their personal experiences growing up in school and share their insights on what is going on today.
Zion, who himself attended Lee’s Summit Academy during high school, shares how thankful he is for the safe, godly atmosphere that shielded him and helped him stay focused on God during all the changes and uncertainty in the teenage years of his life.
Steve recalls that when he was growing up, his parents and their generation generally trusted the public schools to educate children and did not interfere. J.D. notes that while kids “could pretty much do what they wanted” in those times, he received a good foundational education in public school. In those days, parents always sided with the teachers when their kids got into trouble. Although parents are willing to challenge teachers today, the trusting parent-teacher relationship of yesterday still means that putting your child in school is essentially entrusting the teacher and the school with not only your child’s education and its content, but also with shaping their very identity.
“The problem we have today is that there is an agenda…to change the minds of kids, their identities, and how they think.”
The Identity Agenda
Fact is, there is an agenda in public education today to change the minds of children. Some argue that children are being taught socialism and communism. It is known that Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union manipulated children, molding their minds and thinking expressly to carry out an agenda. And, some people believe that is happening in America today.
If we look back at the roots of education in America, we can see the strong impact of Christianity. People with strong Christian beliefs established institutions of education as part of creating a good society. Schools like Harvard and Yale incorporated Biblical principles into their early teaching strategies. They were initially denominational colleges, whose goal in part was to raise up ministers and people to receive solid educations in the Bible.
Today, schools and other institutions are trying to help people find their identities, telling them to choose whatever they want to be. But do children and teenagers even know what they want? Even adults struggle with identity. The truth is, nobody really knows who they want to be, and need to be, until they’ve encountered the Living God.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”
9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
Questions:
What is your identity?
What things, people, and ideas have shaped your identity?
Is God the primary influence on your life and what defines you?
Resources:
Purchase J.D.’s books: Regeneration, You’ve Been Duped, and Shift: Leading in Transition at The Resurgence Store.
Listen to previous episodes of Revive Us Now Podcast here.
Episode Notes
11:18The problem we have today is that there is an agenda...to change the minds of kids, their identities, and how they think.
13:39Nobody really knows who they want to be and need to be until they’ve encountered the Living God.
