College or not--part 1?

Below is a picture of two of my pretty young ladies on October 31st--which has nothing to do with this post except that I just think these girls are so wonderful.

Faith with big sister Anna playing dress-up!

I recently received this comment. I thought it important that I respond, but I hope that the dear reader will not think that I am attacking her in any way--I felt this very same way not too long ago--I just found her response very stimulating and thought it would be a good place to jump off into some interesting discourse. Following is her original comment:

"I just read your blog on preparing (or not) your children for college. Wow. I truly believe a good education is a wonderful thing. It is something no one can ever take away from you, whether you choose to stay home or work. I have a college degree and after a few years decided to stay home with my kids until they go to kindergarten."

"But I must say, thinking that a child who wants to be a doctor or scientist only needs a few extra classes is simply not true. They need intense, high-level classes. Trig and Chemistry aren't going to cut it."

"Motherhood is one of the most wonderful gifts I think you can have, if that is what your daughters want, that is fine. But do not sell them short.....a college education is wonderful too."

First of all, I do not believe that a girl who desires to stay home with her children is being "sold short", as if college is the only avenue for a young person to further herself. There is a great misconception here that an enriching life can only be obtained at the hands of a college professor or guidance counselor's direction. Especially in this day and age of information and opportunity everywhere, the only things keeping people from enjoying a host of life experiences are themselves. Even in my small community, the opportunities abound--there is a local nature park that offers numerous liberal-arts types of activities, as well as community offerings of all sorts of arts, etc. A small group of homeschoolers (this meaning mothers at home) started a drama club here that was a great success even in the larger city, and this without any college help or even one person with a degree in drama.

College, on the other hand, is full of waste; waste of time, waste of money, waste of morality, etc. I am not the only one that thinks in this way. One of my children's favorite artists, William Joyce, quite college in order to be successful, but he is by far not the only one.

James Altucher has written these words on the subject in the Financial Times:

"...right at home there's a plethora of opportunities that can far exceed the value of a college education at a 10th of the cost, and lead to greater experience and opportunities in career, wisdom, and life development."

Be sure and read the rest of his article--lots more to glean there.

For my children, who were used to enjoying their education and grew up to consider learning to be something fun and worthwhile, college was boring and meaningless. My son, the one who is highly successful in so many areas that he barely has time to breathe, tells me that, except for a handful of classes, he gleaned absolutely nothing from the hours and money that were spent. The areas of his life in which he enjoys the most success have been degree-less!

It took me 20 thoughtful, focused hours to plow through all of the information in John Taylor Gatto's book The Underground History of American Education, but it was worth it. I bought this tome after reading numerous articles he had written, as well as his book, "Dumbing us Down" and read it while experiencing night after night of insomnia during one of my pregnancies. It took this much time because of all of the references he makes to times and personalities, many of which I was unacquainted with. But it helped me so much. It cleared the fog in my brain and allowed me to rethink through the bilge water accumulated through the propaganda that has been prevalent in our culture throughout decades.

Our school system, the one that was founded in the early 1800's, is not so much concerned with the education of children as the re-education of society. What society is re-educated into has changed over the years, but the whole machine has been set up so that those who think they know can inculcate values and directives into the faceless mass of society from the cradle to the grave.

Our system of post-secondary education is relatively new to the world, and imported into our country from Germany by those same people who sought to influence society through public schooling. The idea was to condition people to accept ideas imposed upon them from outside sources--to convince whole populations that these ideas were their own by allowing them the false assumption that believing these super-imposed ideas made them more enlightened than their unschooled counterparts.

But anyone who takes the time to study true history gains the understanding that very little of great consequence has ever been developed under such systems. Most of the greatest leaps of mankind (and you have to step out of the current box of thinking to realize that most of what we are supposed to think of as great leaps really are just propaganda) have come about through people who did not fit into the mold or accept the status quo.

Of course, you should not take my word for it. There are numerous sources for free on the Internet that would prove beneficial to anyone looking for the truth about education in America. Learn in Freedom is a good place to start.

But we have been examining this whole subject through the back door. When dealing with the education and purpose of man, we need to go to the Source, the Creator and lover of man. What are His designs and purposes for education?

Anyone who has followed the Lord for any period of time knows that our God loves confounding the plans of man, especially when those plans exclude Him. Our educational system is one of the most colossal, godless institutions devised in human history. Just the monies needed to maintain such an institution take up a great chunk of the largest GNP in the world. We are told repeatedly that the solutions to all of our problems will be solved through, not prayer or repentance or the power of the Holy Spirit, but through EDUCATION!

"The state is the order of liberty, and the school is the means whereby citizens are prepared for the good life. The state has become the saving institution, and the function of the school has been to proclaim a new gospel of salvation. Education in this era is a messianic and a utopian movement, a facet of the enlightenment hope of regenerating man in terms of the promises of science and that new social order to be achieved in the state."

R.J. Rushdoony in his book "The Messianic Character of American Education"

I will write more soon.

Sherry