John H Armstrong

The Myth That Most Americans Ought to Go to College

President Obama is not alone in promoting it but he is massively committed to one of the greatest myths in modern American culture. This myth says that millions more young Americans ought to go to college. Who says so? A recent Harvard University study found that two-thirds of American high school graduates are unprepared to enter a four-year liberal arts program of education. In fact, the study concluded that “more than forty percent of students who enter college drop out before graduation.”

Why do so many go to college who are not prepared? The study says their parents pushed them too much, seeing it almost entirely as a means to a higher salary. But the majority of high school graduates are not only not ready for college they are much more suited to other types of work. There are great jobs in management and trades that will make a person as much or more money as most college graduates will earn. In fact, many college graduates are over-educated and under-prepared to really work and will not make what their peers will who used their skills more effectively.

Yet the president insists that we need a massive expansion of the Pell Grant program, thus creating a new entitlement program for college expense. Michael Moynihan, writing at reason.com concludes that “too many people are attending college these days.” He admits that it is “impolite and impolitic” to say so but this is the truth. I don’t expect the president to heed such advice, even when it comes from the left, because his own experience tells him how important college really is. Further, he worked as a community organizer among the poor and accepts the mantra that the way out is college. The truth is very few high school graduates in the places he organized can or will make it in college. For everyone his program helps there will be massive expense that only pushes us closer to bankruptcy as a nation. This is not a conservative position, simply an obvious one.

Homeschooling and Personal Freedom

Homeschooling, in various forms, is no longer seriously controversial. Most state governments have come to peace with the practice. I lived through an era when this was not the case (the 1970s). Our children were schooled in public schools, private schools and home school. My wife was a certified Illinois teacher, as was my son. Both taught in the public schools as Christians and had positive experiences in doing so. But both of us chose to home school at certain points in our journey. My grandchildren are currently homeschooled by their mom Adriana, who is not a certified teacher but is a brilliant and self-disciplined teacher if I ever met one. The girls, Gracie and Abbie, are also as bright and well-balanced as they can be, if I do say so myself. (A grandfather is allowed to write this, but in this case it really is true!)

Homeschooling parents can be insufferably difficult people in local church settings. Stereotypically they can be opinionated conservatives who seek to influence the congregation in ways that can, at times, be divisive. But this is not an entirely fair view either since some of the most dedicated, balanced and wonderful Christians that I have known, especially through traveling all over the U.S. to speak to churches of various types, were home school parents. The movement is too diverse to label so cheaply. In fact, many very secular folks now home school precisely because they believe it is a better way to educate, especially in the lower grades.

As a pastor I never taught my church that homeschooling was the right choice. I encouraged each family to study the issues and make up their own mind. I taught them that parenting was not by the numbers and no one approach fit everyone else. We had leaders and faithful members in all three camps; e.g., home school, private school and public school. I still believe, by taking this approach, we never had a single battle in our congregation over how to properly educate a child. We simply refused to turn this into ideological warfare. Simply put, when and where personal ideology is supremely important home schooling can be very divisive.

But, all these years later, some liberals are now trying to attack the right to home school again. I think they will fail but such attacks on personal liberty, especially when something as basic as this has been legal for the duration of American history, should be watched and opposed. Anyone who thinks that some are not out to create a state-controlled solution to all our important personal choices about our families should take especially careful note.

As one example, a California Court of Appeals two weeks ago determined that homeschooling was illegal in California unless a parent is a certified teacher. I thank God that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, sometimes hated by conservatives because he does not share their social agenda, has so boldly stood with homeschoolers in this battle. The Governor said:

"Every California child deserves a quality education, and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children. Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will."

Thanks Governor Schwarzenegger for standing up for personal freedom in a very important area of our lives.

U.S. High Schools Learning Less: What's the Answer?

U. S. high school students are taking harder classes, receiving better grades, and from every indication in recent data, leaning much less than their counterparts fifteen years ago. Go figure. All the talk about spending more money and about improving testing and teacher standards and the end result is that two decades of educational reform may not have improved things overall.

The U. S. Department of Education released two studies Thursday that raised very tough questions. David Driscoll, the commissioner of education for Massachusetts, notes, "I think we are sleeping through a crisis." He called these two new studies "stunning." Two means were used for this study: (1) A standardized 12th grade test, and (2) An analysis of the transcripts of 2005 high school graduates.

The fascinating thing is that students in 1990 had a GPA of 2.68 and in 2005 it rose to 2.98, and this included students taking more college preparatory courses than ever before. 12th grade reading scores have been dropping steadily since 1992. So, what are students learning in college prep classes? As for math fewer than 25% scored in the "proficient" range.

This study involved 900 U. S. schools, including 200 private schools! 26,000 transcripts were used. The chief of curriculum for Chicago high schools said, "We know the root to solving the problem is having more rigor in classes." But how? We already have teachers who fear their students, killings in our schools, and armed guards in most U. S. high schools. What next? The fact is few leaders, and especially politicians and educators, have real answers. The system is broken. Do parents and citizens have the will to fix it? I have my doubts. Such problems call for Christians to make a difference. Talk about a cultural opportunity, here is a huge one. But most of us have run away from public education, condemning it with John Dewey and  his ilk to the pit. Even if we do not want our children in the public system can we afford to form ghettos for Christians and ride this storm out to its long term conclusions?

The movie Amazing Grace comes out this weekend. We desparately need a Wilberforce-like leader (or hundreds of lesser known but similarily courageous leaders) to begin to work for the real education of our children or our values will be entirely lost in a few more decades.

Becoming a New Kind of Seminary

I spent all day on Friday in a board meeting for Biblical Theological Seminary (BTS) in Pennsylvania. Biblical provides a unique story that is not nearly as well-known as it should be. Begun thirty-five years ago as a conservative, independent Reformed seminary, in suburban Philadelphia, BTS began a new journey several years ago. The purpose statement now says the school exists: “To prepare missional leaders who incarnate the story of Jesus with humility and authenticity and who communicate the story with fidelity to Scripture, appreciation of the Christian tradition, and sensitivity to the needs and aspirations of postmodern culture.”

Our degree programs include the traditional M. Div., as well as a specially designed LEAD M. Div. designed for men and women already in ministry, or those in different careers who want to pursue the ministry as a career change. This program is built around cohort groups and includes a number of special features that are not common to typical seminary education. We also offer an M. A. in biblical studies, in ministry and in counseling, as well as a missional D. Min. All of the degrees are rooted in a curriculum that is committed “to living grace-based mission lives increasingly characterized by the fruit of the Spirit and love for God and others.” We further aim to teach students how to “grow in wisdom and skill in interpersonal relationships, conflict management, and living in community.” Our goal in biblical studies is to help students grow “in their knowledge of the Bible and its missional perspective and their ability to humbly interpret and apply it in light of history, culture and genre.” Behind all of this is the desire to help graduates “critically, constructively, and creatively engage our postmodern culture with the hope of the Gospel.” You can check it all out at www.biblical.edu.

We spent the afternoon interacting with David Tiede, former president for eighteen years, of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. David, a first-rate New Testament scholar, led Luther Seminary to understand the new world context that we face in the West and sought to develop a missional philosophy for an old mainline seminary (ELCA). I found David’s humble, engaging and clear presentation deeply impacting. He told us that his new journey toward the missional perspective began when he received a letter telling him that the seminary should “quit training pastors for a church that no longer exists.”

That sentence jumped out at me powserfully. “Quit training pastors for a church that no longer exists.” In other words, stop training chaplains for Christendom and start training missional pastors who know how to lead people to embrace the mission of Christ in a world that sees the church as completely foreign to its everyday life. Honestly, every seminary in America could stand to catch this same vision but few have at this point. Why? Institutions change only when forced to change. As David Tiede said, “Nobody changes until they are forced to change.”

Biblical Seminary changed because it had a great opportunity, a clear vision in its president David Dunbar, and nothing much to defend since it was not a hugely endowed and well-heeled place. And the faculty and staff, on the whole, caught the vision and showed amazing willingness to lean into the future by faith. As schools decline in enrollment and money, and many will, and as the church undergoes massive changes and shifts in coming years, which I believe it will, pray that other schools will catch this vision of becoming missional seminaries. We need scores of them all over the nation. I pray that Biblical will become a humble and effective leader among seminaries as it becomes the new kind of seminary that the church really needs.

A Seminary with Missional Vision

One of the joys of service that I personally share, as a minister-at-large, is serving on the boards of a few mission organizations and one seminary. One such school is Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. In my opinion Biblical has become the leading missional seminary within evangelical Protestantism. It has a clearly defined vision of what it means to consistently develop leaders and pastors for Christ's mission. You can read a great account of this “experiment” in theological education, aimed at equipping pastors for the church, at:

http://www.thereporteronline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16549394&BRD=2275&PAG=461&dept_id=466404&rfi=6

If you are thinking of a seminary education and want to be uniquely equipped for missional thought, especially to relate to emerging trends and culture, consider Biblical Seminary, a real bargain and a wonderful place to be taught by a great faculty. I know these folks. They are great!!!