In our one-room schoolhouse, the "teacher door" was a revolving one. Unmarried girls from the community were all expected to take a turn teaching school for a year. There wasn't a specified teacher with a degree who continued as headmistress until retirement. All of the teachers had no more than a seventh or eighth grade education and none of them continued to teach after marriage.
But our world is so different than that. We idolize "professionals" and "education". We look to the government for aid and put doctors, lawyers, and teachers on pedestals-- whether they deserve it or not. If someone has a degree, that must mean they know what they're saying, right?
Wrong. I've known people with more degrees than a thermometer that just needed a good ol' dose of common sense!
Homeschoolers are not exempt from this "professional" mind-set. More and more are succumbing to government aid programs, as though they are incapable of giving their own children a good education. In our cyber-age of Wikipedia and Google, it seems we have forgotten that nothing is really free. And I fear the cost is far greater than any of us can afford.
Commenting on this homeschooling trend toward government assistance, Pastor Voddie Baucham, Jr. drew a parallel with the infamous Trojan horse saying,
"Individuals who could not get in through the front gate,
have somehow found a way to give us a "gift".
And this "gift" that we think is a trophy of our victory,
is ultimately a ploy for our adversary to come in unaware."
 |
"Equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes." |
Do not trust the horse, Trojans!
Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bringing gifts.
(Laocoön from Virgil's Aeneid: Book II)
Trailer for "Exposing a Trojan Horse,"
produced by The National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership.
Previous Post:
Homeschooling Mistake #1
As my husband the geek is extremely fond of saying: "In the age of free services like google, twitter, facebook, and even government goodies, if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. You're the product." If you like the idea of being the government's product, produced for the good of those at the top, then yeah, you should accept those government "helps". You will be very comfortable in your ignorance. Check out therepublicanmother.blogspot.com for seriously scary details on who the customer is. It all sounds very nutty and conspiratorial, but it really isn't.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and the link, Cindy. And very good point about customers and products. And I guess King Priam thought Laocoon was a nutty conspiracist too, but I have to echo his cry, "Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bearing gifts."
ReplyDelete