The Education Beyond the Measurements

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Contemporary American education assumes the only learning that counts is that which is measurable.  Much of this is vital, but we short-circuit education, if we only see this far. The true value of education is beyond measurements.   Grayson Kirk, the former President of Columbia University, said:  “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration.”

The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity.”  (I Timothy 4:12).  These characteristics are beyond measurement but are vital parts of living.

The Apostle Paul again wrote: “And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye might prove that which is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)   Here is a Christian focus on the non-measurable segments of education…”renewing your mind.”

Different cultures and religions have different moral values.  In America, the moral focus was once regarded very much as Christian, basically influenced by the Judeo-Christian worldview.  But now many wish to switch it so as to become pluralistic in moral values.  Thus, there is confusion, so much so that the education of our children is suffering from a moral malice.  In seeking to teach the measurable material we neglect the unmeasurable, which is equally valuable in education.

The OECD test, the global Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development exam, was first administered in 2000, and is given every three years aiming to measure skills achieved.  The test, as well, measured countries and regions outside OECD for a total of 470,000 exams taken in sixty-five countries and economies.

Asian countries and regions, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, all outpaced the U.S., as did Finland.  In Finland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church makes up 84.2 percent of the population, the Greek Orthodox 1.1 percent, other Christian groups 0.1 percent, and the non-religious 13.5 percent compared to the much smaller Christian representations in the Eastern countries that especially excelled.  The Christian influence was minimal in the Far East.

In the OECD test, the fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. ranked twenty-fifth among peers from thirty-four countries on a math test and scored in the middle in science and reading, while China’s Shanghai topped the charts, raising concern that the U.S. isn’t prepared to succeed in the global economy.

Dr. Jane Zenger, who is a professor in China, described her classes in a recent e-mail message saying: “There are some very brilliant students here and some that are just average. Everything depends on test scores and only the top scores get into college. They have learned to be great test takers. There is very little opportunity in schools for children to be involved in the arts or music. That happens if the parents can afford to do that after school or pay money for “weekend academies” where the students go on Saturday and Sunday if the parents can afford it.”

But the Communist regime in China has found itself in a real dilemma, as they have concentrated on teaching the measurable and neglected the moral under-pinning, and have  found a great moral breakdown in the process.  They are concerned and are seeking to reconcile Socialism with Confucianism.   Daniel A. Bell wrote: “Communism has lost its capacity to inspire the Chinese. But what will replace it? And what should replace it? Clearly, there is a need for a new moral foundation for political rule in China, and the government has moved closer to an official embrace of Confucianism.”  (Daniel A. Bell—Dissent, Volume 57, Number 1, Winter 2010, pp. 91-99)

The basic teachings of Confucianism stress the importance of education for moral development of the individual, so that the state can be governed by moral virtue rather than by the use of coercive laws. Also Confucians taught that people should live according to the Five Virtues, which include; benevolence and humanity, honesty, uprightness, knowledge, faithfulness, integrity, and correct behavior.  There is no God, per se, in Confucianism, which is very much compatible with the Communist world-view.

There is a great need in education for a moral foundation.  The Chinese focus is one without God, just as Confucius taught.  Many of the other cultures have faith in gods or in the religious teachings of prophets who maybe have some good philosophical value, but all lack the divine power with which to accomplish the task.  We in America have that foundation in the Christian message, and the exciting thing about it is that we don’t have to rely just on our own cognitive ability. God, in a very special way, can guide us to all knowledge.  The Lord Jesus taught that fact: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)   It works!  However, it is possible to be “great test takers” and still fail to “develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life.”  Why can’t we see this in American education? True education is beyond measurement!

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by Joe Renfro, Ed.D., Radio Evangelist, Retired Teacher and Pastor, Box 751, Lavonia, Georgia 30553, 706-356-4173, joerenfro@windstream.net

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