The Cultural War in the Classroom
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By the Rev. Dr. Joe Renfro
We speak about education often as if it was learning the facts or developing the cognitive abilities of the students. In our day, however, there is a cultural war going on in the classrooms of our Western democracies. It is escalating, and much of it revolves about the whether the goal is to reach individual growth morally and intellectually or whether the goal is to develop a social conformity to reach economic equality, religious unanimity, and/or racial and cultural amalgamation. The cruel war is raging!
Tabitha Koral in a May 18, 2018 article from Renew America entitled ‘Rape, of body and mind” analyzes the situation well was she writes: “Our adults of tomorrow are being demoralized by the Left’s disastrous teaching standards, both in America, as Common Core, and in Europe. If we do not address the crisis, we must prepare for a deteriorating situation.”
She goes on to write: “Students are overwhelmed with readings deliberately assigned beyond their maturity level. Phonemes, necessary for reading comprehension, have been discontinued. Cursive writing, essential for visual recognition, learning of letters, motor skills and creativity has been withdrawn. Students cannot tell time on an analog clock and will be unable to read our Founding documents, requiring them to be explained by all-too-obliging politicians. Math courses have been proven academically inferior to other standards, making eventual college entry more grueling. History textbooks are revised with socialist and Islamic propaganda and Christians are labeled racist; our Judeo-Christian heritage is under destruction.”
The cultural war is raging in the classroom. “Our schools are teaching that Americans are evil racists, guilty of historic victimization of all ‘people of color,’ warranting the replacement of white-skinned by darker-skinned people, capitalism by socialism, our Constitution by activism, and our Judeo-Christian morality by sexual freedom and abortion. Novels of adventure, discovery and heroism have been replaced by depressing dystopian stories, a possible contributing factor to a steadily rising suicide rate for adolescents, doubled for ages 15 to 19 from 2007 to 2015.” (Ibid)
There is a battle between the leftist thinking of Marxism and the Judeo-Christian thinking that was basic to the formation of our nation. Koral observes: ”The left wants to incapacitate the masculine spirit, its natural assertiveness, its instincts of hunter, breadwinner, and protector, and to create, instead, “grown children” who will cower and quaver for the rest of their lives. All this has been implemented under the name of equality, that boys and girls be conformed, reduced in intelligence, reasoning and ability – a compliant population subservient to the triumphant regime.”
The writer brought out some interesting, maybe more like distressing statistics, in a book she referenced, ’The Feminization of Boys,” by Dr. Leonard Sax, that reveals that more boys than girls in America are in special education classes, and more often prescribed with mood-managing drugs. They do not read well, are more likely to drop out of school and shun college, more apt to wind up in prison, and five times more likely than girls to die by suicide. A February 13, 2018 report discloses that 75 percent of US youths (17-24 years old) are ineligible for military service due to lack of education, criminality, and obesity.” (Ibid) It is a sad picture!
The individual is suppressed and the so called blending to the multicultural society—the categories of race, religion, ethnicity. As a result, students are losing their individual identity to the group’s defining characteristics, and sacrificing the hope of personal merit, achievement, and excellence. An even greater cost will be the loss of freedom, prosperity, and the historic derring-do of the American character.
The educational establishment has greatly been affected the thinking of much of the younger society. ACFI, The American Culture and Faith Institute, conducted the study in February 2017. It measured responses from 1,000 millennials, that is, those under age 30.
Notable findings include: 1.) Only 59 percent of millennials identify as Christian. This compares to 72 percent of adults from older generations. 2.) Only 33 percent of millennials (one in three) are born again Christians. 3.) Only twelve percent of millennials identify as conservative. Twenty-six percent are liberal. For adults older than 30, conservatives outnumber liberals two to one. 4.) Almost (44 percent) of millennials prefer socialism over capitalism. 5.) As many as 15 percent of millennials identify as LGBT. Only six percent of those over 30 identify as LGBT. (Century Old Socialist Conspiracy to Change America Coming True — American News, May 22, 2018)
But we who know Christ see a great fallacy in this progressive, socialistic way of thinking. We see a society that is fitting very much into the statement of Scripture where it says that “Men shall be every learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We need change, to change back to the foundation set by our founders, not the change to increased disorientation.
The cultural war is raging in the classrooms of our schools and on out into our culture and society, greatly influenced by the schooling that takes place and has taken place in our land! It is time for the parents, the teachers, the ministers, the politicians, and all who are concerned about this direction away from God, the moving away from individual responsibility, and the moving away from a moral foundation to wake up and see we get this cultural demise corrected. It is a time for action—and we Christians are not called to be conscientious objectors!
It has been argued that America won the Cold War, but we are losing the cultural war. Devin C. Foley of The Charlemagne Institute wrote an interesting article about this called, “Reasons Why the Kids are Socialists” that reports that about half of the Millennials have a positive view of Socialism, suggesting that Socialism is being perceived by these Millennials as “a system of governance that is fair, makes sure everyone is materially secure, gives purpose to life, and increases happiness.”
Foley list five influences that help to create this perception, and they are broken homes, creative destruction, decadence in our society, the demise of Christianity, and education. So far as relating to this article in respect to the demise of Christianity he said: “In America, Christianity has traditionally been one of the driving forces shaping our culture. It gave us a sense of purpose in life, helped us govern our passions, united us, and, even, gave us meaning in suffering. All that has largely been washed away, leaving a void in many a young American’s life.” In respect to education he observed that “As we and other pundits have warned, the education received in many a public school (and even private schools) intellectually forms students to view the world through a prism that makes Socialism appealing,” and Foley feels the only viable way to address this problem is through education, the right kind of education implied. (David C. Foley, Intellectual Takeout, May 21, 2018).
There is a upcoming conference by the Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society entitled “The Future of Christendom 2018: Transforming the Culture Through Education,” (October 5-7, 2-18) at the Crowne Plaza, Reading, Pennsylvania, that will put a Christian focus on and hopefully focus on a solution to reverse the possible collapse and corruption of our culture, as they explore educational ways to channel us back to the directives of God and his word. We need very much to reverse the negative, destructive direction that secular humanism and the ideologies that promote authoritarianism—Secularism, Communism, and the Islamic faith have created and are creating.
Much of this negative direction can be blamed on the progressive thinking of John Dewey and his disciples in varying degrees since his time. Henry Edmondson who teaches political science at Georgia College and State University describes in his book, John Dewey and the Decline of American Education, that “a simple exegesis of Dewey’s writing, with commentary suggesting how his thought finds expression in contemporary American education is a major problem. He observes that ideas have consequences, and “Dewey’s ideas have had disastrous consequences for American education over the past 50 years.”
Edmonson highlights throughout the book Dewey’s disdain for religion, tradition, and inherited values. Dewey claimed that such beliefs are at least signs of unintelligent thinking and, at worst, outright oppression by the wealthy and powerful. Philosophically, Dewey argued that, because human nature is always in flux, fixed values and beliefs are inimical to progress. Consequently, he declared that schools should no longer be a venue for teaching traditional religious and moral values. Instead, Dewey believed that schools should be places where the child’s impulse and whims rule—insofar as those impulses and whims are consistent with the values of Progressivism…
Dewey was a man blinded by his desire to see schools as the means to implement a comprehensive program of progressive social change. As a “microcosm of social life,” the school provided Dewey a convenient place to socialize students into adherents of progressive ideals, that is, collectivism and statism. Edmonson likewise observed that “Dewey maintained that socialization was just as important as teaching essential skills like reading. Edmondson concludes that our current confusion over standards and goals is a “natural consequence of Dewey’s insistence on such fluid educational standards.” It is a very evident factor that “Dewey departed from both Jefferson and Franklin by repudiating those Founders’ shared belief that a vibrant republic requires an education designed to cultivate personal virtue. Dewey’s radicalism is nowhere more apparent than in his rejection of the Founders’ educational ideals.”
Then, in conclusion of his book “Edmondson offers a number of ways that we can renounce our Deweyite inheritance. They fall into two broad categories: philosophical coherence and excellence in teaching. Philosophical coherence includes implementing reforms that restore clarity, traditional values, and the liberal arts to our schools. Edmondson also calls for the abolition of the middle-school, schools of education, and student-learning outcomes, all of which impede genuine educational innovation. He also wants to encourage excellence in teaching by maximizing teacher autonomy and improving teacher preparation.”
Our nation was established on the basis of faith in God and a commitment to Christian morality. As we look back to the Puritan settlers, when they came to this continent, we find the principles of liberty as united with that of morality. This was not a liberty excluded from morality. Even the first contract of government in our land, the Mayflower Compact, was signed in “in the name of God, Amen.”
Our Declaration of Independence concludes: “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”. Our nation basically was committed to faith in God, but insistent to allowing each person to worship or not worship as they saw fit. The first article of our Constitution stated: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Notice the “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” in respect to religion!
Many secularists seek to paint Thomas Jefferson as very much anti-Christian in respect to his educational thinking, but this is not true at all, as David Barton, so powerfully brings out in his book, The Jefferson Lies. Jefferson’s personal education was very much the product to the Scottish Common Sense philosophy that “1.) There is a God. 2.) God placed into every individual a conscience, a moral sense written on his or her heart. 3.) God established “first principles” in areas such as law, government, education, and economics, and these first, or transcendent guiding principles could be discovered by the use of common sense, logic, and reason. 4.) There was no conflict between reason and revelation. The two were not inherent enemies; both came directly from God, and revelation fortified and clarified reason.” And “Jefferson’s own personal education at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, all occurred at religious schools. And consistently incorporated religious instruction.” (Barton, pp 66-67)
Barton notes that Jefferson communicated with the Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, the president of the College of New Jersey that become Princeton, to help provide teachers graduating from the college to teach in more local schools, and Witherspoon, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence, was a Presbyterian. Barton notes that Witherspoon’s approach was not a secular approach to education. “On the contrary, not only did Witherspoon teach Scottish Common Sense philosophy,” but he also instructed his students to do so as they graduated. (Ibid. p 73)
Mary Fairchild in her work (Updated May 17, 2017), “Quotes of the Founding Fathers on Religion,” brings out the fact that basically our founding fathers were men of faith.
She says that “No one can deny that many of the founding fathers of the United States of America were men of deep religious convictions based in the Bible and faith in Jesus Christ. Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, nearly half (24) held seminary or Bible school degrees.
These Christian quotes, “16 Founding Fathers’ Quotes” of the founding fathers on religion will give you an overview of their strong moral and spiritual convictions which helped form the foundations of our nation and our government.
George Washington, the lst U.S. President wrote: “While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.” —The Writings of Washington, pp. 342-343.
Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S. President, Drafter and Signer of the Declaration of Independence wrote: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God?” I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.” —The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, p. 385.
Benjamin Franklin, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Unites States Constitution, wrote: “Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.” He went on observe that “That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them…As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see.” — Benjamin Franklin wrote this in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University on March 9, 1790 (ThoughtCo, May 17, 2017)
Much of the problem we are finding today in America can find its roots in the educational system and thinking of our land, as we can observe the increasing chaos that has developed in our land, since we discarded the Judeo-Christian teachings which were basic to our culture. We threw out Bible reading and prayer, and many would say we put the devil in what had been her place. Now, the progressives would look at this statement in disdain, for most their thinking is that we need to move beyond our heritage to the new day.
In the Bible, Matthew 25:14-30, there is the Parable of the Talents, where the Lord Jesus taught a lesson that certainly was not a promotion of socialism. In the story there were three men given talents by their master. The first two received ten and five talents which they put to good use and doubled their money. The third man chose to bury his because he was afraid to lose it. The master called his stewards to account on his return. He applauded the first two but upbraided the third, and he took his one talent and gave it to the servant who had ten. He did not combine it all into one pile and divide it up equally between the three.
The message is, make use of the talents which you have and you will be rewarded in abundance; but if you neglect to nurture your gifts, wealth, health, talents, etc. then the little that you have will be taken away. The message of the Bible is one with the call to individual, moral, responsibility, not to that of collective consumption!
But we who know Christ see a great fallacy in the progressive, socialistic way of thinking. History has shown this, as it is very much showing it right now. We see a society that is fits very much to grasp the meaning of the Parable of the Talents. It is a sad time, but it is very much evident that “Men shall be every learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We need change, to change back to the foundation set by our founders.
The cultural war is raging in the classrooms of our schools and on out into our culture and society, greatly influenced by the schooling that takes place and has taken place in our land! It is time for the parents, the teachers, the ministers, the politicians, and all who are concerned about this direction away from God, concerned about our moving away from individual responsibility, and the moving away from a moral foundation to wake up.
We need to see this cultural demise and to seek correction. It is a time for action—for we Christians are not called to be conscientious objectors in the educational direction of our land! We are to realize the Truth and to spread it!
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