How Shall We Train Up A Child?

Aberdeen, SD. It is hardly news to most folks that education on all levels has become increasingly controversial. When Florida school board elections become national news, we know that something significant is occurring. This seems another consequence of our deeply polarized times. If we have meaningful divisions over fundamental questions such as what it is to be human, what makes a good society, what are the origins of our nation, what is the nature of the human family and human sexuality, and which institutions we can trust and which we cannot, it seems natural that such profound disagreements would reach into that institution that does so much to form each generation, namely education. Our schools are a microcosm of who we are and who we want to be. Since the normalizing of public education in the mid-nineteenth century, it has been understood that schools play a fundamental role in shaping the character of the nation. To the extent that we find ourselves in intense opposition over that very character, we will find education at the heart of our political squabbles. Read Full Article »