I am not a fan of Carrie Prejean, and never expected to comment on this controversy, but I must make a small point about education here. And this is for all those who say that education is neutral, and it doesn’t matter which school your child attends.
One of the favorite tactics of opponents of Christian education is to disqualify it on the basis of the failings of some of its products. There’s a logical inconsistency there (the graduates of non-Christian schools are consistently better?) that I would hope more people would see. But it is the lack of logic in public discourse that is one of the very things I want to rant about here.
Never in a million years when we decided to send two of our sons to San Diego Christian College (small, obscure, conservative, evangelical) did we think that some day one of its students would not only be Miss California, but would also be splashed all over the internet in semi-nude photos. But this current scandal neither negates nor validates the educational experience my sons had there. That is a subject for another time.
The point is that I have a pretty good idea what is taught there, as well as what are the prerequisite teachings any student who matriculates there would probably have been exposed to. In the very public case of Carrie Prejean, she was “present” for these lessons:
the Biblical nature of marriage
exposition of Matthew 10:32-34*
But she must have been physically or mentally “absent” for these lessons:
Biblical modesty for women
exposition of I Thessalonians 4:2-6**
And this tells us nothing about education that we don’t already know. Students will “attend to” and internalize some of the lessons they are taught. They will miss the point or fail to integrate other lessons. Naturally, we hope for the most retention possible. And the obligation is on those of us who plan the curriculum to make sure that the right lessons are being taught in the most effective way possible.
In contrast, I wonder what kind of education Miss California USA Co-executive Director Keith Lewis may have had, based on his statement, "We try to make these women capable of being free thinkers…but when you wear the title that says 'I represent everyone,' you can't then polarize the people you represent."
Aside from the absurdity of the first half of that quote (as though the limited exposure of the pageant organizers in the lives of these girls could “make [them] capable [of anything!]”), let’s think about what it means to ”represent everyone.”
Just betting that Mr. Lewis went to public school somewhere along the way, here are the lessons he was “present” for:
Diversity is good
Political correctness is better
But based on the fact that 52% of the California electorate voted in favor of a traditional view of marriage just last November, he must have been absent for a couple of math lessons:
Greater than and less than
Set theory (an item that is a member of a set can be said to be a representative of that set)
So neither San Diego Christian College nor the California public schools are having 100 per cent success with their students. But please don’t tell me they are teaching the same thing!
*Matthew 10:
32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
**I Thessalonians 4:
2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
One of the favorite tactics of opponents of Christian education is to disqualify it on the basis of the failings of some of its products. There’s a logical inconsistency there (the graduates of non-Christian schools are consistently better?) that I would hope more people would see. But it is the lack of logic in public discourse that is one of the very things I want to rant about here.
Never in a million years when we decided to send two of our sons to San Diego Christian College (small, obscure, conservative, evangelical) did we think that some day one of its students would not only be Miss California, but would also be splashed all over the internet in semi-nude photos. But this current scandal neither negates nor validates the educational experience my sons had there. That is a subject for another time.
The point is that I have a pretty good idea what is taught there, as well as what are the prerequisite teachings any student who matriculates there would probably have been exposed to. In the very public case of Carrie Prejean, she was “present” for these lessons:
the Biblical nature of marriage
exposition of Matthew 10:32-34*
But she must have been physically or mentally “absent” for these lessons:
Biblical modesty for women
exposition of I Thessalonians 4:2-6**
And this tells us nothing about education that we don’t already know. Students will “attend to” and internalize some of the lessons they are taught. They will miss the point or fail to integrate other lessons. Naturally, we hope for the most retention possible. And the obligation is on those of us who plan the curriculum to make sure that the right lessons are being taught in the most effective way possible.
In contrast, I wonder what kind of education Miss California USA Co-executive Director Keith Lewis may have had, based on his statement, "We try to make these women capable of being free thinkers…but when you wear the title that says 'I represent everyone,' you can't then polarize the people you represent."
Aside from the absurdity of the first half of that quote (as though the limited exposure of the pageant organizers in the lives of these girls could “make [them] capable [of anything!]”), let’s think about what it means to ”represent everyone.”
Just betting that Mr. Lewis went to public school somewhere along the way, here are the lessons he was “present” for:
Diversity is good
Political correctness is better
But based on the fact that 52% of the California electorate voted in favor of a traditional view of marriage just last November, he must have been absent for a couple of math lessons:
Greater than and less than
Set theory (an item that is a member of a set can be said to be a representative of that set)
So neither San Diego Christian College nor the California public schools are having 100 per cent success with their students. But please don’t tell me they are teaching the same thing!
*Matthew 10:
32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
**I Thessalonians 4:
2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
