Everybody is talking about education. Is anyone listening?
Over the past few weeks Georgia has been the epicenter of education debate, hosting some of the most notable — and controversial — voices in the field today.Speaking to the Georgia School Boards Association in Savannah 10 days ago, historian Diane Ravitch urged, “Don’t stand by and let politicians tear down a public institution that has been the foundation of our democracy for 150 years.”
Reminding the audience that more than 90 percent of Georgia’s students attend public schools, Ravitch, author of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System, ” said: “We must improve those public schools. We must not pretend those children don’t exist while we are creating more choices for 2 [percent] to 3 percent of them.”
Following her to the podium was a politician, Gov. Nathan Deal, who won applause with his pledge, “We have to restore the joy of teaching to our teachers. And that means diverting away from the concept that everything hinges on a CRCT score.” (If that sounds familiar, it’s because Deal, the candidate, said much the same thing to the same group last year in Savannah.)
Last week, the National Charter Schools Conference brought 4,000 charter school advocates and a pantheon of national figures to Atlanta, from former President Bill Clinton to Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
Secretary Arne Duncan spoke to the conference attendees from Washington, telling them, “I think one of the most insidious things that’s happened in this country over the past couple of decades has been the dumbing down of standards for children. In far too many states, including the state I come from, Illinois, we have been lying to children and lying to families in telling them they are prepared for college and careers when, in fact, they are nowhere near ready.”
The problem is not that no one is listening. It’s that people listen to reform “experts” who basically want to sell a book or earn speaking fees and decide the promoted reform will save their schools. We continue to change things in education thinking changes will save our children and miraculously place them in great colleges and higher paying jobs. True, there are a few reform models that have better results than others if given time to be fully implemented, but which reform efforts specifically include/address direct accountability of parents and students? We may change the format of education (e.g., charter schools) and “professionally learn” our teachers to death about how to be better teachers, but ALL of our efforts are for naught if students and parents aren’t held responsible for neglecting the educational system.
Martin Luther The Reformer - News
Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Edelman went into Washington, DC, schools to warn students not to riot or loot because arrests would hurt their futures. A boy about 12 looked Edelman in the eye and said, “Lady, what future? I ain't got no future.
Martin Luther died 450 years ago, but you can literally follow in the footsteps of the great reformer in LutherCountry, in eastern Germany. As well as seeing where Luther preached and stayed, you can see where he spelled out the basic tenets of
Reverend Shuttlesworth was a significant figure during the movement, who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to establish racial equality in the South. Due to a stroke, he is no longer able to talk, but was still able to speak volumes to the
All of this -- from the point of view of the 21st century, or even of a 16th-century Protestant reformer -- can seem foreign to the point of being exotic. If you want to understand art and life in the Middle Ages, however, knowing about relics is
Half a century ago Martin Luther King, Jr. was seen by much of America as a disrespectful, uppity rabble-rouser; today America rightly marks the anniversary of his birth with a national holiday. Jack Kevorkian's courage resulted in the growth of
Why I don't sing the 'Star Spangled Banner' « Sola Dei Gloria
I choose to belong to a strange tribe. Goshen College, my alma mater, made national news this month when its board of directors decided that the “Star Spangled Banner” would not be played before athletic events. As could be expected, the decision was met with confusion and contempt.
Wasn’t this just another example of our traditional values being trampled by the unrelenting march of political correctness? What sort of ingrates object to our nation’s anthem, anyway? Fluffy-headed campus philosophers? Lazy latte-sipping liberals? The decision not to play the national anthem reversed last year’s decision to play it for the first time in Goshen College’s 116-year history. That, too, caught the media’s attention.
It also caused widespread concern and confusion among the college’s students, professors, alumni, supporters and, yes, donors – many of whom felt like playing the anthem compromised the college’s Christian values.
Goshen is a small school in northern Indiana that’s owned and operated as a ministry of Mennonite Church USA . I am a Goshen graduate, a longtime member of the Mennonite Church and the pastor of a Mennonite congregation. Mennonites live in countries all over the world. Though we speak many languages, have different ethnic origins, and express our faith in diverse ways, we all claim the Anabaptists in 16th century Europe as our spiritual ancestors.
The Anabaptists agreed with most of the ideas of the Protestant Reformation but felt that reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin didn’t go far enough. Anabaptists rejected the practice of infant baptism, for instance, believing that water baptism should be reserved for believers who confess a faith in Jesus.
Because they understood the exercise of state power to be inconsistent with the church’s identity and mission, Anabaptists also advocated for the strict separation of church and state. This then-radical stance was prompted by both theology and necessity: Anabaptists had the distinct notoriety of being tortured and killed by both Catholics and Protestants wielding the power of the state against them.
Instead of compromising their core convictions about what it means to follow Jesus, thousands of Anabaptist men and women adhered to their freedom of conscience even as they were mocked by neighbors, burned at stakes and drowned in rivers.
Although there certainly are diverse viewpoints among individual Mennonites today, we continue to advocate for the strict separation of church and state. Most Mennonite churches do not have flags inside them, and many Mennonites are uncomfortable with the ritual embedded in the singing of the national anthem.
Martin Luther The Reformer - Bookshelf
Martin Luther, the reformer
7ARTIN LUTHER was born on the 10th November, 1483, in the little town of Eisleben, in Saxony. His parents were very poor; but they feared God, ...Martin Luther, the reformer, a companion to the exhibit
Martin Luther the reformer
Martin Luther, the reformer
Martin Luther the reformer
Everyday Note Directory
Martin Luther
Read the fascinating story of Martin Luther, history's most important reformer, first person to translate and print the Bible in German, and great hero of Christian ...
Martin Luther - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Protestant reformer. For other uses, see Martin Luther ... Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German ...
Martin Luther: Reformer
Virtual tour in words and photos of the seven cities of revelation, with bonus stops in colossae and hierapolis
Martin Luther: Protestant Reformer, Monk, Teacher and Family Man
Martin Luther can be described as leading Protestant Reformer, Monk, Teacher, ... Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Eisleben and baptized the very next ...
Biography of Martin Luther | Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Martin Luther - (1483-1546), German reformer. Martin Luther was born to peasant stock on ... Martin was the second son born to Hans and Magarete (Lindemann) ...