What is wisdom? To be wise is having or showing understanding and good judgment. The antonym of wise is foolish: resulting from or showing a lack of good sense; resulting from or showing a lack of sense;
ill-considered; unwise
James, Chapter 3, verses 13-17
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show his works by his good life in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not boast and do not lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and devilish. 16 For where there is envying and strife, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
The insidious trend in public education is a rapid change in purpose whereby public schools indoctrinate students from pre-kindergarten all the way through university years. To indoctrinate is to teach with a biased, one-sided, or uncritical ideology. Marxist (atheistic) societies oppose critical thinking.
As I write, I reflect back on my public education that began in the 1950s. My teachers assigned homework. Translate homework to personal research using textbooks, the Bible, and public libraries. The objective of homework was the development of critical thinking.
Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question, analyze, interpret, evaluate and make a judgment about what you read, hear, say, or write. The term critical comes from the Greek word kritikos meaning “able to judge or discern.” Good critical thinking is about making reliable judgments based on reliable information.
Monash University
God endorses critical thinking. In fact, He invites all persons to reason with Him, as per Isaiah 1:18. Proverbs 14:15 opposes indoctrination and embraces critical thinking. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus inspired critical thinking with His questions.
Here in Texas, home schools and private schools, particularly Christian schools, inspire students to think critically. School Choice is principle number 7, and planks 101 through 103 call for the Texas 88th Legislature to enact legislation for the money to follow the child to private and home schools, just as it does with the government schools whereby the money follows the child. When a family moves from one Texas school district to another, the money follows the child through average daily attendance state funding.
Home schools, private schools, and church schools are already settled law. But, only parents who have the personal wealth to afford these alternatives to government schools are using them.
Passing School Choice simply means parents who wish to take advantage of home schools, private schools, and church schools cannot afford these alternatives.
Presently in the 88th Legislature, there are opponents of alternative school choices attach onerous requirements like standardized testing and other things.
For comparisons, I refer you to Rankings of States with Best & Worst Public Schools. Texas ranks 31st out of 50 states in academic success, as measured by the ACT, and 46th, as measured by SAT scores.
How do homeschooled high school graduates compare with government high school graduates in Texas?
“This report summarizes trends in ACT® Composite scores for homeschooled students
compared with private- and public-school students. From 2001 to 2013, mean ACT
Composite scores for homeschooled students fluctuated between a low value of 22.3 in
2007 and a high of 22.7 in 2013. The mean ACT Composite scores for homeschooled
students trended upwards from 2013 to 2018 and have been consistently higher than
those for public school students…” ACT Research & Policy | Date Byte | June 2020
Few adults, apart from homeschooled parents, can name all the presidents. But, we all know the names of homeschooled presidents. U.S. Presidents who were homeschooled include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, James Garfield, William, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, James Polk, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington.
“Research suggests homeschooled children tend to do better on standardized tests, stick around longer in college, and do better once they’re enrolled. A 2009 study showed that the proportion of homeschoolers who graduated from college was about 67%, while among public school students it was 59%.”
AnswersToAll: How many presidents of the United States were homeschooled?
From what I read in the ongoing legislative process, Texas legislators like our own Justin Holland (HD-33) are bent on crippling all alternatives to government school systems.
Tell your elected lawmakers to choose wisely.
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 