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August 1, 2004
Could He Be Right After All?
On April 28th, 2004, the police uncovered a family
(father and daughter) deep in the forest in northwest
Oregon. Homeless and destitute, the father had opted not
to leave his daughter to grow up on the streets. Instead, he
took her into the woods, and for four years they lived in a
lean-to in the forest. Police were amazed to find the girl
clean, healthy, and. . . educated! There in the forest, the
father had homeschooled his daughter with nothing but a
Bible and a decrepit set of encyclopedias. Officials tested
the twelve-year-old and found that she had already achieved
a 12th-grade equivalency. Now, ask yourself, how could
this be? There was no department of education. No
certified teacher. No expensive curriculum. No
notice-of-intent to homeschool and no standardized tests.
So what was the secret? Police Sgt, Michael Barkley, told
reporters, "What was so clear was that their living
conditions were unacceptable, but their relationship was a
real deep love and caring for each other" (Source
www.katu.com).
There are some factors in the education of a child
that transcend all others. Because they are so basic and
powerful, they eliminate the need for experts, expensive
government programs, and extensive regulations. Sadly,
they are factors largely ignored by our education systems in
place today.
As my wife and I agonized over which curriculum
to buy at the CHEC home education conference last week, I
thought about the father and his daughter in the woods of
Oregon. Then I began to wonder how much the curriculum
really matters. If I were to walk into the vendor hall
blindfolded, I'm sure I could pick ten random books
(assuming one of them was the Bible), and with that
provide an adequate, even a superior education for our
children. Actually, I didn't try it because I didn't want to
collide into the other shoppers in the hall.
Homeschooling conferences and professional
education programs can be confusing. Contradicting
theories abound. There are hundreds of theories on
education, many of which have impressive scientific data
behind them. This screeching cacophony of opinions often
does more to confuse than to guide. But education, along
with most things in life, is more simple than one might
think. That is because there are time-tested, eternal
principles that stand head and shoulders above the other
theories proposed by men. These are the biblical principles
of education and training. Things get a lot more
complicated when you ignore biblical principles.
Several years ago, I began to seriously consider the
question of whether the Bible had anything to say about
education. If God designed the world and men, and if he
would reveal something about the way that the world
functions, then most certainly he would have included
something in this ancient book as important as the
preparation of little men and women for life and eternity. If
the Bible would include some content on the education of a
child, what would it be? One simple way to identify
biblical material on children is to perform a simple
concordance search on the words "son" or "child."
Immediately, you will discover that an entire book of the
Bible, the book of the Proverbs is dedicated to the subject
of education. This entire book chronicles a father's training
of his son, with the exception of the last chapter - mom's
instructions to her son.
After reaching this conclusion, I immediately
recognized a problem. If this is the textbook for the
education of a child, then is it not strange that there is little
about Geography, Geology, and Geometry in that book?
Why would God permit such a gross oversight in such an
important book? Nevertheless, if we were to assume that
God knew what he was doing when he wrote the book of
Proverbs, then there must be a reason why he would choose
not to emphasize certain material. The facts of Geography,
Geology, and Geometry must not be all that important in
the education of a child. In fact, character is the foundation
and structure of education. If education were a house,
character would be the concrete foundation, the structure,
the studs, and the drywall. Geography, geometry, and
geology would be nothing but wallpaper. Of course it is the
wallpaper that makes the house beautiful, attractive, and
liveable. But if it were not for the structure, there would be
nothing on which the wallpaper could hang! Geography,
geometry, and geology cannot be the substance of
education. If character, the substance of education, is
missing then there is nothing upon which the rest of it can
hang. The content of Proverbs deals primarily with the
issues of faith and character.
Dr. Thomas Stanley, a man who has dedicated his
life to researching successful businessmen in America, has
written a series of books on these millionaires. Although
he does not refer to the Bible or the book of Proverbs in his
discussion of success factors, his research correlates with
the wisdom that descends from that ancient Book. In the
survey of 733 millionaires, Dr. Stanley found the following
to be the factors most important to success in life:1
1. Telling the Truth
2. Self discipline
3. Getting Along with People
4. Having a Supportive Spouse
5. Hard Work
I have done a statistical survey on the lessons most
frequently taught in the book of Proverbs. Mentioned over
140 times in the book, the most repeated character theme in
the Proverbs is honesty and the use of the tongue. The
Number One factor on the list of factors claimed by
millionaires to have contributed to success is "telling the
truth!" An incredible coincidence? The next four factors
on the millionaires' list are also prominent lessons in the
book of Proverbs. What about a supportive spouse?
Ironically, that too can be found in the book of Proverbs
(Prov. 31:10).
Several qualifications at this point are in order.
Economic success is only one blessing among many
potential blessings that attends a nation that upholds the
character traits and lessons taught in the Proverbs.
Moreover, not everyone who cultivates strength of
character in his life is fabulously wealthy. There are
undoubtedly some very rich people who refuse to
incorporate these characteristics into their lives, but this
kind of wealth is inevitably short lived.
After a century or two of ignoring God's word in
our psychology and education theory, many burned-out
educators and parents are taking a second look at what God
said. about education. You can take ten minutes in God's
book and find a great deal of wisdom in this area of
educating children. Here is what I found:
Character is 99% of the content of an education
program.
Relationships matter. The parent-child relationship
matters. The hearts of our children matter.
Sometimes you have to teach, sometimes you have
to warn, sometimes you have to cry out in desperation,
sometimes you have to repeat an important lesson ten
different ways.
Learning is an honorable thing.
You need to teach knowledge, understanding, and
wisdom.
The existence of God and the fear of God lies at the
foundation of all knowledge and wisdom.
A good education includes wisdom which is
knowledge lived out and applied.
These principles will transcend all other theories
and lessons on education. You do not need a doctorate
degree in education to become a competent educator. As a
parent, God has already equipped you for the task. But you
should take a few minutes to study God's 20 page manual -
the Proverbs.
In the final analysis, the way you educate your
children and the way you live your life will come down to
who you accept as the ultimate authority. Some will follow
the guiding principles of worldly philosophers like John
Dewey, Sigmund Freud, or Jean Jacques Rousseau. Others
will be guided by pop psychologists or the latest "scientific
studies" with all of their inherent limitations. Even the
study I mentioned above was just another "scientific study."
The reason I accept certain principles should have more to
do with the fact that God has spoken with authority, and he
is the source of absolute truth. It should have less to do
with how many scientific studies have proven that God's
principles are good principles. This commitment is basic to
a Christian worldview.
Every parent should know the book of the Proverbs
better than any other book on parenting and education.
Several years ago, Brenda and I became convicted that we
placed more emphasis on Saxon Math than we did on
God's textbook, the book of Proverbs. So we made it a
point to prioritize the Proverbs over all other school
subjects. By the time our children leave the home we want
them to know the Proverbs even better than they know their
Saxon Algebra.
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