Articles on education, including curriculum recommendations, book reviews, resource reviews, and the case for Christian education.
Dabney’s best works on education are found in his Discussions (a collection of essays published posthumously by his friend), with his most important work being his essay “Secularized Education.” I would like to outline and summarize this great essay, as it provides a devastating critique of the secular education so common today.
Read MoreRather than going to a school because our parents went there or because our favorite football team plays there, we should go to a school because it will provide a genuine education. Part of the reason America’s universities are able to get away with their liberal and destructive ploy is that Christians and conservatives keep sending their kids there, thus limiting the demand for more conservative schools.
Read MoreSecularism has become the religion of the modern Western world. Its adherents have expunged God, the Bible, and prayer from schools, courts, and congress (and even football games!). And they have replaced them with their own objects of worship, namely unrestrained pleasure, a twisted view of equality, and the almighty state. Be assured, secularism is a worldview, if not a religion. Man is a religious being, and he cannot escape worshiping something.
Read MoreSadly, many Americans barely know their own history. This is why comedians make videos of people on the street who cannot answer simple questions about the U.S. I do not want to excuse such ignorance, but it must also be said that this is not entirely the fault of the individuals. Much blame belongs to our educational system.
Read MoreRon Paul believes there is a revolution going on in education. Government controlled schools are declining in quality, all the while homeschooling resources are rapidly expanding because of the internet. Instructional videos by top-notch teachers are being made available for low cost or are sometimes even free. The homeschool revolution is here, and Ron Paul has developed a curriculum to help fuel it—RonPaulHomeschool.com.
Read MoreModern European history starts where the medieval period ends. The easy marker here is 1500 A.D. The Byzantine Empire fell in 1453 A.D., and the Reformation began in 1517 A.D. Both of these events brought great change to Europe. The makings of the Reformation had been brewing for centuries, with the humanist emphasis on the original sources being pivotal (in this case, the Bible). The invention of the printing press then allowed the Reformers to communicate their message with the masses.
Read MoreThe main expense for homeschooling is time. Someone has to stay home with the kids to either teach them or oversee their self-study. This is not a problem for the traditional family, where the husband works full time and the wife stays at home with the kids.
Read MoreSo you want to homeschool your children. You have decided that you want control over your children’s education and that this movement is growing for a reason. But where do you start? Which books and curricula do you choose? That’s what this article is for. I want to help guide you in the homeschool process.
Read MoreMedieval history is almost completely neglected in modern education. Its very title “Middle Ages” suggests it was a time between the more important ancient and modern worlds (medieval is a combination of the Latin for “Middle Ages,” medium aevum). But this was a pejorative label given by those of the Renaissance era. The period (and more specifically 300 to 1000 A.D.) is often mischaracterized as “the Dark Ages,” though this could not be further from the truth.
Read MoreModern schools claim they separate education and morality. Moral instruction has nothing to do with math and science. And besides, that is the job of parents at home. We hear this kind of thing often, yet it is a boldfaced lie. Education and moral instruction cannot be separated.
Read MoreI would now like to recommend some resources for such courses, starting with Ancient History. It makes sense to begin the study of history from the beginning. Ancient history should begin with God’s creation of the world and end with the Christianization of the Roman Empire.
Read MoreStudents cannot study every aspect of history in school. There is simply not enough time to do so. We must be selective in what we study, and so we must select that which is worthy of our attention. In this case, students ought to focus on the history of Western civilization. Not only is it America’s history, but it is also the history that built the modern Western world and continues to influence even non-Western countries.
Read MoreMachen was also a great champion of both liberty and Christian education. In 1933, he gave a lecture at the Educational Convention in Chicago titled, “The Necessity of the Christian School.” In this lecture, Machen sounds as if he is addressing our educational problems today—yet he is speaking of America’s schools 80 years ago!
Read MoreRarely do people talk about an obvious problem in American education—the breakdown of the family. We are now living in a day when over 40% of children are born to unmarried women. Add to this America’s high divorce rate, and we see that less than half of Americans are raised by both their mom and dad. That’s right, only 46% of kids under 18 are living with two heterosexual parents in their first marriage. Compare that with 73% in 1960.
Read MoreThis concept is known by the Latin phrase in loco parentis, meaning “in the place of a parent.” Parents have a natural authority over their children, which is why God gives us the 5th commandment to “Honor your father and mother” (Ex 20:12). It’s also why the Apostle Paul tells fathers to bring their children up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).
Read MoreR.C. Sproul is known as a pastor and theologian, but he is also well versed in the field of philosophy. In The Consequences of Ideas, Sproul guides his readers through the most important thinkers of history. Some of them are Christians (Augustine, Aquinas, Kierkegaard), but many of them are not (Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Marx, Nietzsche, Darwin). Though only 200 pages and easy to read, Sproul successfully surveys 2,500 years of philosophy.
Read MoreThe study of Greek and Latin is both enjoyable and beneficial. Yet these classical languages have been traded in by most schools for modern languages such as Spanish or French. While modern languages are still good to study, Greek and Latin hold a special place in education.
Read MoreSome Christians are simply ignorant of what is going on in our nation's public schools. But there are many Christians who are aware of the situation. So why do they continue to send their children to government schools? The two most common reasons given are: (1) money and (2) missions. But these are bad arguments, so let me address them both.
Read MoreThe Foundation for Economic Education published an article in 1999 titled, “The Central Fallacy of Public Schooling.” The author, Daniel Hager, begins with the story of a publication distributed in public schools in the 1940s that justified America's 20% taxation rate at the time. Hager comments, “The article vividly illustrates the overriding intent of public schooling, which has always been indoctrination of the young.”
Read MoreDr. Sproul's ministry in a sense is all about Christian education, as he teaches the Christian worldview through his books and lessons. But here he provides a six-part audio series where he specifically teaches on the subject of education. Dr. Sproul shows that no education is "neutral" and we therefore ought to provide students with a Christian education.
Read MoreResources for Home, School, and Church
Math
Science
English
Economics
Government
Ancient History
Medieval History
Modern European History
American History
Church History
Bible
Systematic Theology
Apologetics & Worldview
Covenant Theology
Logic
Philosophy
Greek
Latin
Liberty Classroom
Ron Paul Homeschool
Tom Woods Homeschool
Khan Academy
Logos Press
Roman Roads Media
I Want to Homeschool—But Where Do I Start?
Top Five Christian Biographies
What is Classical Education?
Is College Worth the Cost?
Sphere Sovereignty and the Role of Education
Is Homeschool Affordable?
R.L. Dabney's Devastating Critique of Secular Education
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