I was reading a random article on an advocate for Islamic creationism (don’t ask) and came across this little gem from a Turkish biology professor, Aykut Kence:
Prof. Kence has worked with like-minded scholars on a series of conferences and other events marking Darwin's birth 200 years ago and the publication, in 1859, of "On the Origin of Species." He last week joined a chorus of secular outrage over a decision by the official journal of Turkey's state scientific-research council to pull a planned cover story on Darwin.
"If people can't accept Darwin, they can't accept science. They can't think," says Prof. Kence. (emphasis added)
That screeching sound you hear should be your mind slamming on the brakes. If you can’t accept Darwin, you can’t accept science and therefore you can’t think? So the only way, according to the good professor, to be accepted as a “thinker” is to unquestioningly accept Darwin’s theory? See, that doesn’t sound like something that would qualify you as a “thinker”. In fact it sounds like just the opposite. Yet again we see that the acolytes of Darwinian fundamentalism are as dogmatic as any other fundamentalists. The difference is that people who base their fundamentalism in faith, not in the goddess “science”, admit they are fundamentalists. More from Professor Kence:
A recent survey found that only a quarter of students entering Turkish universities accept Darwin's theory of evolution and that the proportion is much the same when they graduate. The findings, says Prof. Kence, are "very depressing."
I just found that really funny. We told these people that Darwinian evolution was the only thing they could believe and when they left the university, they still weren’t buying it! Maybe when people get a college education and further develop their critical thinking skills, they realize that the Darwinian theory of evolution is just a theory and one that has a lot of holes in it and that it is based on a lot of presuppositions without direct evidence. I think it is disingenuous to get mad when people apply critical thinking to something and don’t agree with you. Universities and other organs of higher education should be at their core about education and thinking, not about dogma. I would daresay that the average seminary encourages greater open discussion on many topics than the closed minded schools of learning that pride themselves on being open-minded.
I also didn’t realize that creationism versus evolution was an issue in Islam but it makes sense. The article points out that creationism as dogma is a fairly new issue in Muslim countries, a “Christian import”. Hopefully as recognition of God’s creation of the universe by decree spreads in Muslim nations, it will provide an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel alongside. The God who created is also the God who judges and He is also the God who saves.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I wish Piper would just come out and tell us what he thinks...
Seriously though, the "prosperity Gospel" is no Gospel at all, it is another gospel and is anathema. We need to put aside false pretenses of brotherhood with false shepherds and wolves among the sheep and call them what they are. These men slander the name of Christ with their false teaching and need to be called to repent.
(HT: Brian at Voice of the Sheep)
Never let a crisis go to waste!
That is something of a mantra for the Obama administration. In an incredibly bold admission, Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both stated publicly that a good crisis shouldn’t be wasted. In other words, use the economic crisis and ensuing panic to push through your agenda that perhaps would be unpalatable during normal times. Rest assured that in these early days, President Obama and his puppet-masters in the Congress and liberal special interest groups will waste no time cramming as much socialism into place as possible. His poll numbers are waning fast, in spite of the rosy reports from the complicit media. Time is not on his side, so we find ourselves watching the spectacle of a two month overhaul of the relationship between the public and private sector that we have not seen in generations, perhaps ever.
The first two waves have been passed, the pork and social engineering filled “stimulus package” and the massive deficit expanding Federal budget. Next up for Obama is socialized medicine, accomplished through a vastly expanded Federal health insurance mandate along with the whispering of “The Return of Porkulus”. Already, before a nickel of the first “stimulus” bill has been spent, some loyal Democrats in safe seats (i.e. David Obey of Wisconsin) are hinting around at the need for a second stimulus package, likely as large if not larger, than the first one. This is a clever bit of old school politics as usual (weren’t we promised “change”?). Rather than the President coming right out and saying he wants another stimulus bill, he has his loyalist troops raise the issue, sort of easing you into it. Once the initial outrage starts to settle down, Obama can roll out his panic mode speeches, assuring us of calamities unimaginable if we don’t pass yet another stimulus bill. The threat of calamity worked well once, why not a second time?
One major piece of legislation that is a crown jewel in the Obama crown is the so-called card check legislation. It also is getting very little attention because the details would strike most Americans as being, for lack of a better word, un-American. In a nutshell, this legislation will change the way unions organize by allowing a workplace to be collectively bargained if they get more than 50% of employees to sign a card. This is not a secret ballot. It is Joe the local union organizer walking up to you and asking you to sign a card. If you don’t, that amounts to a vote against the union and you can be assured that your public vote of “no” will be remembered. Certainly there has never been even a whiff of intimidation tactics being employed by labor unions toward recalcitrant workers who didn’t sign on to the union agenda! Ask anyone trying to cross a picket line. The reason we have a secret ballot in this country for virtually ever election, including voting for class president and dog catcher, is to allow people to vote their conscience without fear of intimidation or reprisal. Now in a bold effort to take that basic American protection away from American workers, we see what amounts to a green light for intimidation of workers by union organizers. Funny, I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the party watching out for the working man? I guess that only applies if you are a union working man.
Ominously, the economy is showing early signs of recovery as the credit markets start to stabilize. That has nothing to do with anything done by the Obama administration (which has done nothing to address the credit crisis even though virtually every expert agrees that the credit market collapse was the impetus of the general economic malaise), but be sure that as the economy naturally rebounds as it always does and does so in spite of Obama’s policies, Obama and his media cronies will spin the recovery as a vindication of his big government policies, and give him the cover he needs to further march us down the road of European style socialism and economic ruin.
The first two waves have been passed, the pork and social engineering filled “stimulus package” and the massive deficit expanding Federal budget. Next up for Obama is socialized medicine, accomplished through a vastly expanded Federal health insurance mandate along with the whispering of “The Return of Porkulus”. Already, before a nickel of the first “stimulus” bill has been spent, some loyal Democrats in safe seats (i.e. David Obey of Wisconsin) are hinting around at the need for a second stimulus package, likely as large if not larger, than the first one. This is a clever bit of old school politics as usual (weren’t we promised “change”?). Rather than the President coming right out and saying he wants another stimulus bill, he has his loyalist troops raise the issue, sort of easing you into it. Once the initial outrage starts to settle down, Obama can roll out his panic mode speeches, assuring us of calamities unimaginable if we don’t pass yet another stimulus bill. The threat of calamity worked well once, why not a second time?
One major piece of legislation that is a crown jewel in the Obama crown is the so-called card check legislation. It also is getting very little attention because the details would strike most Americans as being, for lack of a better word, un-American. In a nutshell, this legislation will change the way unions organize by allowing a workplace to be collectively bargained if they get more than 50% of employees to sign a card. This is not a secret ballot. It is Joe the local union organizer walking up to you and asking you to sign a card. If you don’t, that amounts to a vote against the union and you can be assured that your public vote of “no” will be remembered. Certainly there has never been even a whiff of intimidation tactics being employed by labor unions toward recalcitrant workers who didn’t sign on to the union agenda! Ask anyone trying to cross a picket line. The reason we have a secret ballot in this country for virtually ever election, including voting for class president and dog catcher, is to allow people to vote their conscience without fear of intimidation or reprisal. Now in a bold effort to take that basic American protection away from American workers, we see what amounts to a green light for intimidation of workers by union organizers. Funny, I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the party watching out for the working man? I guess that only applies if you are a union working man.
Ominously, the economy is showing early signs of recovery as the credit markets start to stabilize. That has nothing to do with anything done by the Obama administration (which has done nothing to address the credit crisis even though virtually every expert agrees that the credit market collapse was the impetus of the general economic malaise), but be sure that as the economy naturally rebounds as it always does and does so in spite of Obama’s policies, Obama and his media cronies will spin the recovery as a vindication of his big government policies, and give him the cover he needs to further march us down the road of European style socialism and economic ruin.
Monday, March 16, 2009
What a pretty building!
That is what many people think when they drive past a mormon temple. If they knew what was going on inside, in the secret mormon ceremonies hidden from outsiders, they would see that far from a temple to God it is an idolatrous perversion. A recent episode of the HBO show "Big Love" depicts part of what goes on inside the mormon temple.
I am not endorsing this show on HBO or HBO in general, but you will not see a view of what goes on inside the mormon temple in many other media portrayals. Give this clip from "Big Love" a few minutes of your time.
In the spirit of equal time, I have embedded a video from the mormon church describing why they build temples (without mentioning what goes on inside) Watch what the mormon church says about why they have temples.
Now compare what goes on in a mormon temple and what the Bible says about the temple. Do you see any similarity at all?
My wife and family and I went through this ceremony in Washington D.C. Looking back, I am horrified by what happened and what an affront to God this was. I am thankful that our God is a merciful God and that He did not strike me down for this idolatry, but instead showed me mercy by exposing the lie for what it was and showing me His Son.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. (Mat 23:27)
I am not endorsing this show on HBO or HBO in general, but you will not see a view of what goes on inside the mormon temple in many other media portrayals. Give this clip from "Big Love" a few minutes of your time.
In the spirit of equal time, I have embedded a video from the mormon church describing why they build temples (without mentioning what goes on inside) Watch what the mormon church says about why they have temples.
Now compare what goes on in a mormon temple and what the Bible says about the temple. Do you see any similarity at all?
My wife and family and I went through this ceremony in Washington D.C. Looking back, I am horrified by what happened and what an affront to God this was. I am thankful that our God is a merciful God and that He did not strike me down for this idolatry, but instead showed me mercy by exposing the lie for what it was and showing me His Son.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. (Mat 23:27)
An interesting perspective
We had a guest speaker from a church in Dearborn yesterday, a younger guy. We have not had the same person teaching twice in over a month, which is a bit jarring. I am used to the expository method, and I like it. Not because it encourages fellowship or is Biblical or anything, but because I enjoy the linear nature of teaching where we go from one verse to the next, one chapter to the next. He was teaching on spiritual gifts, and when he said that my wife looked at me in alarm. I must have started twitching or convulsing, because that is often a topic that goes far astray in a hurry into conjecture and tradition. Actually it was a decent talk.
The main point he was trying to get across with the spiritual gifts was that the gifts are both specific and universal. In other words, some people have a real heart and gift for teaching and that should be nurtured, but we are also all commanded to teach. He made a very salient point I think in pointing out something my wife and I have talked about a lot, that when a young man feels called to ministry service, the natural impulse is to send him to seminary so he can be a vocational pastor. That has led to a lot of men in pastorates who really don’t have the heart or talents for it. We always look back at a pastor in a small Southern Baptist church who was a wonderful singer but was really lacking in a lot of the typical skills associated with vocational ministry. By specializing ministry and service to the extent we have, we have made the church look less like a fellowship and more like a factory (more on that idea later)
One line I liked, it may not be totally accurate but it was funny, was your body doesn't grow new members, it just adds fat. He was referring to the idea of critical mass, although I don’t think he called it that. I kind of took the idea he was speaking about and expanded it in talking to my wife. As churches get bigger and bigger, there is not a proportional increase in service from the laity. In other words, if you have 10 people out of one hundred serving in a local church, and you double the size to 200, you don’t have a proportionate increase in gift utilization. A preacher can preach the same message to 50 or 100 or 1000 people. A music leader likewise, and the pianist/organist. You will likely need more people in the nursery or a few more teaching Sunday school, but I think it is generally true that the bigger the church, the less the average person in attendance has an opportunity to or a call to serve. In other words, if we all have some measure of each of the spiritual gifts, and we are called universally to exercise those gifts, it is pretty hard to do that if you arrive at 10:00, go to Sunday school, go to “worship” and then go home.
Being in a smaller church is not easy. When we were going to a much larger church after we moved, there was nursery for all of the little ones, children’s church, etc. so that we could drop off the kids and do our own thing. Now we have to kind of deal with our kids ourselves, and that is hard but I am sure it is no harder than it was in the first century.
Ultimately I think the church is healthiest when everyone shares the heavy lifting of service, when we bear one another’s burdens instead of relying on paid staff to do it. It can be a lot more demanding and a lot less appealing than showing up somewhere and being a taker instead of a giver, but who said that the Christian life was supposed to be easy and comfortable all of the time?
The main point he was trying to get across with the spiritual gifts was that the gifts are both specific and universal. In other words, some people have a real heart and gift for teaching and that should be nurtured, but we are also all commanded to teach. He made a very salient point I think in pointing out something my wife and I have talked about a lot, that when a young man feels called to ministry service, the natural impulse is to send him to seminary so he can be a vocational pastor. That has led to a lot of men in pastorates who really don’t have the heart or talents for it. We always look back at a pastor in a small Southern Baptist church who was a wonderful singer but was really lacking in a lot of the typical skills associated with vocational ministry. By specializing ministry and service to the extent we have, we have made the church look less like a fellowship and more like a factory (more on that idea later)
One line I liked, it may not be totally accurate but it was funny, was your body doesn't grow new members, it just adds fat. He was referring to the idea of critical mass, although I don’t think he called it that. I kind of took the idea he was speaking about and expanded it in talking to my wife. As churches get bigger and bigger, there is not a proportional increase in service from the laity. In other words, if you have 10 people out of one hundred serving in a local church, and you double the size to 200, you don’t have a proportionate increase in gift utilization. A preacher can preach the same message to 50 or 100 or 1000 people. A music leader likewise, and the pianist/organist. You will likely need more people in the nursery or a few more teaching Sunday school, but I think it is generally true that the bigger the church, the less the average person in attendance has an opportunity to or a call to serve. In other words, if we all have some measure of each of the spiritual gifts, and we are called universally to exercise those gifts, it is pretty hard to do that if you arrive at 10:00, go to Sunday school, go to “worship” and then go home.
Being in a smaller church is not easy. When we were going to a much larger church after we moved, there was nursery for all of the little ones, children’s church, etc. so that we could drop off the kids and do our own thing. Now we have to kind of deal with our kids ourselves, and that is hard but I am sure it is no harder than it was in the first century.
Ultimately I think the church is healthiest when everyone shares the heavy lifting of service, when we bear one another’s burdens instead of relying on paid staff to do it. It can be a lot more demanding and a lot less appealing than showing up somewhere and being a taker instead of a giver, but who said that the Christian life was supposed to be easy and comfortable all of the time?
Happy Birthday James Madison!
Today is the birthday of James Madison (March 16, 1751), the fourth President of the United States. (Little known fact, we named our second daughter after James Madison). Madison is kind of a forgotten guy in American history even though his impact on much of our nation’s identity was enormous. Madison had such an influence over the drafting of the U.S. Constitution that he is nicknamed “The Father of the Constitution” and his influence is not merely over the actual drafting of the Constitution but also in the underlying theory and philosophy of our system of government. His work “The Federalist Papers”, co-authored along with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, is one of the most important formative documents of our nation and is chock full of wisdom. One of my favorite lines is from the Federalist #51 “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”. Much as I dislike and distrust government, I also recognize that we are sinful men being governed by sinful men and as such some restrictions and laws are necessary. We can and should debate the scope and nature of the power of the government to rule the people and vice versa, but what is apparent from human nature is that radical libertarianism taken to its logical extreme is untenable in a society that dwells in a post-Genesis 3 world. The Constitution is designed to pit “ambition against ambition”, using mankind’s natural sinful self-interest to prevent the government from concentrating excessive power in any branch of the government. This “separation of powers” and system of “checks and balances” has worked well for most of our history, but as courts become more and more boldly activist, wantonly enacting de facto legislation from the bench, the efficacy of our system is teetering on the brink.One area that perhaps more than others is a hallmark of Madison’s influence on our government is in the area of religious liberty (See: Why I'm Celebrating Madison's Birthday). Religious liberty is at its core a simple concept, i.e. people should be able to worship or not as they see fit without governmental restriction or approbation. Unfortunately the emotionally charged nature of religious expression has made it fodder for all manner of foolishness.
The idea of the separation of church and state, although not specifically appearing anywhere in the Constitution, has been taken to an ugly and unintended extreme by some to mean that any religious expression in the public square is of necessity a violation of the Constitution. The idea of freedom of religion has been perverted to mean a freedom from religion. The idea that we should not permit prayer before Inaugurations, or that the Ten Commandments should be removed from public soil when they are inarguably one of the foundational documents upon which our system of laws and governance is founded are ludicrous on their face and a demonstration of political ideology run amok at the expense of history and truth.
In an equally erroneous overreaction, some have called for an integration of religion into the public square that is also unwarranted and unwise. While I understand President Bush’s call for an Office of Faith Based Initiatives and think it was well-meaning, it ultimately was a bad idea. Even worse is the call for a return to school prayer. I really don’t think we need to link in our kids minds the school, government and prayer. I don’t believe that a child who wished to pray silently to themselves is going to be prevented from doing so, and I really don’t think parents want a Christian/Mormon/Buddhist/Muslim/atheist teacher leading kids in prayer. If you want your kids to pray during the day, keep them home, teach them yourself and lead them in prayer yourself.
It is in the middle of this issue that we discover where the intent was aimed and where the greatest good is found. I have no interest in state sponsored religion, or even a church and state partnership. That is one of the reasons I am concerned with the favorable tax treatments granted to churches and employees of religious organizations. While it seems innocent enough now, I can see it being a wedge issue and a stick to be used later on. Can the days when those tax exemptions are held hostage for concessions from religious organizations be far off? Look at the way the society is headed with an ever increasing dependence on government and tell me I am wrong. I also have no tolerance for those who would expunge religious expression in the public square. The Constitution guarantees the freedom of religious expression, free from compulsion on the one hand and repression from the government on the other. As Americans who enjoy the freedom to worship as we choose or not to worship at all, we owe a debt of gratitude to President Madison for his foresight on this issue.
Happy Birthday!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The best job in America
This is why Mel Kiper, Jr. has the best job in America. His whole year is predicated on one weekend, the NFL Draft. He spends the whole year watching football and talking about who might get drafted where. The day after the draft, he starts talking about next years draft. If he is completely wrong, there are no repercussions. What a gig!
The NFL Draft is the greatest non-sporting event in the sports world. That is just one reason why football is the greatest sport in the world and soccer is fit only for little kids, girls and foreigners. When is the last time you saw two days of coverage of the MLS draft?
The NFL Draft is the greatest non-sporting event in the sports world. That is just one reason why football is the greatest sport in the world and soccer is fit only for little kids, girls and foreigners. When is the last time you saw two days of coverage of the MLS draft?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A great reason to send your kids to public school in California
If they need to get an abortion (in spite of their extensive "sex-ed" training), they can do it during school hours and don't even need to bother you with a permission slip!
The ACLU is threatening to sue a California school district after it changed a policy to require teenagers get parental consent to leave campus for confidential medical services.
The Vista Unified School District board voted unanimously Thursday to change its existing policy that allowed students to be excused for confidential appointments — including abortions — without notifying parents, according to the North County Times.
The ACLU of San Diego County and the National Center for Youth Law claim the new policy violates state law, KPBS reported.
According to lawyers, California allows young people to leave school without parental consent to deal with sexual, mental, substance abuse or reproductive health issues, the station reported.
That is the school-parent partnership at work! Thank goodness for the ACLU, standing up for the rights of teens to get a potentially life threatening medical procedure that could scar them emotionally for life without parental notification. I mean seriously, who knows better what is best for your kids, the school nurse or the parent?
Seriously. Sure this is in California and those people are crazy from all of the sun, but the same mentality that is at work there is at work in the education departments of colleges all across America, removing the parent from a position to interfere with the state's control of kids.
The ACLU is threatening to sue a California school district after it changed a policy to require teenagers get parental consent to leave campus for confidential medical services.
The Vista Unified School District board voted unanimously Thursday to change its existing policy that allowed students to be excused for confidential appointments — including abortions — without notifying parents, according to the North County Times.
The ACLU of San Diego County and the National Center for Youth Law claim the new policy violates state law, KPBS reported.
According to lawyers, California allows young people to leave school without parental consent to deal with sexual, mental, substance abuse or reproductive health issues, the station reported.
That is the school-parent partnership at work! Thank goodness for the ACLU, standing up for the rights of teens to get a potentially life threatening medical procedure that could scar them emotionally for life without parental notification. I mean seriously, who knows better what is best for your kids, the school nurse or the parent?
Seriously. Sure this is in California and those people are crazy from all of the sun, but the same mentality that is at work there is at work in the education departments of colleges all across America, removing the parent from a position to interfere with the state's control of kids.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Headcovering slippage
So a couple of my wife's new headcovers, which she likes a lot, keep slipping back on her head. She bobbie pins them to keep them in place, but I was wondering what other headcovering types do to keep their covers from slipping? I suggested double sided tape on the inside or perhaps staples, neither suggestion was found to be helpful or amusing.
Any advice?
Any advice?
Church update
So we have been in fellowship on a pretty regular basis in a small congregation for the last month.
By small I mean maybe 20 adults on a Sunday, half of that on a Wednesday. Most of the women cover their heads. There is no paid clergy, only a few elders who lead the church but are not exalted in a bogus clergy-laity division. No offering is taken up. Prayer on Wednesday is spontaneous, extemporaneous and offered by any of the men in attendance who feel led to pray. The Lord’s Supper is observed every week, fellowship meals occur every week. I have some minor theological quibbles, but I have not run into anything dogmatic that I cannot live with. Because it is small and there is not a paid staff, all of the men chip in when it comes to praying and preaching and teaching, so I hope I can be useful to the assembly in what God has gifted me in.
The church we had been going to was full of great people and good teaching, but was just too big for what we were looking for. In the assembly we are currently in, which strikes me as more in line with what we see in the New Testament, my oldest daugter mentioned after a service that it seemed like a family. I like that. We are more like good friends and family who meet with one another in worship, less like a group of people only vaguely familiar with one another that gathers together on a schedule. We are very encouraged by where we are. It is small, the programs are pretty informal and not well funded, it is never going to be a huge group. You know what, that is OK.
By small I mean maybe 20 adults on a Sunday, half of that on a Wednesday. Most of the women cover their heads. There is no paid clergy, only a few elders who lead the church but are not exalted in a bogus clergy-laity division. No offering is taken up. Prayer on Wednesday is spontaneous, extemporaneous and offered by any of the men in attendance who feel led to pray. The Lord’s Supper is observed every week, fellowship meals occur every week. I have some minor theological quibbles, but I have not run into anything dogmatic that I cannot live with. Because it is small and there is not a paid staff, all of the men chip in when it comes to praying and preaching and teaching, so I hope I can be useful to the assembly in what God has gifted me in.
The church we had been going to was full of great people and good teaching, but was just too big for what we were looking for. In the assembly we are currently in, which strikes me as more in line with what we see in the New Testament, my oldest daugter mentioned after a service that it seemed like a family. I like that. We are more like good friends and family who meet with one another in worship, less like a group of people only vaguely familiar with one another that gathers together on a schedule. We are very encouraged by where we are. It is small, the programs are pretty informal and not well funded, it is never going to be a huge group. You know what, that is OK.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
More on home school
In response to a prior post on homeschooling, Debbie made the comment: one of my pet peeves is the notion that a person has to have a teaching certificate to be qualified to teach their kids.
Let’s expand on that a bit. In sending your kid off to a public school to be taught by someone else, this is in essence what you are saying to that teacher:
You have a degree from a college and a piece of paper saying you are qualified to teach my kid. You have been interviewed, vetted and hired by a school system in a process that I as a parent have virtually no say or involvement in. We don’t know you and you don’t know us. We meet briefly, for a couple of minutes, before the school year starts and then I hustle my kid off on a bus (also driven by a stranger for the most part) to be in your care for most of the day in their formative years when they are developing their worldview and core understanding of the way things work in the world. If my kid is not a trouble maker or perceived as being “gifted”, we will have only minimal interaction throughout the year in a parent-teacher “conference” for 30 minutes. Otherwise, the only thing I know about what is going on all day with my kid is what they choose to share with me. Speaking as a graduate of public schools, my parents never saw even a tiny fraction of what was going on at school and that was almost 20 years ago. I guarantee things are way wackier today. When I was in school we got in trouble for PDA (Public Display of Affection). Today kids are emailing pictures of themselves au naturale via cell phones.
Is that working for you? Because it ain’t working for me.
Let’s expand on that a bit. In sending your kid off to a public school to be taught by someone else, this is in essence what you are saying to that teacher:
You have a degree from a college and a piece of paper saying you are qualified to teach my kid. You have been interviewed, vetted and hired by a school system in a process that I as a parent have virtually no say or involvement in. We don’t know you and you don’t know us. We meet briefly, for a couple of minutes, before the school year starts and then I hustle my kid off on a bus (also driven by a stranger for the most part) to be in your care for most of the day in their formative years when they are developing their worldview and core understanding of the way things work in the world. If my kid is not a trouble maker or perceived as being “gifted”, we will have only minimal interaction throughout the year in a parent-teacher “conference” for 30 minutes. Otherwise, the only thing I know about what is going on all day with my kid is what they choose to share with me. Speaking as a graduate of public schools, my parents never saw even a tiny fraction of what was going on at school and that was almost 20 years ago. I guarantee things are way wackier today. When I was in school we got in trouble for PDA (Public Display of Affection). Today kids are emailing pictures of themselves au naturale via cell phones.
Is that working for you? Because it ain’t working for me.
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