Education leader under fire for 'Christian' comments

www.cnn.com ^ | 04/0903

[InvisibleChurch]

WASHINGTON (AP) --The nation's public education leader has drawn fire for expressing a preference for schools that appreciate "the values of the Christian community."

"The reason that Christian schools and Christian universities are growing is a result of a strong value system," Education Secretary Rod Paige said in a story run by the Baptist Press, the news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.

[InvisibleChurch]

Education Secretary Rod Paige oversees the nation's public school system of about 47 million students.

To critics, Paige said, he would offer "my prayers."

Inri

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[Freedom'sWorthIt]

God bless him for speaking the truth! Let the TRUTH be made known far and wide - TRUTH is TRUTH and cannot be stopped!

[daniel boob]

I guess he'll get hammered for speaking the truth.

Barry Lynn is a prick.

[k2blader]

God bless Rod Paige!

[f.Christian]

"Bolshevik monopoly" ...

brainwashing (( conservatism // Truth )) ---

indoctrination (( liberalism // atheism // evolution )) !

[Khepera]

Christians don't demean people it is people who are not Christians who demean themselves.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I partially disagree with Secretary Paige. I don't think it's the religious environment that makes the Christian schools better. I think it's the educational environment. Whether a private school is parochial or sectarian, one doesn't make the commitment to a non-public school -- something that takes effort and usually money -- without making a commitment towards education.

My son attends (and my daughter used to attend) a non-religious private school. The curriculum is rigorous, but the children thrive in it. When my daughter graduated from 8th grade there, 3 of the 7 students in the class (including her) went to the elite International Baccalaureate program at one of the public high schools. At least 2 others entered an entrepreneurial magnet program at another of the public highs.

I can't speak for the general political/religious environment of this school, but one car had a Janet Reno bumper sticker on it last year, so I know that there is at least some diversity of opinion among the parents who send their children there. But, as I said, the one thing there does have to be there is a commitment to education. Anyone without that commitment is not going to bother sending their child to that school, in the first place.

[Ahban]

Sec. Paige is correct. Without God as a fixed reference point, their is no truth and thus no goal to educate toward, (outside of math) It is all relative.

"education" outside of a Theism is mere propaganda.

[steplock]

AP Tries to make this a NEGATIVE article - they failed miserably by unintentionally exposing the TRUTH!

[2timothy3.16]

To critics, Paige said, he would offer "my prayers." and Jesus tells us to pray for thse who despitfully use us.

[k2blader]

"All things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith," Paige said in the interview with Union University, a Baptist-affiliated school in Tennessee. "Where a child is taught that, there is a source of strength greater than themselves."

I think this is what undergirds Sec. Paige's argument.

[YoungKentuckyConservative]

I don't think it's the religious environment that makes the Christian schools better. I think it's the educational environment. Whether a private school is parochial or sectarian, one doesn't make the commitment to a non-public school -- something that takes effort and usually money -- without making a commitment towards education.

How correct you are. I spent half of my educational existance in public school and half in private. I can attest to the level of engagement on behalf of the parents in both environments. Public school is a day care service and private school is an educational investment. Big difference.

[Freedom4US]

This shows are far we've slid down the tubes, folks. An education official expresses desire that our children receive a good education - one reflective of our shared judeo-christian heritage - and all the usual suspects go apoplectic. A casual read of the framers opinions (you know, the folks who designed and founded our system of government) are EXACTLY in agreement. It wasn't that long ago that textbooks included the 23rd Psalm and other biblical admonishments at the endpages.

[muawiyah]

Barry Lynn is more likely one of Saddam Hussein's paid shills. Now that the checks are bouncing left and right it will be interesting to see if this guy and his buddies in PFTAW can stay in business.

[TheBattman]

I fail to see any rule/law/constitution/etc. that Paige violated with his statement. It was a simple fact. Did he say that private Christian schools have no problems? No. Did he in any way infer that all kids should go to Private schools? No. He simply pointed out an obvious fact - that kids that go to a Christian school are held to a common moral authority, unlike average Public school students who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs (or lack therof).

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Barry Lynn is a legend in his own mind.

[Lady Eileen]

........government has become the guarantor of "quality" in teaching. If something is "licensed" or "accredited," one assumes the quality is good. We forget that licensing also means control. The government has not yet taken on a licensing role with regard to baby-sitting or parenting; when it does, no doubt some will acquiesce. But God has assigned the responsibility, and to shift it elsewhere for the sake of "quality-control'' is abdication........Neutrality is impossible; worldviews in education are unavoidable.

--Douglas Wilson, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning

[onedoug]

As he was speaking of Christian schools to a Christian periodical, I fail to see where he is not 100% correct.

[TheFilter]

Exactly.

I didn't go to a Christian school and am not a churchgoer, but I see no problem with his comments. Since when did sincere values become a bad idea?

If an ed sec had elevated secular schools above others, that would be no problem, right?