[Vision2020] On Doug Wilson's Views of Education -- via littlegeneva.com

[Saundra Lund]

Well, this is utterly appalling.  Mr. Schou, thanks for the links so that we
can learn what is passing as private "education" these days.

Not realizing how bad it could really be, I almost didn't check out the
links.  To hopefully motivate others to look at this nonsense, I'm going to
include a couple of teasers:
http://www.classicalfree.org/tgc_gbi.asp?course=GBI-VI&essay=Lincoln
"Ideas have consequences, and as always religion expressed itself
politically and economically. Because Unitarianism denies the Lordship of
Christ, it quite naturally seeks to empower civil government in His place. .
. The legacy left by Abraham Lincoln has been devastating.. . The Southern
slave system was generally benign and relations between blacks and whites
were typically respectful and often genuinely affectionate. . . A [sic]
cimate of hatred stirred up by the Northern press, Lincoln's insistence on
war, and a vindictive Reconstruction period, produced racial animosity that
endures to the present day. With a little more patience, there is no reason
why slavery could not have been phased out peacefully, following the example
of England."

Sound familiar?  Sickening, isn't it, that this is what's being privately
"taught" to 7-12th graders.  Not surprisingly, you'll see some familiar
local names when looking at the "faculty" of this "school."

As for the nauseating claim about simple patience being enough to bring
about the end of slavery, that's just plain BS.  However, it seems to be a
kind of nonsense that runs rampant among a certain ilk:  I heard Steve
Wilkins make the same claim at his public presentation on 2/4/2004.  You
see, it was for the slaves' own good (with absolutely no mention of the
incredible economic benefit to the slave owners) for their forced servitude
to continue since so many of them were "new" to the country and culture.
They just plum wouldn't  have known what to do with freedom!  Of course,
this revised notion completely ignores the fact that almost all slaves had
been in this country for far longer than a generation at the time of the
Civil War.

Ah, but that's just a fact . . . why pay attention to facts?

http://www.classicalfree.org/tgc_gbi.asp?course=GBI-VI&essay=Dabney
"On some twenty-eight occasions Southerners officially protested the slave
trade in the nation's capitol, to no avail. Most were thus constrained to
purchase the hapless captives in order to deliver them from their wretched
condition and make them part of their extended household. . . Contrary to
the popular humanist perspective now in vogue in the United States, the
Bible does not describe slavery, per se, as "a hideous moral evil", on the
same level as, say abortion. In fact, Christians living in such a society
are permitted to own slaves or servants as long as they are treated kindly
and fairly. The New Testament does not even require eventual release (cf.
Philemon), although a dominion-oriented Christian would be wise to implement
the Old Testament system and purchase slaves with the goal of moving them
through a seven-year program of training in responsibility, with the goal of
freedom. . . Robert Dabney understood these principles better than most, if
not all American theologians. . . 

So, now we see that Christians southerners were buying slaves to "save" them
from the evil North.  Uh-huh.  And, obviously, there were serious problems
with those Christian southerners because the Bible's seven-year plan
obviously wasn't followed in the south as evidenced by the *generations* of
slaves held by southern families.  Oh, wait . . . I'm bringing up *facts*
again, and why on earth would we want 7-12 graders to know facts?

Let's see:  what else does the Classical Free Virtual Academy teach about
Dabney?
"He discerned that the abolition movement grew out of a spirit of
egalitarian Democracy, which was at its root in conflict with biblical and
constitutional law and society. . . The Thirteenth Amendment to the
Constitution was passed, outlawing the system of indentured servitude
required by the Bible for restitution in cases of crime or debt. . . The
modern prison approach to criminal justice must eventually be replaced by
the biblical system of restitution by means of indentured servitude. This
will require repeal or modification of the 13th Amendment. Convicted
offenders who refuse to submit to such a system of restitution and
rehabilitation are to be executed, according to Deuteronomy. 17:12 (cf. also
I Tim. 1: 8-11)."

Ah-ha, here we have it yet again:  theocracy and a defense, no, a Biblical
*mandate* of slavery.  They are teaching 7-12 graders that not only do we
have to get rid of the Thirteenth Amendment because it thwarts a supposed
Biblical mandate for slavery, but we've also got to get rid of prisons and
go back to slavery as a form of  restitution for debts & crimes.  And, for
convicts refusing to submit to slavery . . . death.

And, what, pray tell does Doug Wilson think of this kind of "education"?
Well, once again, we don't have to wonder:  this comes straight from the
horse's mouth.
"Woods does a fine job of introducing the modern Christian reader to some of
the complex issues which lead to our current political and cultural impasse.
Contrary to the received opinion, our problem did not begin in the sixties,
unless you mean the 1760s. Woods has written a very fine introduction to
biblical thinking on constitutional issues. [Referring to our online
American Government/History text: "Discipling the Nations"] Judging from
Woods' past work, I look forward to watching the growth of ClassicalFree
Academy. 
Douglas Wilson, Author of "Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning" and
Founder of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS)."
http://www.classicalfree.org/index_cf.asp

And, in case you're wondering, that fine scholar <g> George Grant also has
an opinion about this "school":
"Woods has done us all a great service by writing this balanced,
comprehensive, easy-to-understand and intensely practical handbook to the
subject of civil government from a Christian perspective. Marked by biblical
fidelity, political sagacity and cultural immediacy. [referring to our
online American Government/History text: "Discipling the Nations"].
George Grant, Christian Author, Kings Meadow Study Center."
http://www.classicalfree.org/about.asp#endorsements

The implications of this kind of (non)thinking are absolutely horrifying to
me.  I'm having to examine yet again my leaning towards educational choice.
It is truly appalling to me that there are "schools" in this country that
are passing off this type of propaganda as "education" . . . and I'm
absolutely appalled that there are ***parents*** who are allowing it to
happen to their children  :-(


Publicly Educated -- And Proud Of It -- Intolerista,
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
-Edmund Burke  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com 
> [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com] On Behalf Of Andreas Schou
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 11:32 PM
> To: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] On Doug Wilson's Views of Education -- 
> via littlegeneva.com
> 
> 
> "I think I mentioned a while back that homeschoolers would do 
> well to attend the Classical Free Virtual Academy, endorsed 
> by Doug Wilson, Steve Schlissel, and George Grant. Look at 
> their entries on Lincoln and Dabney. Give your kids a real education!"
> 
> The aforementioned links:
> 
http://www.classicalfree.org/tgc_gbi.asp?course=GBI-VI&essay=Lincoln

http://www.classicalfree.org/tgc_gbi.asp?course=GBI-VI&essay=Dabney

I promise I don't write this stuff, though it couldn't possibly be any worse
if I did.

-- ACS