Valedictorian Erica Goldson was speaking of public education, but isn’t this true within Chrisendom as well?
Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.
“Viewed with contempt” often means getting James-3 cursed. Dissenters from the established norm are pressured to conform. And the more we hold our ground, the more evil is wished upon us — those of us who won’t believe something just because we’re told to.
And that’s why revival-killing, false doctrine prevails to at least some degree in every single church that I know of. Education (and preaching) is too often indoctrination, instead of encouragement for us to seek God so we can all come to the knowledge of the truth.
And I can’t tell you how much pressure was put on me to adhere to the norm. And much of this is through the reverse-Christian, James-3 curses (‘prayers’): Dennis Cramer: “Most ‘Christians’ curse for the purpose of retaliation and vindication … ‘Christian’ leaders are even more vulnerable”, which is not just for retaliation and vindication, but also to control, to bring those who question into line.
The old wineskins can only be replaced by the new wineskins (that can hold the new wine without bursting) when the church is encouraged to seek the One who has promised to lead us into all truth. And then when we find that truth, let’s embrace it and those who have persevered to find it.
Erica also said this:
We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.
Thank God for the rare teachers who had the courage and love to encourage us even when they saw us thinking outside of the box! I thank God for Jerry W., in particular. He encouraged and helped equip me no matter what.
Leaders should be power-under, not power-over, encouraging everyone to draw near to God so God can draw near to us.
Revival will only come when the whole body is functioning together. Most pastors and teachers like to think their doctrine is totally sound. Then why isn’t revival happening — real Christianity according to the Scriptures I have listed in my header?
Full revival isn’t happening because our doctrines aren’t yet cisterns that are sound enough to be able to hold water. Our doctrines still have huge holes in them.
Churches should create a nurturing atmosphere in which those who question will be appreciated and seen as vital to real Christianity happening — instead of acting like we’ve already arrived.
We need each other, even the parts that seem ‘divisive,’ when in reality we just refuse to accept the sub-biblical goals that keep the church from really being the church.
We’ll know when we’ve arrived when God arrives to where we are all one with each other, resting in Him. Then the world will know (John 17)!
Let’s break out of the box and embrace what is true, loving the Lord, our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbors (even the ‘renegades’ who just happen to be wired differently for a really good reason) as much as we love ourselves.
Jeff : )
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M4tdMsg3ts]Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling
Please excuse the nervousness of my voice.
The full text can be found here:
http://americaviaerica.blogspot.com/2…
From: americaviaerica.blogspot.com…
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Coxsackie-Athens Valedictorian Speech 2010
Here I Stand
Erica Goldson
…the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.
Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.
I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared. …
Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.
H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not
-
- to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States. (Gatto)
To illustrate this idea, doesn’t it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking.” Is there really such a thing as “uncritically thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth? …
The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can’t run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.
For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.
For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake. …
So, here I stand. …
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