do business that way as seeming fairer to more people. When it comes to a matter of spiritual, religious, or moral leadership it is probable that the situation is much like that de scribed by Churchill when he spoke of the RAF, “ . . . never in the history of the world have so many owed so much to so few.” And spiritually speaking, it is the business of the Christian day school to see to it that this number does not increase. For the following reasons then, Christian teachers are likely to con tinue to seek service in Christian in stitutions: First, there is a favorable atmosphere and philosophy underly ing the existence and administration of Christian schools which make the teachers’ efforts welcome and produc tive, and which make him a satisfied individual because of the nature of his service even though financially he is not adequately rewarded. Sec ondly, the Christian day school is necessary to the health and re-direc tion of public schools themselves. Third, a spiritual leadership is more likely to continue for the church from its own educational sources than from secular sources. Fourth, even the moral values which the public school strives to uphold are difficult without spiritual sanctions. What the Sun day school teaches on Sunday is not at all likely to be integrated with what the public school teaches on Monday. Fifth, a better type of discipline, and hence teaching, is probably one of the valid claims that the private school has a right to make. Sixth, even assuming the adequacy from all angles of the public school offer ing, our educational results are likely to be better with two systems rather than with one; that is, public and Christian and that diversities of view point are always in the interests of a healthier situation. Seventh, every child has a right to grow up in an atmosphere that is congenial to him spiritually and ideologically. We still recognize the necessity for a public school system, its great serv ice to the country, its potentialities for good, and the likelihood that it will continue to educate in the future as in the past three-fourths of each generation. Actually there is nothing wrong with the public school system that isn’t wrong with society as a whole. When we talk about the public school we are not talking about a group of people who get together as a separate part of the American scene, but we are merely' talking about that which is a projection, edu cationally, of the morals, manners customs, and ways of thinking of the American people as a whole. END.
population. In spite of the New York teachers’ attempt to cover up the matter, the papers recently gave us a picture of a widespread reign of terror in the public schools of New York City, where there was not only a lack of control, but actual crime on the part of the grade students. We may expect much more of this sort of thing. The discipline in the mod em school can be and often is a very excellent reason for teachers to get out of the profession at the first opportunity and for other prospective teachers not to enter it. There are many other problems that space would not permit us to discuss but I should like to suggest in this article that the public school must somehow or other be revitalized with a different philosophy of educa tion before Christian teachers can do their best work under its auspices. It may be that this process is pos sible, certainly it is desirable since it would be utterly impossible for the Christian day school movement to take upon itself the financial bur den of furnishing education to 30 million young people. However, it would seem that vigorous, numerous, well-run Christian day schools might help the public schools to a re- evaluation of their procedures. Protestants have consistently, in the main, depended upon public educa tion and their desertion of that means of education in favor of the Christian day school in increasing numbers is more significant from the fact of past support. A democracy has to go forward on the basis bf majorities, so far as its' political affairs are con cerned. But so far as its leadership, whether it be political, moral, or spiritual, it is always minorities which furnish and usually imple ment such leadership. Majorities are not always right, in fact it is quite possible, as David Starr Jordon used to say, that they are wrong. But we Your Prayer Requests Each morning at nine the editor ial staff of King's Business maga zine gathers for prayer. Over the years God has answered the heart- cry of thousands. Should you have a request we would count it a priv ilege to take it to the throne of grace. Your request will be held in the strictest confidence. Address: The Editors, King's Business maga zine, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 17, Calif.
education School considering education
this same program in mind whether it is expressed this way or nbt and of necessity feel cramped and handi capped where the emphasis is placed in the reverse order and where the spiritual aspect of things can only be accomplished by the teacher’s ex ample and week-end activities, im portant1as these things are. There are probably many reasons why there are not more Christians in public schools. In my own thinking the following reasons, based on 15 years of experience in public schools, somewhat dominate my position. First, the modern American school, and in fact educational thinking, has been dominated by John Dewey’s educational philosophy which in turn was based on his agnostic interpre tation of instrumentalism. The ag nosticism does not usually appear in the educational philosophy, but is nevertheless implicit in it. Secondly, this creates an atmosphere that is entirely secular where it is not open ly antagonistic to evangelical faith. Third, this atmosphere assumes that an educated man will per se be a moral man and a good citizen. Four, that such a program has attracted in unusual numbers administrators and educational leaders who see no need for spiritual values as basic to the moral values which many of them truly believe are necessary. This is most significantly shown by the fact that educators in many states are acquiescent to the banishment of the Bible from the public schools and its designation as a sectarian book. There is a fifth reason that applies not only to Christian teachers but to educators of all kinds; namely, that partly as a result of the lack of moral and spiritual values in our Ameri can philosophy of education it is today a nerve-wracking and discour aging thing to be a teacher. In many schools there i.s a general un ruliness, delinquency and down-right rebellion on the part of the student
JUNE 1954
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