Ignorant Historian

1.  Would you ever consider working for the government?

Sure.  I mean, I do want to be a teacher in a public school.  But I also wouldn’t mind working in a bureaucratic position, though I’m sure some things would drive me batty.

2.  You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You get enough time to make ONE phone call. Who would you call?

At least I got to see Hawaii before I die, right?  Without question, I’d call my parents.  And not only because their number is one of the few that I actually have memorized, but also because they’re the obvious choice.  So please pick up, okay?

3.  If you had to wear one color every day for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

Blue, because I look good in it and enjoy all the shades.  If I had to pick a particular shade, I’d say periwinkle because it’s what I look best in and it’s my favorite.

4.  What is your dream for America’s future?

I dream that we’ll recognize that we’ve allowed our federal government to grow unconstitutionally large, and have it start pulling out of things such as education.  I dream that we’ll elect representives that recognize that like our own personal budgets, we have to cut spending in order to pay down debt.  But I’m afraid this is all a dream.

5.  What’s your favorite song of the moment?

I know this will be strange unless you’re familiar with my music tastes, but I’d have to say Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie.”  I can’t relate to it (I promise I’m not nor have ever been in a violent co-dependent relationship), but for some reason it resonates.  Looking back at my favorite songs from the past, it’s clear I like the darker, from-the-soul type of songs.  Plus I’ve always been a fan of Eminem (or at least the cleaned-up versions of his songs).  Hope I don’t lose any favor in your eyes!

It’s been a while since we’ve tackled a controversial topic here at the Ignorant Historian, hasn’t it?  Well, let’s dive right in!

You may have heard already, but President Obama has said this weekend that he wants schools to be open longer: longer school days and longer school years.

In some ways, I agree with him.  It bugs me that the local school district here is open for the minimum numbers of minutes and the minimum number of days.  To me, that just screams, “We’re only doing this if we have to…if we could get by with it, we’d be open even less.”

I DO think that we’re not doing a great job educating our children.  That’s why what he’s saying resonates with me.  But I think that it just might be the wrong approach; the federal government once again stepping into the role that the parents have abdicated.

To be honest, it really bugs me that the federal government is involved in education at all.  As a citizen, of course the President and other elected officials (on the federal, state, and local levels)  have a right to voice their opinions on the matter.  But the decisions should be made on the state and local levels.  More importantly, parents need to make those decisions for their children and remember that it is their responsibility to educated and train up their children.

Of course, at this point, you might be thinking, “Well, that’s all well and good, but she doesn’t have children!  She doesn’t know how it is!”  And of course, you’d be right.  Though I haven’t had the privilege of having children to call my own, this is still a passionate subject to me since I regularly work with children myself.  I do know it’s possible, because that example was set for me.

I went to a public school growing up, but my mom didn’t leave my education to that.  She read to my brother and I nightly from chapter books (I believe this is the number 1 best thing she did to encourage us to love reading, a vital skill of a lifelong learner).  She reviewed our textbooks at the beginning of the year so she’d know what we’d be learning.  She took us to the library.  She required us to keep up and continue to develop our skills in the summer by spending about an hour a day on workbooks, flashcards, educational computer games, and other activities.  She took us on fun field trips where we could learn while having fun.  Both my mom and my dad took many opportunities to teach us through everyday situations.

So, while children do need more than 7 hours of education 180 days of the year, that just might be enough time in school if the students weren’t receiving all their education during that time.  Sadly, that’s often not the case.

Parents, please step up.  You have been given a blessing, but with that blessing comes incredible responsibilities.

Photo by digicla

The other day I was watching Jeopardy and was shocked when one of the college girls couldn’t answer her daily Jeopardy question that went something like this, “This occupation is referred to in the first verse of the 23rd Psalm.” She had no idea! It’s only the most famous chapter of the Bible, but she wasn’t able to answer the question. Then I was watching another Jeopardy episode where there was a Biblical category, and one guy answered every single on of the questions. The other two contestants looked like they had no clue to those answers.

Simply, kids today aren’t getting educated in the Bible. We no longer teach it at school, so they aren’t getting it there. By and large, we’re not teaching it at home, so they aren’t getting it there. And many don’t go to church, so they aren’t getting it there, and even if they do go to church, sadly they might not be getting educated in the Bible either.

It’s not that knowing the Bible saves you; it doesn’t. But the Bible is God’s Word and is therefore important.

Thinking about all this made me think about sayings that are often attributed to the Bible even though they can’t be found there. I thought of a few:

1. “God helps those who help themselves.”

This is probably the most egregious quote on the list, because not only is it not in the Bible, is is a concept contrary to the Bible. As Christians, we’re called to help the poor regardless though those who are lazy are called to work. Even if they don’t that doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility to care for them.

2. “There but for the grace of God go I.”

This is a good phrase to use, but it’s not in the Bible. There is something to say about considering that we all have sinned against God and therefore shouldn’t look down on someone because they are a sinner.

3. “Money is the root of all evil.”

This is from 1 Timothy 6, but the original is that the “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Not quite the same thing.

4. “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”

This is actually an English proverb, not a biblical one. I’m glad that my lack of housekeeping isn’t keeping me from godliness.

5. “Spare the rod; spoil the child.”

Once again, this concept is basically found in the Bible, but not in this form. Both Proverbs 13:24 (“He who withholds his rod hates his son,But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”) and Proverbs 23:13-14 (“Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.”) address this concept.

6. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

This phrase goes back to the middle ages, not the Bible. Though it’s a good point: there are many who say they want to do the right thing but prove they don’t really want to trust and follow God by their actions.

Can you think of any others?

I’m taking a break from studies to write on a subject I normally don’t pay much attention to. However, John Kerry’s comment has brought it to mind. He’s quoted as saying, “You know education, if you make the most of it, and you study hard, and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

Regardless of how he meant this, he should apologize for the way it has hurt the American troops protecting his and our freedom by fighting in Iraq. However, his past criticism of the military seems to support the straightforward understanding of his “joke.”

As I was thinking about this and hearing it discussed on the radio, I saw a soldier driving in the car next to me. The van in front of me started to cut him off, stopping when they saw a car was there. Instead of honking the horn and blocking them out (which I probably would have done), the soldier waved them to go ahead and get over. Today, he reminded me that I need to be actively in support of the men and women that allow me to continue my daily routines.