Education: Ruining A Nation -- A Retired Public School Teacher's Testimony [VIDEO]

About

The 2014 interview from the retire public school teacher (27 years) might be shocking to some as he reveals the awful conditions and behaviors of his American public school in New Jersey, but for decades (even including from the 1950’s), public schools throughout the United States have been filled with “chaos.” Some may deny the assessment based upon their public school experience being better than what has been described, however, a vast percentage genuinely will affirm “chaos” as typical or normal and now an exponential problem. There are Hollywood movies (e.g. Lean on Me) that depict bad schools, though some may think that those movies and schools are mere individual cases vs. a description of the whole.

One point in particular is the common misconception, assumption, and excuse for bad behavior of students and parents has been poverty or school choice (i.e. not being able to remove your child from a bad performing public school which can typically be in a ‘poor’ area). We certainly believe that it is an American and Biblical right for parents to choose how to train their children (including financial/taxes), but no matter the situation, this retired teacher rightly affirms that “poverty” (minute 10:40) is not the reason for disrespecting or other bad behavior.

But, the retired teacher provides a deeper and reverberating assessment (minute 12:30 and 13:03) that we are “ruining a nation!”

One can do a cursory study on American history to know that many have been poor and grew up with formed character under life pressures. The retired teacher reveals his own upbringing as “poor” and shows how that never led to anyone excusing him to act however he would want to. The video ultimately provides a helpful assessment from one of thousands of teachers and students to further understand that education or training of the next generation is critical for any nation.

More so, the importance of training children comes from God and his created natural, cyclical process to raise up children to trust him with their life and learn to live in real life according to how he wants.

Video

Education: Seven Days in Utopia Movie

About

Seven Days in Utopia provides a helpful look into a wide variety of life’s aspects like family issues, sports, jobs, mentoring, failures, etc.More importantly, the movie captures the importance of God and his word for life. The movie leads to an evangelistic training resource entitled “Did he make the putt?” per the ending, and explains more about the background, book, production, scenes, and purpose. The overall purpose is to guide people away from glorifying (or damaging) themselves or this life in order to put one’s trust fully in God and the gospel.

The symbolism used in the movie of burying one’s sins can be a helpful teaching aid to understand how sin really is put to death through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection described throughout the Bible and teachings of Christianity. Symbolism always comes with caution in order for people to rightly teach or learn from it, as some mistakenly use symbolism as a consistent way of living in an attempt to “treat” their sins vs. “trust” they truly are dealt with by God through the gospel. Overall the movie kept interest for the viewers with humor as well as intensity and drama accurately describing real life. The former is when someone is always looking for aspects in life to “help” them vs. the latter truly “heals,” transforms, and matures them to follow God in real life.

Product Description

SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA follows the story of Luke Chisolm (Lucas Black), a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour. When his first big shot turns out to be a very public disaster, Luke escapes the pressures of the game and finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas, home to eccentric rancher Johnny Crawford (Robert Duvall). But Johnny's more than meets the eye, and his profound ways of looking at life force Luke to question not only his past choices, but his direction for the future. Based on David L. Cook's best-selling book Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA also stars Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Jerry Ferrera, Joseph Lyle Taylor, KJ Choi and Kathy Baker. The film is directed by Matthew Dean Russell from a script by Cook, Rob Levine, Russell and Sandra Thrift. The film was produced by Mark G. Mathis (Brick, Precious) and Jason M. Berman (The Dry Land).

Premiering in Theaters September 2nd 2011

Director

Matt Dean Russell

Cast

Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Kathy Baker, KJ Choi, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Madison Burge

Movie Trailer

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Related

Education: Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson

About

Notes from the Title-A-Whirl is a great teaching and discussion resource from N.D. Wilson. After he authored the book, he created a dvd formatted edition “bookumentary” that includes 3-5 minute conversational and explanatory video of him working through each chapter of the book. For some, it might feel like a mind-twister but others can find a tremendous challenge to think and believe rightly about this life. He tackles all kind of subjects and life issues like Bible, religion, science, math, biology, philosophy, etc. as well as marriage/divorce, death, friendship, etc.

Related

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All Resources by N.D. Wilson

Education: Youth sports referees quitting at record rates amid parents' bad behavior by Fox News

About

Here’s a sign of our cultural times revealing something is off in the hearts and lives of America — bad behavior at youth sporting events. This is merely one of countless other things that show culture’s pendulum swing of extreme behavior regarding finances, morality, beliefs, and so on.

The below news video captures a several minute introduction to the rising bad behavior and its impact even on the referees. The news anchors attempt at the end to provide helpful tips and tricks to minimize parent’s bad behavior, though it will fall short as a solution.

Parents are the sole rightful and responsible people in a child’s life to train them up, and regardless of what people believe (or not) about God, he created it that way. Parenting children is the immediate training context to work through bad beliefs and behavior before they are grown and gone from their parents. Meaning, it’s not the government, law, or sporting even policy that needs to replace the parent. Rather, parents need to change (repent). You would see a massive de-regulation, de-lawing, and de-invasion of government when parents and family related guardians train up their own children to believe and behave rightfully.

Is getting loud at a sporting event bad behavior? No. Is working through the frustrations and joys of the game bad behavior? No. The bad behavior comes from a belief that they are entitled to a specific outcome they want. And when a referee call, sports play, or situation arises that prevents the desired outcome, there’s an explosion or result of the awry belief.

We have certainly come a long way from the Roman Empire’s Colosseum days two thousand years ago where they praised and cheered for the deaths of humans (mainly gladiators and Christians). So, some fighting and screaming here and there is still not bad if you are one to compare. However, one thing is missing from both extremes. What is missing? God. There is an incredible and insatiable desire to live godless in everyday life, hence why it appears in sporting events.

Sporting events are certainly to be fun, competitive, intense, focused, loud, quiet, and even maturing as well as character building. But that comes from the context of parents already mature at work on their immature child (vs. the parents being immature). Sporting events or children are not to be the god in our life that controls us. And, our aim is not to correct bad behavior at sporting events, but understand believe what God wants for our lives. Hence why this then shows up in every area of our life, including sporting events.

Therefore, what we are really seeing is untrained and unrepentant adults training their kids to do likewise, exponentially affecting lives for generations to come in how to behave in life when things do not go their way or they don’t get their way. Instead of swinging with the pendulum, let’s cut the string and fall to a strong foundation of truth and love. The greatest affect on a generation is to be godly (i.e. what God wants).

Sporting events have many great benefits and lessons to learn, especially learning to lose and how to treat others in the midst of loss.

Video

Education: Has Science Buried God? by John Lennox [VIDEO]

About

Eric Metaxas interviews (mainly at minute 6 on the video) John Lennox at the Colson Center in Washingon D.C. in summary form regarding the topic question, “Has Science Buried God?” The interview might just be best for a helpful introduction to Lennox and to discover more of what he has authored and argued, especially in debates with high profile atheist (20th-21st century version) professors and scientists. Dr. Lennox provides a lot of helpful statements and introductory level direction in how to think and find more answers. Many of the statements are also challenging modern day assumptions, decades old under-toe current, and now seemingly tsunami wave of people’s ‘anti-belief’ in God. Below the video are quotes/statements written out from the interview for reference also.

Metaxas allow 3 questions from the audience at the end, which starts about 1 hour 5 minutes that addresses: 1) Mathematical proofs; 2) Abortion; and 3) What would Lennox say before God in heaven upon death?

From Socrates in the City youtube video (1 hour 19 minutes) description:

“Host Eric Metaxas and Oxford professor John Lennox explore the question, "Has science buried God?" -- discussing the fine-tuned universe, evolution, logic, history, and more! "It's like we're an old Vaudeville team" says Metaxas, who eggs the legendary Lennox into retelling his equally legendary roast chicken anecdote. The interview was hosted by the Colson Center and took place in Washington D.C., in May 2019.“

Video

Dr. Lennox provides statements like:

1. “There are a myth in our culture: 1) Science is the only way to truth. 2) The position is logically incoherent … That statement (science is the only way to truth) cannot be true since it does not come from science.”

2. “Science can bury atheism.“

3. “It was the belief in God that drove science.”

4. “They got the wrong concept of God.”

5. “The more he understood of how it worked, the more he admired the genius of the God [of the Bible] who did it that way.”

6. “There’s a mind behind what’s up there … not mindless, unguided processes.“

7. “Our faith increases [in God when learning the world and science].“

8. “Kids can understand but professors cannot. The scientific explanation tells you how it works. The personal explanation works also … the two explanations do not compete but compliments.”

9. “[The why question] is an important question.”

10. “Something came from something, not nothing.”

11. “Science can bury atheism.“

12. “We have been miseducated by atheists that there’s science there and there’s faith here.”

13. “Atheism followed to its logical conclusion destroys rationality.”

14. “The Bible is putting the finger on what is really profound.“

15. “The universe is word based … not that the universe came from nothing and created itself.”

16. “And God said … The idea of God speaking is such a powerful one. The Bible has been talking about it for a millennia.”

17. “Nobody can get rid of the idea of creation. So reject God and end up with a self-creating universal and that’s a contradiction in terms … leads to nonsense.“

18. “It is a mistake to think that only Christians are a people of faith.”

19. “Every school in our country is a faith school.”

20. “They don’t realize that their atheism is a belief system [don’t you believe in your atheistic beliefs].

21. “We are people who believe in Christ, and provide why we believe what we believe.“

22. “[Put Christianity and truth in the public space] We need a lot of courage to do that, otherwise we all will be silenced.“

23. “Evolution only addresses when there is life and not how life came about.”

24. “Our culture is faced of a raw choice between God and nothing.”

Topics (mentioned or addressed):

1. Literature

2. Theology

3. Languages

4. Classics

5. God

6. Word

7. Universe

8. Life

9. Creation

10. History

11. Science

12. Evolution

13. Atheism (20th/21st century version)

14. Galileo

15. Kepler

16. Christopher Hitchens

17. Richard Dawkins

18. Stephen Hawking

19. Carl Sagan

20. Peter Singer

21. Reductionism

22. Ontological Reductionists

23. DNA

24. Fine-tuning

25. Chance, necessity, and laws of nature

26. Abiogenesis

27. Philosophy

28. Physics

29. Mathematics

30. The Bible

31. Biblical Revelation

32. John’s Gospel

33. Living Word, Jesus

34. Isaac Newton

35. C.S. Lewis

36. Logic

37. Rationale

38. Gravity

39. Energy

40. Education

41. Schools

42. What to say at death and before the Lord Jesus Christ?

Education: Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with Berlinski, Meyer, and Gelernter Youtube Video by Hoover Institution

About

The below video by the Hoover Institution features a light-hearted but specificly detailed discussion about Darwin’s theory of evolution compared to recent scientific evidences about “functioning proteins.” Here’s the beginning of the Youtube video description:

“Based on new evidence and knowledge that functioning proteins are extremely rare, should Darwin’s theory of evolution be dismissed, dissected, developed or replaced with a theory of intelligent design? Has Darwinism really failed? Peter Robinson discusses it with David Berlinski, David Gelernter, and Stephen Meyer, who have raised doubts about Darwin’s theory in their two books and essay, respectively The Deniable Darwin, Darwin’s Doubt, and “Giving Up Darwin” (published in the Claremont Review of Books).“

Though the discussion does not end up agreeing and affirming that God is the one and only Creator to the world, the discussion does recognize the natural evidences of what God did create, regardless of people’s belief in Him or not. People may and can recognize truths and still end of not believing in Him. Christianity recognizes the connection between nature (creation) and the nature Creator.

We affirm God’s created order of instant, powerful creation through his spoken words narrated in Genesis 1 and 2 within 7 literal days and referenced throughout the remainder of the Bible as such. The math, physics, science, biology, history, geography, archaeology, philosophy, theology, biblicality, etc. add up or reveal God as existent and Creator.

Video

Education: The Brutally Honest High School Valedictorian's Graduation Speech About the Telos of Life

Hear Kyle reference goals, relationships, purpose, priorities, generosity, etc., as he rightly learns and shares that when God is our telos, there’s ripple effects into our life related to money, relationships, education, jobs and careers, failures and successes, and so on. God is to be the epicenter of our life, as we walk and live beloved by him to love him and others in return.

And so, what a great speech with the theme of telos (goal, aim, completion) woven throughout, especially in light of real life! Maybe the only tweak to the speech is that your “launch into life” was when conceived and born, not merely at graduation! Ha! :) But, thank you for learning, and learning the correct lessons in life — especially the most important lesson in trusting your life to God through the person and work of Jesus and all of the effects that has on life like relationships, jobs, etc.

Education: The New Atheism and Christianity by Albert Mohler Jr.

About

Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) chapel throughout the years contains immense amounts of helpful teaching about God, the Bible, Christianity, church, life, culture, and world issues. DTS specifically features the W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship during a week of chapels, normally 4 sessions for the faculty, students, and anyone tuning in online. The W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship tends to be a guest from outside the seminary invited in to address various topics they may have already addressed through their own life, writings, speaking, church, etc.

The Spring 2008 lectureship showcased Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., the president of Southern Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Dr. Mohler addressed the ‘New Atheism’ and Christianity by revealing countless authors, history, timelines, issues, culture, and scripture. Dr. Mohler presents an well articulated and accurate viewpoint of ‘New Atheism’ as well as Christianity, addressing what’s wrong and what’s right to do about it.

DTS has the video resource of the lectureship for all 4 days online as well as posted on their Youtube channel below.

1. The New Atheism And the Endgame of Secularism

2. The New Atheism and The Assault on Theism

3. The New Atheism and The Defense of Theism

4. The New Atheism and The Future of Christianity

Education: Climate Change

About

This page serves as the main page for the educational topic of climate change.

Videos

Education: The History of the English Standard Version Bible by Crossway

Here’s one of several English translations of the Bible that are helpful to read and understand God’s word in the English language. We don’t make Bible’s God but God makes his word known in languages to read, learn, listen, and teach.

Is Genesis History? Historical and Scientific Documentary Contrasting Evolution and Creation

Is Genesis History? provides a timely and tremendous overview of the historical and scientific methods and evidence that clearly guides through the differences of an evolutionary vs. creationist view point. The director and featured scientists characteristically provide a kind and inquisitive approach in talking about the differences between evolution and creation. The documentary is filled with simple illustrations to in depth scientific discussion allowing for varying ages and interested people to follow. From beginning students and to tenured teachers that take these topics seriously would find this 1 hr 45 minute video helpful and a great discussionary tool.

The documentary provides a wide range of topics that one might find easily transferrable to real life conversations for classrooms or among friends like the following:

1. life, reality, existence
2. creation vs. evolution
3. God, man, sin
4. history's role and importance
5. scientific methods and paradigms of interpretation
6. biblical genre of poetry vs. narrative (historical)
7. age of the universe and world
8. dating methods
9. rock layers (e.g. Grand Canyon)
10. archaeology (e.g. dinosaur bones)
11. dinosaurs and ice age
12. universal flood (including Noah's ark)
13. animals and ocean life
14. cells and DNA
15. human migration and languages
16. geography and geology
17. light (stars, planets, sun) and distance

Learn more about Is Genesis History? through their website: IsGenesisHistory.com, which provides ways to rent or buy (e.g. Netflix, Youtube, Amazon, etc.). You can purchase the DVD documentary from Amazon, which contains 4 bonus video interviews averaging 15 minutes each (ice age and atmosphere; bible and church history; additional resources; and purpose of light). We've added Is Genesis History? to the Telos Center Library as well for further reviews.

Inspirational Movies Series

Post Photo Credit: www.teloscenter.org/credits/wikipedia