[Speaking of school vouchers] "This essay is not calling for tax revolt -- a refusal to pay taxes because I am being stolen from. Rather, the point is that we should stop clamoring for yet another program that would require the government to steal still more. The reason we are … [Read more...]

"The Bible teaches that the civil magistrate may require a certain level of taxation (Rom. 13:6-7) and that Christians are required to pay those taxes cheerfully. But the Bible also teaches that civil authorities are capable of breaking God's law, including His prohibition of … [Read more...]

"We see private schools and homeschools springing up all over, we see programs like Hooked on Phonics, and we see Sylvan Learning Centers. All these are intelligent responses to the disasters caused by the government's teaching disability. But we will never see a chain of … [Read more...]

"The answer is found in the nature of corporate servanthood. When a school establishes itself to serve parents by teaching certain subjects to the kids, this does not mean that any given family has complete authority over the school. What happens is that the school clearly … [Read more...]

"Just as a poor coach blames his team, so a failed education establishment has taken to blaming the students. It is worth remembering that these students were coerced into coming to these schools through compulsory attendance laws, made to sit in a desk for twelve years, and then … [Read more...]

"And the result of that is the destruction of education, which is what we in fact see all around us. Without discipline, there are no disciples, and without disciples or students, there can be no education . . . The excuses may be believed for a while, but time is a great … [Read more...]

"Punishment is interested simply in justice; discipline is interested in the twin aspects of preparation and correction. When students are made to work hard, this is preparation for life. When a student is corrected for fooling around and wasting time, this is correction that … [Read more...]

"Whenever we run into this uncomfortable thing called work in our studies, we think that something has gone wrong. If it is borning, it must be bad. And whenever we think that something has gone wrong, we ipso pronto hustle out children off to a specialist, who discovers that … [Read more...]

"Moreover, a refusal to discipline teaches students to treat the education being offered with contempt. The students will certainly despise any education that the educators themselves hold in contempt. And if parents and teachers refuse to discipline, they are holding in contempt … [Read more...]

"I was once speaking with a mother who was wanting to excuse her son's behavior because of certain circumstances which she believed were rigged against him. I did not agree with her, but her assumption led to an interesting question. She believed that her son was living in a … [Read more...]