Over the past 30 years, sociologists and economists have conducted several studies that consistently show a positive relationship between religiosity and academic success. These studies show that more religious students earn better grades and complete more schooling than less religious peers. But researchers debate what these findings really mean, and whether the seeming effect of religiosity on students’ performance is really about religion, or a result of other underlying factors. Some people see education as a cure-all for society’s ills. However, education, in and of itself, does nothing to combat ungodliness. In fact, knowledge, apart from the love of God, leads to pride (1 Corinthians 8:1). Nicodemus was “Israel’s teacher,” yet he did not understand even the basics of spiritual life (John 3:10). Paul was a highly educated man, having been trained in the best Jewish school of his day (Acts 22:3), and he used his education to communicate effectively to people of many cultures (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12). Yet Paul’s education certainly did not make him holy (1 Timothy 1:16), and he warned of those who were “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Simply knowing facts does not make one a better person, and it is indeed possible to be a highly educated fool.

Because whiteness is a category of social dominance (and not just a form of difference), a white “good” would be something that is useful to white people as the dominant racialized group in relation to other subordinated racialized groups. White goods are, by definition, non-white harms. That white goods are designed to benefit white people does not mean, of course, that they cannot be useful to non-whites. Obviously they can. But because a white good must advantage white people more than other people by definition, a white good will be less useful to non-whites than to whites. White goods are relative as well as absolute. In fact, when non-white people participate in a white good, their very participation reinforces an underlying system that favors white people. This book came at a great time as I agree with Julie’s practical advice on how to implement what she calls “God schooling” in our homeschool life. Surprisingly, this book is certainly a mouth dropper and eye opener!Again, this is not to say that education is a bad thing. God created our world, and learning about Him, the world He created, other people, and ways we can live and work in the world are good things. Consider, for example, the importance of mathematics or agriculture or technology or medical knowledge and the impacts those have on people's daily lives. Or consider how a knowledge of history can broaden understanding of society and better inform decisions. Or think of the ways knowledge of different languages can help us better communicate, or how education in artistic skill can help us convey God's beauty for others to rejoice in. Work is part of God's good creation (Genesis 1:28–29; 2:15). Whether paid or unpaid, we all work in some way. And whether a specific degree or certification is required or not, all of our work requires some sort of education. Of course, education is most beneficial in so far as it enables us to carry out God's purposes for our lives, to love others well, to advance His kingdom, and to prompt our worship of Him. Again, all sorts of education can lead toward these ends. Since the Bible is completely sufficient for equipping us to live a life of godliness, this must also include matters of education. We must take a high view of education, because God does. God knows all things and has created an elaborate system of laws governing physics and biology and mathematics. We glorify Him by investing in a solid education. But what does the Bible have to say about education? First of all, we can see that the Bible itself is meant to be educational.

During the 1970s, racially naive economic frameworks that were developed in the 1950s and 1960s entered the mainstream of public policy. As they entered the mainstream of educational policy specifically, left- as well as right-leaning educational researchers began speaking of the politics and function of schooling through classical economic theories of production and consumption, including efficiency, markets, and public goods/private goods. Footnote 18 According to this “goods” model, public schooling in the United States served two competing kinds of goals: allocating public goods such as political socialization and human capital development, both of which benefited society as a whole, and the allocation of the private good of mobility—individual competitive advantage in a capitalist economy achieved primarily through credentialing. Footnote 19 The role of whiteness in these accounts was secondary and exceptional. Moreover, this same public goods/private goods framing soon captured the heart of federal and state school policy and jurisprudence as well, driving efforts toward privatization and toward “school choice” policy solutions such as vouchers for private schools or quasi-private “charter schools,” tuition tax credits, and other approaches. Footnote 20 Please list any fees and grants from, employment by, consultancy for, shared ownership in or any close relationship with, at any time over the preceding 36 months, any organisation whose interests may be affected by the publication of the response. Please also list any non-financial associations or interests (personal, professional, political, institutional, religious or other) that a reasonable reader would want to know about in relation to the submitted work. This pertains to all the authors of the piece, their spouses or partners. Solomon tells us that the basis of all true knowledge is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). The word fear here does not carry the idea of terror or dread; rather, it is awe and reverence for the holiness and majesty of God and a reluctance to disappoint or disobey Him. Jesus said that when we know the truth, the truth will make us free (John 8:32). Freedom from fear comes from being educated in Truth. Off and on, the Church provided a solid basis for a godly education. The Reformer John Calvin argued for universal education, saying that every child should learn to read and write, gain abilities in math and understand religion. Martin Luther taught that teaching the Bible and the way the world worked would allow a growing relationship with God. In the 1780s the modern Sunday School movement began as Robert Raikes began teaching overlooked and poor children. Many of the oldest and most revered universities were started by Christians, including Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, and Cambridge. Many abiders made comments about constantly working to emulate and please God, which led them to try to be conscientious and cooperative. This aligns with previous research showing that religiousness is positively correlated with these traits.Julie realized after not too many years that it became a real chore trying to get the kids to do what she thought they should be doing. God Schooling Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Third, historians can play a critically important role in moving schooling from a white good to a public one. Understanding the specific mechanisms of schooling as a white good points us toward pathways for making it a public good. Most modes of Greek philosophy ask the questions “Must there be an initial cause of all things? What is causing all things that are in existence? How can we know for sure?” And Paul repeatedly answers each of these questions when presenting the Gospel. Paul is an astute scholar, one who is extremely knowledgeable about his beliefs, his culture, and with the beliefs of other people in his culture. She talks about how children, particularly children under eight, need a lot of free time and play. I wholeheartedly agree. They learn so much through play and exploration and if we are not careful we can fill up their days with school work and not allow them the time needed to play and explore.