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<b><font color="ff0000">Personal Development and Adventism</font></b> <BR> <BR>The Adventist movement has grown to involve the whole person: spiritual, academic, medical health, mental health, economic advancement. <BR> <BR>By economic advancement, I am not referring to the doctrine that God blesses those who give, though Adventists seem to believe that too. What I mean by economic advancement is this: <BR> <BR>Outside of the main urban centers, Adventism usually offers a small church experience. Adventism's appeal in these rural areas often seems to be to the lower middle class. Yet, linked to these small churches is an education cord. Perhaps it begins with a small one or two room elementary school. Then, these youngsters are encouraged to attend the Adventist boarding academy. While at the academy, they learn of our university system and are encouraged to go beyond high school to one of the dozen or more universities. <BR> <BR>I have noted that as families with low-income earning jobs find opportunity to further the education of their youth, the income earning and quality of lifestyle choice improves as they take advantage of these educational opportunities. <BR> <BR>In Belize, the summer of my Student Missionary experience, I met a man who was raising his nephew. As we visited, he turned to the young ten year old and said, "You keep with these people and they will make sure you get an education." <BR> <BR>I present this concept, not to suggest it is the main reason for Adventism's existence, but it is an interesting secular endorsement of the church. <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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How can we ascertain that Adventism has, of itself, led to better education, when the need and demand for more education is widely realized today in comparison with years ago. Is the level of education in Adventists, worldwide, higher than the general population: IOW, compared in the same geographical area.
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<b><font color="0000ff">Is the level of education in Adventists, worldwide, higher than the general population: IOW, compared in the same geographical area.</font></b> <BR> <BR>A recent Canadian report listed our school as ranking one of the highest with regard to students going on to further education. <BR> <BR>Adventism, as experienced in a high school academy setting, creates a certain expectation to continue on to university. It raises the sights of our youth to make something of themselves. <BR> <BR>On the other hand, we have failed to similarly assist those interested in further training in the trades. <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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In an insightful essay in the NYTimes, Stanley Fish, a regular contributor, writes of grading papers for a graduate literature course and discovered the inability of the students to write a clean English sentence. These were presently instructors in thew college's composition program! <BR> <BR>He checked the lesson plans and found that only four emphasized training in the craft of writing. The students spent much of their time discussing novels, movies, TV shows. <BR> <BR>His personal assessment: <BR> <BR>Without clarity of language, there can be no clairity of thought; and without clarity of thought, we are more likely to become the victims of ideology (which is so apparent in the U.S. political arena today). <BR> <BR>We couldn't raise standards to where they should be <b>without losing one-half of the student body of American college students. The 20% that are actually prepared for a serious college education never get it because of their uneducated classmates and fellow traveling professors make it impossible.</b> <BR> <BR>Learning to write logically forces one to think logically. <b>Perhaps the lack of solid writing instruction is behind the dreadfully low level of political discourse in this country!!</b> <BR> <BR>My son, and English instructor at the largest college in town (more than 20,000 students), could testify that few of his students have middle-school writing and reading abilities! I don't know how this compares to SDA students. Perhaps you can inform us. But the inability to think and write clearly, allows, and promotes gullibility--the inability to sift through the B.S. of what is being written and spoken--especially on TV "news shows" today. <BR> <BR>This carries over into every possible subject--religion is no exception, as we see some of the twisted and distorted versions almost daily.
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<b><font color="0000ff">Without clarity of language, there can be no clairity of thought; and without clarity of thought, we are more likely to become the victims of ideology </font></b> <BR> <BR>I believe this is true. The art of raising a person's ability to express themselves is key to education. Even within a system such as Adventist Education so much depends on individual teacher ability; teacher effectiveness. <BR><font color="ffffff"><font size="-2">.</font></font>
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The main problem, according to English teachers, is that there are so few students today that read! Some have scarcely read any book of substance, and depend on TV for their "education." I fear for the future of our nation when there are so few who can grasp the seriousness of its problems and have relied on "sound bites" or lies and distortions relayed by the media. Case in point: The senior citizen who yelled: "Tell the government hands off my Medicare" and the number who truly believe in "death panels" or that Obama is not a natural-born citizen! Such lies can only be believed when people only listen to them. As the saying goes: "One who can't read is no better than one who doesn't." <BR> <BR>Serious reading enlarges both the mind and vocabulary. Children who haven't learned to love reading very early, will likely never develop this habit. My 9-yr-old-granddaughter is raised in a home without TV, learned to read quite early, and never rides in the car or goes anywhere without several books to read--which she finds so entertaining. A house without books is almost as bad as a house without food. One feeds the soul, the other the body.
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Don said: "I have noted that as families with low-income earning jobs find opportunity to further the education of their youth, the income earning and quality of lifestyle choice improves as they take advantage of these educational opportunities."
I have to question your outlook on this Don. This would appear to be true for those who are successful to meet their financial burdens because those are the only ones you see. But there are others who can't, and those are out of sight. So, it's only some families with low income jobs....., not all, I think should be made clear. The "worthy student' concept does not cover all the needs either.
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