Document Type
Issue Area One
Abstract
As a former public school educator and a former private school educator and administrator, the current debate in public education involving the ownership of the children and the schools hits very close to home. Even though removed from the formal education process, I am still involved in education as a pastor and as a counselor to families whose children are in both the public and private school systems. Much confusion continues over this issue and needs to be addressed.
To address this issue, I believe it is important to look at the foundation of our nation and how our founding fathers envisioned the educational process of the United States. Christianity was the core of education all the way through the time of the founding fathers. The first laws on public education were passed in 1642 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The settlers had come to America to escape religious persecution in Europe, and they wanted free access to the word of God so that punishment would not continue as it had in Europe. "The Pilgrim wanted liberty for himself and his wife and little ones, and for his brethren .... For that he went into exile; ... The Puritan's idea was not liberty, but right government in church and state" (Hall, 1960, p. 123).
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
5
Issue
2
First Page
39
Last Page
41
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1994 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Miller, Larry
(1994)
"Christianity: Core of Colonial and Present Education,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 5:
No.
2, Article 12.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol5/iss2/12
