Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth for the Colson Center on John Stone Street.
Well, American education is experiencing a seismic shift. Since the pandemic, parents have been opting out of public schools by the millions, choosing alternatives like homeschooling, private schooling. or hybrid models. Last year, the federal government's Nation's Report Card found that math and reading scores in the U.S. are at their lowest levels in decades.
Entire school districts nationwide are described as failing dropout factories. And at some elite colleges, professors are reporting that they have students that are unable to read a book. Teachers are also struggling, especially when it comes to student behavior. A recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association. which included nearly 15,000 pre-K to 12 teachers, administrators, school staff, and counselors, found that, and I quote, 33% of teachers reported at least one incident of verbal harassment or violence.
18% of school psychologists, 15% of school administrators, and 22% of other school staff also reported at least one violent incident by a student.
Now a central aspect of the Christian notion that humans are made in the image of God is how God structured human relationships.
Now that makes sense of course because of who God has revealed himself to be, an eternal relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In his image and therefore like him, we do not merely do relationships. We are relational creatures. The Bible then describes how these relationships with God, with ourselves, with others, and with the rest of creation have been broken by sin. And, even better, how they can be restored.
Thus, a core problem that must be addressed in education or anything else human-related. is our relationships, how they've been broken by the fall, and are in need of restoration. This is a vision of humanity far more accurate than the others on offer. In a naturalistic worldview, human beings are highly functioning animals.
So conflict resolution is much more a matter of pragmatism as if student behavior can be corrected through broad disciplinary policies in which no one's really guilty. Pragmatic approaches like these might work in the short term, especially given the propensity in the system to medicate to acceptable behavior, but they do not address who human beings are. at the most fundamental level. Broken relationships are a root cause cause of most behavioral problems teachers face. Christian educators have a better framework to address underlying broken relationships, one which offers reconciliation and restoration, the kind that's needed for lasting change.
A central reason that reimagined secular models do not deliver the results they promise is that they're based on a flawed understanding of the human person. As T. S. Eliot observed long ago, every answer to the question what is education Is based on the answer to a prior question, what is man?
Now, especially given the mass exodus of teachers from schools right now, Christians in education have an incredible opportunity not only to supply knowledge but form character and to secure essential relationships for the next generation. To support Christians in this high calling of education, the Colson Center has partnered with the Association of Christian Schools International to offer an annual Rooted Educator Summit this year in Dallas, Texas. Rooted is focused on equipping and formation of teachers with the resources they need to cultivate classroom culture, answer tough questions, counter secular ideology. and adopt best practices around a clear and consistent application. of the Christian worldview.
Please tell the teachers you know to join me and ACSI President Larry Taylor at the Rooted Conference in Dallas, Texas, June 16 to 18, 2025. Joining us there will be Elisa Childers, Matt Hurd, Brett Kunkel, Dr. Jeff Myers of Summit Ministries, Dr. Thaddeus Williams of Biola, and Dr. Katie McCoy.
To learn more about the Rooted Conference and to register, visit us at acsi.org slash rooted. That's acsi.org slash rooted. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast. And for a version of this commentary that you can print and share with others, go to breakpoint.org.
