Samuel Case, FISM News
Overview
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he is formalizing a partnership with Hillsdale College to open dozens of charter schools within the state. During his state of the union address, Governor Lee highlighted Hillsdale when he proposed a $32 million investment “to increase the number of high-quality Charter Schools.” As per the Washington Times, in September President Larry Arnn told a Tennessee audience he had agreed to start 50 state charter schools.
Digging In
Hillsdale is widely praised by conservatives for providing a quality classical liberal arts education with a Christian worldview – offering courses in political philosophy, western history, literature, theology, and economics to name a few.
As described on its website, “Hillsdale College is a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan that operates independently of government funding. Students represent each of the fifty states and more than a dozen foreign countries, and drawn to the challenge of a Hillsdale education, they grow in heart and mind by studying timeless truths in a supportive community dedicated to the highest things.”
Zooming Out
Republican governors have been prioritizing education reform, as parental rights has become a core political issue ahead of the 2022 midterm election. A February Trafalgar poll found that 77.8% of voters who believe “parents should have greater authority than teachers’ unions in directing the education policy in their local school districts” prefer Republican candidates.
Biblical Perspective
While Scripture doesn’t specifically discuss “education” in the modern sense of schooling, the Bible does emphasize the importance of wisdom. In fact, a whole section of the Bible is dedicated to what is traditionally called wisdom literature, namely Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon – with the title Ecclesiastes more or less translating to “teacher.”
Proverbs instructs its readers that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” If states do not invest in educational institutions founded in the fear of the Lord we may still produce an intelligent society, but we will nonetheless be fools.
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News in Four is a segment of FISM News that breaks down stories in four easy to digest segments and can be read in four minutes or less. While these articles are meant to provide a biblical perspective to current events, FISM News does not intend to hold these perspectives as absolute truth, knowing that the news is often nuanced and politically driven. While our goal is to provide a jumping off point to view the news through a biblical lens, God has called all believers, like Bereans, to search the Bible for oneself (Acts 17:11-12).