Hello Friend,



In David Barton’s Four Centuries of American Education, he stated that our country’s main educational goal for the first three centuries (1600s–1800s) was to foster "religion, morality, and knowledge:”

     •𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 (𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥): Focused on religious literacy, particularly the ability to read the Bible for salvation.

     •𝟏𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 (𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐫𝐚): Aimed to establish the "pillars" of virtue, morality, and religion to sustain a free republic.

     •𝟏𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 (𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐄𝐫𝐚): Continued the emphasis on morality and religious principles, alongside foundational knowledge for citizenship.

     •𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 (𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧): Shifted away from religious foundations toward secularism and alternative philosophies. (https://youtu.be/5zxMbVAuuPA?si=t7SkpBME4amnfh34).

Basic academic knowledge of fourth graders in 1862 was material that is studied only in much higher grades today - if at all. From geography to math to history to civics and every other subject, early American education was far more advanced. Barton noted, “Many of America’s early educational leaders were patriots who had been directly involved in the American Revolution. They understood that if America was to endure beyond the Revolution, the principles on which she had been birthed, nurtured, and developed must be successfully transmitted to future generations: and it was for this reason that so many of them became directly involved in writing educational plans, authoring textbooks, or starting universities” (Barton, 2004, p. 23).

Harvard, Yale and Princeton were started to train preachers. The two mottos of Harvard were, “For Christ and The Church“ and “For the Glory of Christ.” A statement from Harvard admonished: “Let every student be plainly instructed and...consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus, which is eternal life (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” Dr. Barton documented that, “...at the university level in 1860, 262 out of 288 college presidents were ministers of the gospel—as were more than a third of all university faculty members” (p. 23). He went on to say, “While some would measure it (a good education) only by technological advances, it should also be measured by the content a student has learned—and by how well that student has been taught to think and to reason” (p. 3). Preachers must lead the way once again in education. We must start new schools and colleges to help train the next generation “to think, be real and be free.”

Dr. Benjamin Rush is known as the “Penman of the Constitution.” His recommendation on education was, “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man towards God” (p. 25). The proper approach to education is to provide a biblical foundation and worldview upon and through which all subjects are taught and studied - “A sound education should instill the three elements long proven to be the basis of a successful education: religion, morality, and knowledge” (p. 51).

According to Ritter (2024) and Ray (2026), 13-16% of students in America are in private schools and/or homeschool settings. It has been stated that a possible tipping point in impacting overall education in our country with more positive results may be reached when approximately 20% of our country’s students are in alternate education settings. Now is the time for Christian educators to step up and into this great vacuum of truth in our country’s educational system and make a difference. A great tool to reach and teach this next generation is Christian education.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞. 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 “𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞.” 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.