Throwaway kids

A while back, I met with the local Teach for America alumni coordinator, who asked whether I still believe in the organization's mission statement: "One day, all children will have an equal opportunity for a quality education." I explained I believe the obstacles to that vision are primarily in the breakdown of the family, not in the administration of public education systems. Nat Hentoff reports on some of the practical consequences of that breakdown in "Keeping Low-income Students from Being Throwaway Kids." While debates about education, particularly in Christian circles, revolve around ideology, we do well to remember a child's educational success has much more to do with home environment than the teacher's party membership.

Getting back to that TFA-oriented conversation, I went on to explain my belief that families can be solid only when their foundation is the Church. Being an atheist, Nat Hentoff doesn't reach a similar conclusion. Nonetheless, Christians do well to remember our society will be well-ordered only when the Church returns to its center.