Responding to DanielJ’s post on the scholarship topic, I started thinking that we should pursue a possibly productive line of thinking that would include the college experience as a whole, including which Christian colleges might be healthier places for our children when they hit college age; whether college is a necessity for craft or mechanically-minded students to begin with (the whole trade school or apprenticeship idea); how best to educate young women who will face the challenge of homeschooling their own children one day, and a number of other considerations that will impact young lives.
Might as well start with a college that thinks young Christian leaders should be actively involved in American government, and actively promotes that involvement.
“The Mission of Patrick Henry College is to prepare Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. Educating students according to a classical liberal arts curriculum, and training them with apprenticeship methodology, the College provides academically excellent baccalaureate level higher education with a biblical world view.”
As always, I do not claim to have the final word on the Biblical or educational perfection of the institutions we discuss on this forum. Perhaps there are no educational institutions extent that embrace the Kinist philosophy. But with care, knowledge of their child’s capabilities and nature, scripture, and yet more attention to detail, parents can make a decision for their child that they feel comfortable with.
My understanding is that they are a start-up institution, and I can’t say at the present time how far along they are in providing educational facilities, but their description looks interesting.
“In the tradition of the original “Institute,” SMI will be a small engineering and science institution emphasizing the foundations of Christian faith and morality. It will also provide a sound background in the history of Western Civilization, American politics, Constitutional studies, and military history. SMI will be steeped in southern tradition and will re-establish the all-male Corps of Cadets, the Gentleman’s Honour System, the “Brother-Rat” Class System, and the traditional “Ratline” basic training system. SMI will sponsor programs that advance the knowledge and awareness of Southern history and culture including the honouring of Confederate Memorial Day and New Market Day, which celebrates the valor of the VMI cadets at the Battle of New Market, Virginia on the 15th of May, 1864. ” (description quoted from Dixie Broadcasting’s web site http://dixiebroadcasting.com)
A strictly “trade tech” option for students out on the Left Coast (sorry, friends, couldn’t resist the little joke) might be Los Angeles Trade Tech College http://lattc.edu/
In this particular case, one cannot guarantee the ethnic makeup of the student body nor the Christian character of the school. But if a student wishes to learn a trade, it appears to offer some interesting options. Below is a listing of their Academic Departments and Programs.
Academic Departments and Programs
* 21st CENTURY PROGRAM *
* ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
* AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY
o Automotive Collision Repair and Refinishing
* BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
* BRIDGE to SUCCESS
o Bridge to College for K-12 Students
o CAHSEE Classes
o Career Development Academy FREE CLASSES
* BUSINESS/OFFICE ADMINISTRATION/
COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS
o Business Administration
o Computer Applications & Office Technologies
o Computer Information Systems
* CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY
* COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
* CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN & MANUFACTURING DEPT.
o Apprenticeship Programs
o Architecture & Environmental Design
o Building Construction Techniques
o Cabinetmaking & Millwork
o Carpentry
o Drafting
o Electrical Construction & Maintenance
o Electrical Distribution Mechanic (Lineman)
o Electrical Construction Engineering
o Machine Shop - CNC
o Operation & Maintenance Engineering
o Plumbing Technology
o Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
o Street Maintenance
o Welding Gas & Electric
* COSMETOLOGY
* CULINARY ARTS
* ELECTRONICS & COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
* EVENING & WEEKEND CLASSES
* FASHION
* FOSTER & KINSHIP CARE EDUCATION PROGRAM
* GRAPHIC DESIGN/SIGN GRAPHICS
* LABOR CENTER
* LANGUAGE ARTS and HUMANITIES
* LEARNING SKILLS CENTER
o Learning Skills & ESL Department
o Computer Lab
o Instructional Resources Lab
o Tutoring Center
o Writing Lab
* LIBRARY
* PHYSICAL EDUCATION
o Athletics
o Aquatics
o Dance
o Fitness
o Health
o Judo
o Online Classes
* SIGN GRAPHICS/GRAPHIC DESIGN
This discussion is healthy and although I’m not a dominionist or post-millennialist I think we would be remiss to ignore some prudent financial advice from Gary North regarding four-year colleges.
I think we are past a tipping point in this country and a four year degree is essentially committing one’s self to permanent loan enslavement with little financial reward.
These two articles are indispensable reading for young men between 14 and 24. First, determining one’s goals and setting one’s house in order should be our primary goal and Mr. North makes this crystal in these articles. He then goes on to explain the difference between calling and occupation and how to live profitably in both arenas.
Personal advice for those interested in immediately entering the job market:
I’m an IBEW apprentice in the OUTSIDE electrical industry, that is, a lineman apprentice. If you can get into the New England or Cal-Nev apprenticeship you will make plenty of money from the start. It is one of the last trades outside of the ironworker, pipe fitter and boilermaker trades that one can support a family on.
Regardless of the career path one chooses I’m of the opinion that our long term goal as a community should be the abandoning of the neo-feudalistic cities and urban fiefdoms to the countryside where we can truly outwork our Biblical ideals.
Thank you, DanielJ for your unique perspective on careers. Many young men might not be inclined toward desk jobs, and your information could be of high value to them.
When one does physical jobs as a young person, one still must keep in mind that as one ages one needs to have Plan B, C, and D in mind. What does a man do whose job is physical when his body no longer cooperates? The only reason I am focusing on this right now is that I know people who are now in their 50s who have lost jobs of long standing because they were no longer able to physically perform them. Some of them had no backup plan, and are suffering the consequences.
Of course, the agrarian life also requires a certain level of physical ability. When families live close to each other in a farm-type situation the younger folks can help out their aging parents or other relatives. Another reason for folks to stay close and honor their parents.
I would like to complete my schooling as I progress in my field, perhaps moving onto engineering.
I think you are 100% correct about getting some kind of education because our strength does fail us but as you state in your post it is our community that should take care of us as we age.
Human beings are very inconvenient in infancy and gerontracy (?) and it is us “in the middle” that are responsible for raising the young and comforting the elderly and infirm.
Something does not seem quite right Patrick Henry College… They support the GOP Bush regime and have large number of interns working for them.
Laurel Loflund - 16 March 2008 06:23 PM
Might as well start with a college that thinks young Christian leaders should be actively involved in American government, and actively promotes that involvement.
“The Mission of Patrick Henry College is to prepare Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. Educating students according to a classical liberal arts curriculum, and training them with apprenticeship methodology, the College provides academically excellent baccalaureate level higher education with a biblical world view.”
Is sending home schooled children away to college a good idea? And also one does wonder about their program… is working for the CIA ethical?
Patrick Henry College’s Strategic Intelligence Program (SIP). It’s curricula is directly tied into developing “careers in the intelligence community (Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, etc.), domestic counter-terrorism and law enforcement (Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, etc.), and diplomacy (Foreign Service, State Department, etc.). These graduates will eventually work their way into positions to positively influence and shape this increasingly important part of our culture.”
Those are good questions, Faust. I think you will find that even among Kinists there are disagreements about post-high school level education. Some of us think sending young adult children away to college (in a considered fashion) is acceptable. Some think it best to keep them close to home and have them train in trades or use distance education for college.
Is working for the CIA acceptable or moral? If what the Patrick Henry people say about wanting to influence for good from inside is true, perhaps. I have mixed feelings about the idea myself, but think it depends on the individual’s purpose and spiritual determination.
I would like to see if the school sends as many interns to the White House/Congress/Senate if Barack Obama gets elected. That might be a truer picture of the school’s intentions for their students.
In any event, I wanted to list it as an option. There are some individuals who DO want to make a Christian difference through politics.
The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, is the conservative branch of the Lutheran Church, and is pretty much culturally homogenous as well. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is much more liberal. Both denominations can feed into the colleges collectively listed as, well, Lutheran Colleges (no, duh, Laurel!). There is a web site with information about the following colleges at http://www.lutherancolleges.org. Worth a look-see.
OUR COLLEGES:
AUGSBURG
AUGUSTANA, Rock Island
AUGUSTANA, Sioux Falls
BETHANY
CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN
CAPITAL
CARTHAGE
CONCORDIA, Alberta
CONCORDIA, Moorhead (ELCA)
CONCORDIA, Ann Arbor
CONCORDIA, Austin
CONCORDIA, Chicago
CONCORDIA, Irvine
CONCORDIA, Nebraska
CONCORDIA, New York
CONCORDIA, Portland
CONCORDIA, St. Paul
CONCORDIA, Selma
CONCORDIA, Wisconsin
DANA
FINLANDIA
GETTYSBURG
GRAND VIEW
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS
LENOIR-RHYNE
LUTHER, Regina
LUTHER
MIDLAND LUTHERAN
MUHLENBERG
NEWBERRY
PACIFIC LUTHERAN
ROANOKE
ST. OLAF
SUSQUEHANNA
TEXAS LUTHERAN
THIEL
TRINITY LUTHERAN
VALPARAISO
WAGNER
WALDORF
WARTBURG
WITTENBERG
Yes that is sad. I am afraid the so-called “conservative” church denominations are more “liberal(or maybe degenerate is a better word)” than the so-called “mainline” denominations were back in 1960s. Sadly many of these so-called Christian Colleges seem unable to uphold high morals among their students.
And sadly one wonders what will there be for these colleges graduates to do…
Loss of American Jobs for College Graduates
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ron Smith
WBAL Radio
U.S. News & World Report, which has made a name for itself by ranking and announcing the best colleges every year, is now ranking and listing the best careers for young people. A comparison of the latest lists shows a shocking disconnect.
While the price of a college education has skyrocketed far faster than inflation, many careers for which colleges prepare their graduates are disappearing. U.S. News’ Best Careers guide concludes that “college grads might want to consider blue-collar careers” because bachelor’s degree holders “are having trouble finding jobs that require college-graduate skills.”
Incredibly, U.S. News is telling college graduates to look for jobs that do not require a college diploma. Among the 31 best opportunities for 2008 are the careers of firefighter, hairstylist, cosmetologist, locksmith, and security system technician.
Where did the higher-skill jobs go? Both large and small companies are “quietly increasing off-shoring efforts.”
Ten years ago we were told we really didn’t need manufacturing because it can be done more cheaply elsewhere, that auto workers and others should move to information age jobs. But now the information jobs are moving offshore, too, as well as marketing research and even many varieties of innovation.
Society has been telling high school students that college is the ticket to get a life, and politicians are pandering to parents’ desire for their children to be better educated and so have a higher standard of living. Former Senator John Edwards wants the taxpayers to guarantee every kid a college education, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says more education is the means for Americans to compete in a global economy.
But it doesn’t make sense for parents to mortgage their homes, or for students to saddle themselves with long-term debt, in order to pay overpriced college tuition to prepare for jobs that no longer exist. Tuition at public universities has risen an unprecedented 51 percent over the past five years.
A Duke University spokesman said that 40 percent of Duke’s engineering graduates cannot get engineering jobs…
...and Bill Gates goes to Washington asking for more H-1B visas so America can remain competitive (paraphrase). What he really means is so his own company can remain competitive, forget about American workers.
