Something on my Mind: It Happened at Myrtle Springs

I wonder if you have ever heard of Myrtle Springs, Texas? If you're cool and smart and handsome, say, like me, there's a pretty good chance you never have. But maybe like me, that once you've read the news story, you'll never forget it.

I'll leave out the teary response to said story. I would hate to have people know that I have a very, very soft side.

Whatever happened at Myrtle Springs the other day involved an overturned truck in a flood-ravaged region of the state. Another accident, another flood, and another sad event.

Well, not quite so quicko, Zorro.

Google "Myrtle Springs" for yourself to get the whole story. It's one of the best non-partisan sources of true news (remember that column?). It's actually a story with a video piece. Words are great, but you know what they say: A picture is worth a thousand words.

In short, it's one of the most profound news stories that I have read in years, maybe even decades

In short, a pickup gets caught in a flash flood, overturns, and a cluster of Good Samaritans (nice term, straight from the Bible) step up to rescue a father and two of his kids, a child and toddler.

Three things stand out in this account:

One, there is a serious effort to save the lives of two children—strangers to the rescuers, to boot;

two, the audio allows us to hear a woman desperately praying to God; and three, there is a mixed groups of strangers (both black and white) working together on the rescue.

As a living illustration, this rescue brought together in my mind the things that America and Canada desperately really need. They are as follows:

One, saving our children. Every effort was made to save the children. Between the despicable Planned Parenthood and the devastating family break-up, children are always the losers. Their loss may be of hope and safety, or it may even be their life. The abortion business is killing thousands of children before they leave what used to be the safest place in the world, their mother's womb.

Two, crying out to God. Prayer has been under attack for decades, but prayer is the key to guidance, clarity, and hope. Even Jimmy Kimmel, commenting on a life-saving procedure on his newborn son, talked about "even the atheists were praying." We need to pray more, even if it's in just saying grace at a meals.

And three, scrapping the colour barrier. I know black is black and white is white, but we should celebrate our differences. And when real issues emerge, there are no blacks lives that matter anymore than whites lives that matter. All lives matter, and don't forget that!

There is no black race or white race; we're all in the human race. We may be different on the outside (remember the "culture" column?), but we're all the same underneath--because that's the way we were created.

There are three takeaways from this story: Children matter. There was no debating the baby's life was worth saving. Prayer matters. Why do people cry out to their Creator only in a time of crisis? And all lives matter. This inane race war, based on a false premise, is going to be our undoing.

So in a day of grungy news and bad endings, this crisis at Myrtle Springs, Texas, was a good one for the ages.

By the way, the kids lived and the family is safely back together again.

Something on my Mind: Private Education, A good Choice (2)

Last week I started down the path of trying to understand why there is such a relentless attack on private education. And again, by "private" I mean faith-based. There are, of course, more forms of private schools other than religious. We have established that there are various types of religious and non-religious models out there.

Private schools run the gamut, from ballet to baseball to music to foreign language (and I have met with both teachers and administrators from many of them).

In fact, as I write this, I will be heading out the door to meet at the AGM of an organization that serves a very wide variety of private schools here in Alberta, with only a fraction them faith-based.

So why is there this concerted attack of faith-based schools? I do not know.

Whether the schools are Catholic, Jewish Christian, or Muslim, there appears to be a concerted effort on the part of the government to ram policies that run contrary to their individual belief systems down their respective throats. And do you think that Hutterite schools, really private schools under the public banner, would subject themselves to the demands of the Ministry of Education in matters of broad morality and severe curriculum adjustment? I don't think so.

We know the issues of GSA and transgenderism loom large on the horizon. Can you honestly see a Jewish school allowing these issues on their campuses? Again, I don't think so.

And shouldn't parental choice, one of the greatest fundamentals of every form of education in Alberta, factor into this matter? Shouldn't parents have a say in what is going on in school, any school?

The two-pronged attack on private schools involves economics and academics. We considered the myth of the former last week; today, we'll focus on the latter.

You may not the money matters that we raised last week. It runs something like this: Private schools cost the government money. No, they save the government money. In fact, between Christian schools and home schools, it's in the hundreds of thousands of dollars...and that's only for one year

A second myth is that of academic standards. Every bona fide Christian school (note the switch from "private" to "Christian," as they are really the object of these attacks) must have certified teachers, must be monitored by the government, and must meet certain province-wide standards, like any other public school.

In the different schools I have taught in, they have always come through with flying colours.

Another myth lies in the academic side of the ledger. I suggest that's a myth because these schools are producing their share of academically-inclined students. I don't know if the ratio is higher or lower than the public system, but they do produce them I know many who have gone on to post-secondary institutions. This includes homeschoolers, too.

There appears to be a bum rap for private schools because their "products" end up driving a truck, becoming farm hands, and getting married early—as if driving a truck, becoming a farm hand, getting married early is sub-standard. In case you didn't notice, we need truck drivers, farm hands, and traditional families to make the economic engine run.

Rather, if the whole spectrum of private schools were free to show where their grads are today, we would find doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses (for starters) were among their grads. Then add other professionals and the trades—and I know many of them personally.

It's funny, but not in a funny way, how often the media completely fails to acknowledge these success stories. I'm not sure if that is an oversight or a strategy.

There was a move recently by a number of unions to force private schools to shut down and join the public system. Their stated rationale was so full of holes, that it would take a series of columns dissecting their porous position (which I am not promising to do, by the way).

Their attack on private schools was unwarranted, unnecessary, and unkind. I could never get away with that in a reverse attack on public schools. As you know I have no desire to (read my columns, including three most recent ones).

That's what a good education can do for you.

Something on my Mind: Private Education, A Good Choice- (1)

Alberta has a rich history of educational options, ie., various systems of educational models. In fact, it once had a global reputation: Many families overseas (armed forces and missionaries, for starters) used Alberta curriculum. I am not sure if this is the case anymore, at least it is not to the same extent.

Implicit in this history, of course, was parental choice: Parents could choose to send their kids to a brick and mortar school (public or private), or teach them at home.

I am aware that the above is a flawed model, as parents may have a choice of a private school education, but there may not be one available. Or it may be an arts or a sports school, and those aren't viable for many families. But in the main, these have been options for Albertans for decades.

Last week, we considered (only in passing) two reasons why private schools work, and should continue to work, on behalf of Albertans. One reason is economics (the other academics). In these very tight times for Albertans, private education saves the government money, lots of money.

The way it works is the government funds so much per student, regardless of the system. Without delving into details, the funding formula to place a student in a public desk is over twice as much as it is for a private school student.

If there is a fiscal shortfall, it's filled in by the parents (tuition and fundraising), which takes a lot of commitment on their part

One factor in resenting private schools is that they seem to be getting the job done for less than half the cost of any public school. I won't throw figures out at this juncture; you can do (and maybe did) your own homework, as I suggested last week. Public school finding is also public knowledge, so maybe you know already.

And while we're on the "money" topic, to be a teacher at a local private school, one has to be prepared to take a reduction in pay, as the money is not there. That appeals to a very dedicated staff, especially if the teacher is the chief breadwinner for the family.

In short, private schools, and by extension, home schools, save the government (and that would include you, Mr. And Mrs. Taxpayer) millions of dollars every year. Over five years, it's millions upon millions. Over ten years, it saves...well, you get the picture.

So, one of those "facts" out there, that we mentioned last week, about private schools costing the government money is a myth: They do not cost the government money; they save the government money—it's the complete opposite.

In short, shuttering private schools and home education is not at all about money. If money was the issue, the government would do the opposite, namely, encourage even more private schools.

One wonders, then, what the real reason for closing down private schools is. I'm wondering if it has more to do with indoctrination and control.

Faith-based schools work with the principle of absolute truth (which is not only about religion, friends; try scientific laws, as an example). This affects curriculum choice, behaviour, ethics and morality, and family life. This approach, in turn, produces a good citizenry.

In short, a private faith-based education means very good "bang for your buck." It's clearly a choice worth investigating--parental choice, that is.

When educational liberty and options, for seemingly academic, religious, and fiscal reasons, are taken away, we should be alarmed.

When we allow others to make our choices for us, we need to push back and sound the alarm—like writing columns about it. Class dismissed.