two scholarly Round table discussions frame the Introduction to This Little Schoolhouse Review.
- The first round table, as mentioned in the previous article, is Canadian psychologist and author, Jordan B Peterson and his EXODUS series, 2022.
- The second round table is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his Education Roundtable, 2020.
I encourage you to watch MDE’s video about The Successful Learner Equation. In it, we are told the Minnesota Department of Education is shifting its language away from the phrase “School Readiness” in favor of the more inclusive phrase “Supporting Successful Learners.”
You may be surprised to learn that experts of the state now consider “readiness” to be racist because that might make an unready child feel excluded. No, every learner must be labeled “successful” upon entering kindergarten, and it is now up to the teacher to be “ready” for the unready child. According to MDE, this is a more inclusive approach and corrects the wrongs of their previous ways.
The giant named Industry is sneaky. He uses those in positions of authority, Walz and Flanagan, as his pawns to grow a crop of unsuspecting Consumers who are schooled into believing Industry is generous and caring and kind and that Industry is the savior who will satisfy the whims of their entitled little heart’s desire.
The Book of Judges
Tell me, where in the world is success simply the result of ones own opinion? In the book of Judges, we see how moral relativism leads Israel into a state of anarchy.
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6, 21:25)
If this lawlessness resulted from moral and spiritual chaos which in turn resulted from Israel having no central governing authority to maintain discipline and order, then what can we gather must be happening at the core of Minnesota government? In 2020, lawlessness really began to rear its ugly head in Minnesota, and yet We The People continue to elect incompetent leaders who can not, or will not, lead us in the goodness of law and order.
As the nation is in the process of correcting unhealthy practices and procedures, Minnesota has dug in her heals of moral relativism. “You be you.” “Live your own truth.” “All are welcome here.” This, the modern equivalent to doing what is right in your own eyes.
Moral Relativism:
A period where people’s actions are determined by their own subjective standards rather than objective moral principles. (Let’s save this very important truth for the next article when we discuss the Life on the Fringe.)
SUCCESSFUL FORMULA
for the
Fortress of Man
Under the state’s equation, real families, schools, programs, communities, and systems all must give of their time, talent, money and effort to feed the insatiable hunger of a machine which has no heart. Real is melted down into the golden calf of Education which promises worldly Success.
Why is it that Real seems to have no problem bowing down in thought, word and deed to this idol? The mass schooling of American education trains kids how to consume media, consume material goods and consume fleshly desires … all so they can throw it away tonight and start fresh tomorrow morning. Unwanted pregnancy? Kill it. Unwanted weight gain? Suck it out. Unwanted marriage? Abandon it. Unwanted depression? Drug it. Normalize it. Vaccinate it. Dismantle it’s walls and start over. Worldly Success has kids spinning around in circles trying to point the blame and fix a world that is made unsustainable by the god of themself. It is under this ruse that MDE’s Successful Learner Equation woo’s and charms the Real soul to death.
"The Mission Of SoWashCo Is To Educate Students For Success."
If success is simply an opinion, then why the need for publicly funded schooling … If the kids arrive as a success from day one? Trace the governor’s “Roadmap for Transformational Change in Minnesota Education” through to it’s logical end, and the mission of South Washington County Schools becomes pure fluff – a fictional fantasy – a measurement of unrealistic expectation. Does Walz realize he is making a farce out of this cute little (meaningless) sentiment of a mission statement that costs South Washington County taxpayers $340 million dollars a year and dupes their 19,000 children out of a legitimate education?
Under the Successful Learner Equation, it is by design that all honor and glory go to the state.
Where REAL parents nurture their children, surrogate parents of the state nurture their assets. After all, “We have affections for that which is closest to us.” says Dr. James Orr.
$$, $$$, $$$, $$$
Can you guess the greatest thing of value to the state? By observing the shape of its money (metal) when melted down, we get a pretty good idea. Public education takes half your property taxes. In 2024, the market value of the South Washington County School District was Eighteen billion, four hundred thirty million, three hundred one thousand, nine hundred dollars https://resources.finalsite.net/…/AnnualComprehensiveFi… As if this were not large enough, last Fall SoWashCo voters approved a bond referendum to pay for even larger schools. See the Construction Updates page here: https://www.sowashco.org/construction
Most family’s would say their largest monthly expense is the mortgage. Since school and home appear to be the greatest things of value to Minnesota taxpayers, it seemed fitting for my focus in 2025 top be This Little School+House… only it is not so little anymore. You might say, American education has turned into a bit of an idol.
This book has made me ponder the countless familial barriers broken down in the name of Compulsory Education. Why DO we divide children by subject and grade? Why DO we lock children away during the day? Why separate families to make pretend community out of institutionalized mass schooling? Why force children out of real homes, away from real parents, out of real communities, and real outdoor nature so we can bus them, segregate them, class them, seat them, quiet them and grade them under a barrage of fakery?
I think it is safe to say, I wILL nOT be mobilizing people around a counterfeit fortress of education like MDE or SoWashCo. I will not help nurture their assets or dismantle their barriers. Why? Because the fortress is at war with the Kingdom and, "As for me and my household, we will serve the lord." Joshua 24:15
SUCCESSFUL FORMULA
for the
kingdom of God
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
EDUCATION
Success
The GUIDE TO SUCCESS UNDER GOD is made of a magnetic needle that can detect the magnetic field of the Earth and faces the Magnetic North. Its purpose is to guide a person when they are in unfamiliar territory or when the way is dark and unknown.
Real compasses do not change their Magnetic North to match the changing feelings of the one who is lost over time.
The GUIDE TO SUCCESS UNDER MDE is made of a locked needle that does not pivot freely. Its purpose is to look good on paper as a marketing trick to appeal to the changing desires of a people who forfeit their freedom to convenience.
Up Next
I’d like to introduce you to life on the edge, the fringe, or that which can only be understood from the outside looking in. How does one penetrate the tough outer layer of another… and access the soft fleshy truth of their core? How does one, with love in her heart, shine light into a brick wall? It is a wall built tall and a wall built thick around the heart suffering from abuse, neglect, starvation and betrayal. She recognizes the depth of that despair because she too once built up walls of protection. How does one who loves, transform the one who hates? Maybe destroying the walls of their home is not the answer. Maybe knocking at their door is a better solution.
For this section, I need to make it personal in order to explain the immense truth there is in the dynamics at play between the UNITED CENTER and the FRINGE. When I ran for school board, I had to find the center.
THIS SUBJECT IS GOING TO BE ABSTRACT
BECAUSE THE FRINGE IS ABSTRACT,
BUT QUITE HONESTLY THE FRINGE IS MY FAVORITE PLACE TO BE!
Works Cited (in addition to links in-line):
- Dr. Jay Christianson. Living out Scripture. Faith Radio with Bill Arnold. Aired January 07, 2025 Begin high school level Hebrew Idiom at minute 30:43. https://www.myfaithradio.com/…/living-out-scripture-jay…
- Peterson, Jordan B. Authority from Above and Within. Dailywire+ podcast, EXODUS Episode 16, Aired April 26 2023, accessed November 6, 2024. https://images.app.goo.gl/BmRJHzLCgPLeSP667
- Minnesota Department of Education. The Successful Learner Equation. Video by MDE – Early Learning Services Division. Recorded November 2022, accessed January 2025. https://education.mn.gov/MDE/VideoNew/?group=Educ&id=PROD070510
Like this article?
This Little SCHOOL+HOUSE
In 2020, the Governor’s Education Roundtable put together A Roadmap for Transformational Change in Minnesota Education that says, “We need to mobilize all of us – not just teachers and students – to nurture assets and DISMANTLE BARRIERS so every student and their family has all Minnesotans supporting their academic and personal growth.”
On the other hand, Kelly Smith, Founder of Prenda, says his micro-schools are “BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS that will make it easier for people to start their own schools.” Meanwhile, One Stone, a school with no teachers, no tests and no grades, says they are “BREAKING DOWN the one-size-fits-all nature of a conventional classroom.”
As you can see, there are a lot of proverbial BARRIERS BEING BROKEN DOWN these days, and they appear to be at war with one another. G.K. Chesterton said, “Whenever you remove any fence, always pause long enough to ask why it was put there in the first place.” Wise advice from a wise man.
My question is, which SCHOOL+HOUSE is able to BUILD UP? Anyone can break down in a world ruled by the laws of gravity. Whether good or evil , real or fake – anyone can destroy – but only REAL things grow while under this sun … only REAL is granted authority to build upward … only REAL has the soft heart needed for love … only REAL is able to truly hear His story (history) spoken … and only REAL is able to truly see the Word written into the fabric of creation.
This Little School+House will pair with the “Borders and Boundaries” series of 2025 in exploring the question, “What is education, actually?”
