Published here with permission from The MOORE REPORT INTERNATIONAL - May/June 2002

The Moore Foundation, Box 1, Camas, WA 98607

Miracles: When the Head and Heart Work Together

by Raymond S. Moore

I am always cheered when I see or hear of a family who is doing something to help our schools - public, private or parochial. Their wisdom may be seen in their attitudes, words or offering part-time service as a teacher or teaching, or for election or appointment to a school governing board.

Most of you have heard or seen the negative pastures of some homeschoolers who join the chorus of critics. We may wonder if they are informed on the real causes of the school's problems.

True, the "system" is often awry, or it may be teachers who are less than skilled on methods or short on common sense, or, on occasion, encourage bizarre or amoral activities like homosexuality or witchcraft, so common these days. Yet if you study most schools with a practiced eye and an honest loving heart that operates by the Golden Rule, you will often be compelled to point to the home.

The most contagious social cancer these days and the most resistant to therapy, is peer dependence and its burden to destroy family values.

But lest these few words leave room for negative thoughts, please permit me to hint at God's remarkable, Bible-touted therapy: WORK. Just plain work, in which parents and teachers share with the students. In California's regional high school programs, many students work at least half of their school days under direction of school staff or in banks, city parks, school restaurants, etc. They average the highest academic grades in the state.

Finally, this model from ancient Israel and the Apostle Paul is now proven by research that finds the combination of working hands and heads to be the greatest producer, not only of behavior, but also of mental brilliance and brain development.