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.
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