On September 17, Americans celebrate the birthday of our Constitution.  It’s a miraculous accomplishment that continues to set records. Since 1787, America has had only one Constitution. Quite frankly this sets us apart from other countries and adds to our exceptionalism. The average life span of a constitution among the countries of the world is a whopping 17 years! Our celebration of 236 years is exceptional!

In order to further set our celebration in perspective, consider these facts: within the same time frame we have celebrated one Constitution, France has had 15. In the past 100 years, Russia has had 4. Afghanistan has had 6, while Poland has had 7. Since 1948 South Korea has had 6 constitutions. Since 1954 China has had 4.  That’s roughly 1 constitution every 17 years for China.

Our Constitution is precious, especially when compared to the rest of the world.  British Prime Minister William Gladstone called it, “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” That’s quite a compliment.  But it almost didn’t happen. 

The hot, sticky summer of 1787 saw many state delegates bring their own plan of action to the convention, and with so many varying opinions there was very little hope for compromise as gridlock set in.  At that point, Benjamin Franklin rose to address the convention.  He was the oldest delegate at 81, and had yet to address the delegates personally.   His remarks were not prepared, rather than were spoken from the heart. We only know what was said because of Madison’s meticulous note taking.  Here is part of what Franklin said:
    
“In the beginning of the contest with Britain when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the Divine Protection.  Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered . . . And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His Assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men . . . I therefore beg leave to move, that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business.”

The delegates took a few days off to attend church services and reflect upon their work.  When they returned to the convention hall, they did indeed open the morning in prayer (and congress has opened in prayer every day since). A different mood had set in.  A spirit of cooperation had replaced the discord which previously lingered.  Alexander Hamilton put it this way:

“For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.”

We have much to be thankful for in America today, and our Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights, is chiefly among them.  However, there are nefarious forces at work which are attempting to undermine the Constitution and remove individual liberties.  

For example, the governor of New Mexico recently issued an “emergency” executive order suspending the Second Amendment right to keep and bare arms. She stated that the Constitution was not absolute, including her own oath to protect and defend it. She believes that emergency powers give her the authority to suspend any portion of the Constitution she deems to fall within that emergency. 

Of course, this is not written anywhere in the Constitution, but that does’t matter to Marxists. They despise our Constitution and will do anything possible to dispose of it.  Even if they have to strip it away by piecemeal a little hear and a little there.

Case in point, the Marxists have succeeded over the past 70 years in redefining the establishment clause of the 1st Amendment so that it no longer means congress shall not establish a religion.  It now means that religion shall not exist in the public square. That is something to which our founders would have never agreed or supported.

Freedom is fragile, and she is held together by a 236 year old document . . . a document which is under constant assault by the Marxists of the progressive left.  The best way for American citizens to protect and defend the Constitution is to read it, know it, learn it, and understand it.  Take the next 30 days and read a portion of it daily.  Talk about it with your neighbors, friends and family.  Let’s keep the Constitution alive and well in America!

This past week Cindy and I rode the stretch of the Iron Belle Trail from Otter Lake to Millington.  What a beautiful ride it was! If you have not had a chance to get your bikes out on that particular trail this summer, I encourage you to do it.  

There are fews things better than getting out in nature on a gorgeous Michigan summer day.  The trail boasts a nice wide path and beautiful views of nature.  

This portion of the trail concludes at Millington schools.  There is a large covered pavilion where one can sit in the shade and take a break.  

There we saw a plaque from the Millington Board of Education commemorating the original Glaza Elementary school in 1957.  A portion of that 1957 dedication states the following:

“We can truly say that this school building has a ‘sacred purpose.’  What more sacred thing is there than a human life? What greater trust do any of us have than the care of the children of this world? What finer investment can we make of our money than to use it for the sacred purpose of developing worthy, law abiding, and God fearing citizens? Our schools, homes, and churches share in this sacred purpose.”

It is difficult to imagine a public school board of education acknowledging the sacred purpose of developing God fearing citizens.  It is even more difficult to grasp schools and churches once working together in this sacred purpose.  

But, of course, that was 1957 when public schools were still allowed to acknowledge such things. In 1957 we actually believed schools, homes, and churches stood for the same values.

There also hangs a plaque from 2015 commemorating the pavilion on the school grounds. A portion of the 2015 dedication states the following:
    
“ . . . to help our young community members receive a solid foundation from which they     would become successful students and citizens.”

Do you see the difference in the verbiage from 1957 to 2015? In 60 years we have lost much in our language.  Would you agree there is more purpose in being a worthy, law abiding, God fearing citizen than just being a successful student and citizen?

When Samuel Adams encouraged patriots to unite their endeavors to renovate the age by educating their children in the Fear of the Lord, love of country, and art of self-government, the year was 1790. 

The constitution had just been ratified three years earlier, and yet Samuel Adams used the phrase, “renovate the age.”

The word “renovate” means to “restore to the first state, or a good state.”  I am surprised that Samuel Adams would feel like they needed to restore their age to a good state after having just written the Constitution.  

But somehow he felt like the teachings of the Fear of the Lord, love of country, and the art of self-government were slipping.  Could it be that every generation needs to “renovate the age”?

It was Reagan who said “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”  That obviously holds true for other things such as the Fear of the Lord, love of country, and the art of self-government.

Reagan continued by saying if we do not fight to protect our freedom, “One day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

Have we reached the point in time where we are telling our children what it was like in the United States when people still feared the Lord, loved their country, and knew how to govern themselves?

Let us instill these principles in the minds of our children.  Let us guide their hearts in such a way that they become men and women who love the right things and desire to pursue those things with a Godly passion filled with skill and ability!

Let us renovate the age together!​

A few weeks ago on July 13, one of America’s most least talked about and under appreciated founding documents celebrated a birthday.  The Northwest Ordinance was perhaps the crowning achievement of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation when it was made law in 1787.  It was reestablished under the new Constitutional Republic and signed into law by George Washington in 1789. 


It’s one of our most important founding documents because it laid the groundwork for government in the territory northwest of the Ohio river that was signed over to the Unites States in the peace treaty with England.  

In addition to organizing territorial government, the Northwest Ordinance created a path for states born from this territory to be welcomed into the union and made equal with the original 13.  The states carved out of the Northwest Territory include Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

The Northwest Ordinance determined the laws to be passed in these states should not be “repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance” (Section 11).  

For example, Article 6 of the Northwest Ordinance declares that any state formed from this territory must be a free state which will never allow slavery.  

Therefore, Article 1, Section 9 of the Michigan State Constitution declares: “Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude unless for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this state.”  This is a direct quote from the Northwest Ordinance.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson drafted the Northwest Ordinance, and by writing this provision into the document he, and the Continental Congress, set the wheels in motion for slavery to be eradicated even before the Constitution was passed? Students today are taught the exact opposite.

The Northwest Ordinance also states: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged” (Article 3).

This statement is also directly placed in the Michigan State Constitution in Article VIII, Section 1. under the heading of "Education."

Did you know that our founding documents declared that religion and morality were necessary to good government? Today we are told that religion and morality have no place in politics or government.  Our founders thought differently. 

They also believed religion, morality, and knowledge “shall forever be encouraged” in our schools and means of education. 

Over time, religion and morality have been ushered out of our schools. They have been deemed as being too offensive even though the Northwest Ordinance declares they shall forever be encouraged.

The Northwest Ordinance is indeed one of our most important founding documents. But it mostly goes ignored because it does not fit the current narrative the progressive culture is feeding American students through their misguided education.

This is why a classical Christian education is vitally important!  

At Waterbrook, we hear the following question often: “What is classical education?” Our shortest answer is this: Classical education is simply what education was intended to be.  

Waterbrook provides a classical Christian education that strives to bring back what once was.  We believe in teaching religion, morality, and knowledge.  

We agree with Samuel Adams who on Oct. 4, 1790 wrote in a letter to his cousin, John Adams:

“Let patriots unite their endeavors to renovate the age by . . . educating their sons and daughters in the Fear of the Lord . . love of their country and the art of self-government.”

Those three elements are no longer part of the American education.  The Fear of the Lord has long since been removed from schools, and since Proverbs 1:7 tells us the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, we can determine that is also absent.

Love of country is no longer prevalent. Students are lied to about the American founding and are taught to hate our country.  They are told our founders were not Christians, but instead were deists who greedily built this country on the backs of slaves.

The art of self-government is a phrase no longer understood. If it is discussed at all, it is mostly in the context of civics.  The idea of individuals governing their own actions and taking responsibility for themselves is a foreign thought in today's classrooms.

In an address given at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Bible Society on May 28, 1849, Robert Winthrop, a Speaker of the US House of Representatives, had this to say about individual self-government:
    
“All societies of men must be governed in some way or another.  The less  they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government.  The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint.  Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or a power without them, either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man, either by the Bible or the bayonet.”

Most teachers and politicians do not talk like this anymore. There is no longer a correlation between self-government and moral restraint. There is no longer a reliance on the Word of God to provide a power within us; a power to guide us through self-control.

Education in America has lost much by ceding control to a progressive ideology bent on driving us away from Judeo-Christian values.  

However, we intend to renovate the age through a classical Christian education that teaches the Fear of the Lord, love of country, and the art of self-government.  We are happy you are part of this endeavor!

At the end of January we held a family meeting wherein we talked about how we are preparing for the expected growth in enrollment for next fall.  We also discussed our plans to grow our internal departments - namely the music department and the athletic department, as well as creating a special education program.  I’d like to give you an update on these projects.

The purchase of 4181 E. Mt. Morris Rd was finalized at closing on February 1.  On February 16 we met with the Genesee Township Planning Commission to review our application for a variance on the building usage.  The Planning Commission approved our application.  We now move into the architectural drawing and construction bid phase.

Some who are skilled in the building trades have offered to volunteer your services when the construction begins.  Thank you for that! We deeply appreciate your generosity! If others would like to volunteer on this project, but have not yet spoken with me, please do so.  You may call the school office and I will be happy to speak with you. We would welcome your assistance.

On the evening of Feb. 27, Mrs. Hoag and the concert band hosted an ensemble fundraiser to raise $4000 towards the purchase of a tuba.  While we were confident the goal could be reached, most of us didn’t see it coming in one night.  But the generosity of friends and family who were in attendance was overwhelming.  One parent offered a dollar for dollar match up to $2000, and by the end of the intermission the concert band had met their goal! The beautiful thing is that the donations continue to roll in.  As of today, the amount raised is over $4600! The generosity continues.

Our third area of focus  is special education.  At our meeting I mentioned our financial goal for this program is an annual commitment of $20,000.  After some internal discussion with our board, we have increased this initial goal to $30,000 with this amount to be revisited on an annual basis.  

Many of you have voiced your approval for this program, and it is now time to pursue funding for this endeavor.  In the next few days we will be explaining ways in which you can financially assist us if special education is something you care about.

As you know, Waterbrook does not take any government funding, even though we are  routinely offered Title I Part A services from the public school districts in which our families live. Therefore, our special education program will be built from the ground up by individuals and partners who are passionate about special education.

The theme of this update can be summed up in one word - generosity.  You continue to show your generosity to Waterbrook in many ways and we are grateful for that!

Recently, while attending the memorial service of a dear friend to Waterbrook, one of the speakers expressed a poignant observation. She said, “During such times of grief, words seldom fill the void left by sorrow. Music, although, has a way of speaking to the soul during such times.”  

She then proceeded to allow the music flowing from her violin to speak to the soul of every person in attendance. Music is a beautiful gift when found in the hands of a skilled musician. 

Music can also bring joy when found in the hands of one learning an instrument.

While working on his theory of relativity in Berlin, Einstein once wrote a letter to his 11 year old son in Vienna. Einstein penned: “I am very pleased you find joy with the piano . . . it is the way to learn the most; when you are doing something with such enjoyment that you don’t notice the time passing.”

It is our sincere hope that our students feel this joy while participating in music classes; that they sense the ease and seemingly swift passage of time as they are caught up in the enjoyment of learning and appreciating the gift of music.

Not only does music bring us enjoyment and speak to us in the depths of our emotions, it also can do amazing things for the development of our neurological capabilities.  

In a recent article published in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at MIT discovered the brains of students who study music produce structural and functional connections that help children develop stronger neural pathways, especially in the areas of speech and sound.

At Waterbrook, we realize the benefits a strong music program can have on our students; therefore, we continue to direct our focus in the musical arts.  We have skilled teachers who encourage our students to feel, enjoy and master the music they are playing. 

We invite you to come experience the gift of music this Friday evening, February 25th as our concert band members perform in small ensembles for your listening pleasure.  The evening, which includes coffee and desserts, begins at 7pm.  This event is a fundraiser towards the purchase of a tuba.  Donations can be made at the door.  We hope to see you there!

Of all the important choices parents have to make when raising children, choosing where and how they will be educated tops the list.  After all, what children and teens are learning now will lay the foundation for who they will become. 

Solomon said it this way: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).  Woke culture would convince parents that who the child should become is to be left up to the child to decide. 

But Solomon says otherwise. 

It’s the job of the parents to decide the way the child should go and raise him or her in that way. 

In Plato’s Republic, the classical Greek philosopher addressed the topic like this:

"Shall we just carelessly allow children to hear any casual tales which may be devised by casual persons, and to receive into their minds ideas for the most part the very opposite of those which we should wish them to have when they are grown up?  We cannot . . . Anything received into the mind at that age is likely to become indelible and unalterable; and therefore it is most important that the tales which the young first hear should be models of virtuous thoughts. (emphasis mine)

We all have certain values we want to pass along to our children. Their education should mirror those values.  But in many places, it does not. 

Take socialism for example.  In a 2016 Gallup poll, 55% of people ages 18-29 considered socialism favorably.  But 73% of people from their parents’ generation frowned upon socialism. 

That is a very large generational gap. 

If parents are not teaching their children to love socialism, who is?

Before he was elected as our 40th president, Ronald Reagan famously spoke about the idea and value of freedom being instilled in our children:

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it along to our children in our bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

Reagan’s words continue to hit home as we can see how freedom is under assault.  But his words ring true for more than just freedom, they can also be applied to our own values. Our values are not passed along to our children in our bloodstream. They must be fought for and protected in the hearts of our children constantly.  

But this advice did not originate with Reagan, Plato, or even Solomon.  It comes directly from the heart of God. In the Old Testament, Jehovah instructed Moses to command the Israelites to fight for and protect their values in the hearts of their children:

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Duet. 6:6-7).

His instruction to teach the children diligently was to be followed when they were sitting around, when they were walking to various places, when they were being tucked into bed at night, and when they were getting up for the day. 

In other words, he was stating that this instruction should be happening constantly because values are not passed along through the bloodstream, but rather they are fought for, protected, and handed down from generation to generation.

Unless children are being homeschooled, parents do not have the opportunity to pass along their values throughout the day as could readily happen in Old Testament times. This is why it is most important that your child’s education align with your own values, not feverishly work against those values.  They should be paramount in the stories we read, the songs we sing, and the poems we recite.  They should be told and retold. They should be fought for and protected. 

Solomon, Plato, Reagan, and Moses all had this one thing in common: They understood the value of protecting values.  Parents must choose a school for their children that understands the same.