By Teri Ong As the cost of going to college continues to go up nationwide at a rate of 5 to 15% per year, more people– especially parents– are questioning the value of spending four years and many thousand dollars to get a degree from an institution of “higher education.” For Christian parents, the question is– or at least should be– more complicated than merely where they can get the most “bang for the buck.” Christian parents are often times not just paying large amounts of money for their children to be enabled to earn large amounts of money; too […]

by Teri Ong There is a kind of brain fog that comes on me in the middle of winter. I don’t know if it is because I  suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – No, really! This is my own Alphabet Soup affliction  which is due to low light in the winter. Maybe it is brought on by vitamin D deficiency from lack of  sunlight on the skin. Maybe it is brought on by everything being in black and white (i.e. bare tree  limbs on snow background, mucky asphalt on snow background, dirty buildings and cars on snow  background, etc.). […]

An ODD Diagnosis by Teri Ong In couple more years I will be renewing my Colorado Teacher’s License for the seventh time. I will have been a duly credentialed teacher of elementary age children for thirty years. In that time I have seen “classroom management” fads come and go. But this one thing I know; nothing good will happen in a classroom of any kind if the teacher is not in control. Sadly, the current fad is to excuse children from personal responsibility for bad behavior on the basis of an alphabet soup of psychological “disorders.” Teachers cannot control a […]

by Teri Ong My husband recently told me about an internet presentation that was forwarded to him by an old friend. The presentation was on the Biblical story of David and Goliath. The presenter’s point of view was that people for thousands of years have taken the beloved story at face value and have ascribed to David hero status that he does not deserve. He goes on to give “evidence” that David was not the underdog in the battle. After all, he was small but speedy. He had good eyesight. He was young and able. He had the better weapon– […]

 (Part 1)  by Teri Ong [Part 1 of this blog was written on Monday, Sept. 9, 2013 and was presented to the Inklings Club that meets at the Eaton Library on second Mondays. What would unfold during the rest of the week will be covered in Part 2.] We just got an inch of rain in the last hour. That is not very remarkable in certain parts of the world, but it is here in Greeley, Colorado. We only get an average of an inch per month. Having spent several years of my childhood in Seattle, Washington, I have an […]

by Teri Ong A few months ago I was doing testing for a group of home-schoolers. The testing was being done in a “big box” church building. It is a great facility for school testing, with its many neatly appointed classrooms and large restrooms. While my husband was waiting for me to finish my duties, he overheard someone from the main church office contact one of the maintenance people on a walkie-talkie. The person in the office instructed the maintenance man to make sure that the “self-serve communion table” was properly set up and equipped. That was a new one […]

by Teri Ong This has been a year of “moving to the next phase” for our family and for many in our close circle of friends. In our family, Child No. 7 graduated from high school Child No. 6 graduated from college Child No. 5 got married Child No. 4 got into career employment in law enforcement Child No. 3 celebrated a year of marriage Children Nos. 2 and 1 are adding babies to their families On the opposite side of happy, we lost Steve’s dad and several other extended family members, close friends, and mentors in death. The unusual […]

by Teri Ong We have been on vacation this week at our favorite condo spot. We have the same week every year– the week right after graduation. It is the perfect finish to our school years, no matter how imperfect the rest of the year may or may not have been. As it turns out, we had a wonderful academic year seasoned with the sugar and spice of a daughter’s wedding and medicated with the castor oil of our K-12 school moving out under another church. Six days away from home wasn’t a life-saving necessity this year, but it was […]

By Teri Ong Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! 22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine And valiant men in mixing strong drink, 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isaiah 5:20-23 NASU) The state of the state of Colorado is not good! In […]

The Nature of Christian Education and the Contemporary Mindset  by Teri Ong We are just now finishing our school year and preparing for testing and the grading of final projects. Things are winding down. As I look back on perhaps the most difficult semester I have had in several years, and evaluate it in light of having just taught two courses on the history and philosophy of education, one thing stands out, illuminated against a dark background: Christian education should be essentially a conservatory activity. Government-sponsored education is “progressive” in nature. By that, I mean teachers and administrators of government […]