I am now approaching the second anniversary of my first visit to St. Philip Lutheran Church and School in Chicago, Illinois. In late June 2009 the people of St. Philip extended me a call to be their pastor; I accepted and moved my family to Chicago in August 2009.
Prior to our move we schooled our four children at home. Upon the move to St. Philip the children were placed in the parochial school. This move has been blessed with difficulty. That may seem a curious turn of phrase, but it reflects the belief that the Lord of the Church called us to St. Philip and will use our mutual experience to bless both my family and the people I have been called to serve and that are now our neighbors.
There are great benefits to a parochial school education, especially in an urban setting like ours. I will speak and write more about this in the future, and there are many ways in which I believe parochial education can be improved.
The related video clip below is from one of my favorite authors, Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken speaks with authority and passion about human creativity and how the discovery and cultivation of said creativity can and should lead to changes in the way think about ourselves and educate our children. In this particular video Sir Ken is responding to a question he received about what public education may learn from home schooling. His response, though brief, is a reply with which I resonate…
