Train children in the way they should go; when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Educating children is one of the most important tasks adults have in this world. What we teach, who teaches, what is important, why learning is valuable and to what end are critical questions for a family, a school, a society. All these questions are being actively debated today. Whose rights are extended and protected in the act of education is also a live issue. Parents? Taxpayers? Students? Is that even the correct frame?
Nowhere are these questions more dramatic than in the City of Houston as our community deals with questions of public education. With the takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the State of Texas and the dissolution of the elected school board, the appointment of a new superintendent, and the roll out of a New Educational System, many of us are contemplating the role of public education and our role in its functioning. We also are concerned about the children.
On Sunday, August 13, at 9:30 a.m. in the Havens Center, St. Stephen’s will be holding a conversation about the state of public schools and our hopes and concerns as Christians and members of this civil society. I invite those of us who are students, parents, teachers, administrators, librarians, those who are retired educators and those who are interested into a conversation about this moment in the life of our schools.
We will also be praying for those who embark on teaching, learning, and leading in this new school year. I hope you will join me.
The Reverend Lisa Hunt, Rector