Essential Quotes

Patrick Henry

It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains.

Abigail Adams

Letter to JohnQuincy Adams, 1783

What is it that affectionate parents require of their Children; for all their care, anxiety, and toil on their accounts? Only that they would be wise and virtuous, Benevolent and kind.

Abigail Adams

Letter to John Adams, 1784

I hope some future day will bring me the happiness of seeing my family again collected under our own roof, happy in ourselves and blessed in each other.

John Adams

Defense of the Constitutions — 1787

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.

John Adams

Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law — 1756

It should be your care, therefore, and mine, to elevate the minds of our children and exalt their courage; to accelerate and animate their industry and activity; to excite in them an habitual contempt of meanness, abhorrence of injustice and inhumanity, and an ambition to excel in every capacity, faculty, and virtue. If we suffer their minds to grovel and creep in infancy, they will grovel all their lives.

Samuel Adams

Letter to James Warren — 1775

No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders.

Samuel Adams

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.

Charles Carroll

Signer of the Declaration of Independence

Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure which ensures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.

Jim Elliott

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Benjamin Franklin

Men will ultimately be governed by God or by tyrants.

Noah Webster

Education is useless without the Bible.

Why Webster's 1828 Dictionary?

The Importance of Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How to 4-R (Take Dominion of) a Subject

"I taught this to my daughter when she was in high school. As a result she can take any subject out of the newspaper and com up with the solution... It works." (Ben Gilmore, Principles of American Government course, May 2013.)

 

1. Take any subject.
2. Go to Webster's 1828 dictionary and look up the definition of the subject.
3. Select key words from the definition.
4. Look up those words in the 1828 dictionary.
5. Select key words, repeat the system again. May end up with a list of 100+ words.

You have just discovered the vocabulary over which the subject you want to take dominion; i.e., the vocabulary for the subject.

Next...

1. Organize the vocabulary into its obvious breakdown. For instance, mathematics--vocabulary, operations, units of measure and quantities, etc.
2. Next, and this is key, pull out Strong's concordance. Look up key words in the vocabulary in Strongs. Inevitably the first and last mention in the Bible of that word will be a key to the subject.
3. You will have found the Biblical foundation for the subject you are taking dominion of.

The concordance is a bridge to the Biblical foundation of the subject.

From here, you can deduce:

• main principles
• leading ideas
• God's purpose for the subject
• major divisions of the subject
• course goals The

The reason for finding the Biblical foundation of a subject is to train the character of the student. The purpose of education is character--not knowledge. Knowledge without character will turn on you; it becomes a Frankenstein monster. This is why teenagers think they are so much smarter than their parents--they are trained in knowledge and not character.

Once this method is learned, one can take any problem out of the newspaper and come up with the solution.

To see an example of a mini-word study, you might like to visit Heather over at Principled Academy and see what she discovered about the word "rib" when she 4-R'd the word.

FACE has created a course for those interested in further study of the 4-R method of learning. The course is designed to guide the participant through an in depth personal study of the Seven Principles of American Christian History and Government using the 4-R'ing Method.

Do your own word study. You might find it helpful to use the Principle Approach Word Study Standard template to get you started.  

What is the purpose of education?

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. (John Adams, 1787, Defense of the Constitutions)

EDUCA'TION, n. [L. educatio.] The bringing up, as of a child, instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.

According to Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary, the purpose of education is primarily character development--enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth. And, by definition, the responsibility rests first on parents, and then on guardians.

Whoa! By definition, the original intent and purpose for the subject is quite different than what we see today. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a definition of education on the National Education Association (NEA) website. However, according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary from Infoplease, education is defined as:

1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.
2. the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.
3. a degree, level, or kind of schooling: a university education.
4. the result produced by instruction, training, or study: to show one's education.
5. the science or art of teaching; pedagogics.

It appears to me that Noah Webster originally defined this topic as an internal training of the character of the individual which has been manipulated today to be a process that affects the intellect rather than character.

*Note: After at least 30 minutes searching the NEA site for a definition of education, I decided to email requesting such. I will let you know what they say--if they reply... Sorry, it has been over a month and I have received no reply.

With these definitions in mind, take a moment to come up with your own definition of education. 

- Where do the ideas that form your definition come from?