IS EDUCATION REALLY A
“NON-FAMILY ENTERPRISE”?
By Melvin Adams - President & COO of Renewanation
H
ILLARY CLINTON WAS ASKED this question on
April 14, 2015, at an education roundtable, “What can
you do to bring that heart back to education in the United
States?” 1
In her response, Mrs. Clinton said, “How did we end up
at a point where we are so negative about the most important
non-family enterprise in the raising of the next generation -
which is how our kids are educated?” This question was, in
fact, a huge statement.
The statement says volumes about her philosophy of
education and preceding statements supporting Common
Core, the proposed and hotly contested national standard
for education.
As one listens to her statement, honest critique could
interpret it in two ways. It could hear her say that the family
is the most important enterprise in the raising of a child. But
in the context of the conversation, it seems clear to me that
the subject of the conversation is not family but education,
thus implying that education is a non-family enterprise.
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So, is education really a “non-family enterprise”?
To some extent, the answer depends on how one under-
stands and qualifies the word “education.”
If one sees education as the comprehensive process of
learning and personal formation, clearly family does play
a significant role, particularly in early childhood, but to a
larger extent throughout one’s lifetime.
Many families with this worldview choose to be actively
engaged in their child’s learning, even providing the primary
teaching roles. They see their child as an extension of them-
selves and their family. They are committed to investing the
time and resources needed so that the child’s growth, includ-
ing their identity, values, and purpose, strengthen those of
the family. To these families, Hillary’s statement would NOT
be true. In fact, most would be offended by the very idea!
However, like Hillary, many have a very different thought
when they think of education. They think of a yellow school
bus, winding through communities, taking children away
from their homes and families to public campuses where