¶ … Smaller Classes Not Always Better, and Cal Thomas' article Homeschooling Can Be New 'Exodus' provide two interesting views of education. Thomas' article urges parents to pull their children out of "Godless" public schools and enroll them in private Christian schools or home school them, but smacks of a disturbing sense of moral self-righteousness and judgment, and Thomas fails to consider the financial costs of his 'exodus' on poor families. John Rosemond's article suggests that small class sizes do not necessarily lead to better student performance, but that student performance is strongly influenced by discipline. Rosemond's article is tainted by a nasty allegation that teachers press for smaller classes only out desire for political clout, and are not motivated by student needs. In Smaller Classes Not Always Better, John Rosemond suggests that smaller class sizes are not linked to better student performance, but that student performance is a function of discipline. The most agreeable aspect of his column is his understanding of the role of discipline and good behavior in a productive teaching environment. The most shocking of his assertions is likely his claim that...

My reaction to this assertion is one of skepticism, as I feel that the evidence that he uses to support his claim is largely anecdotal, rather than based in educational theory or fact.
Rosemond ends his article with the rather offensive suggestion that members of the National Educational Association are only pressing for smaller class sized to gain political clout. I find that this is an insulting smear on the ethics and efforts of educators, who likely would have gone into politics or business (rather than education) had they desired political clout. As such, this assertion that educators put political needs over the needs of students has the effect of making me less likely to entertain his other arguments, which may indeed contain a kernel of validity.

Cal Thomas' article, Homeschooling Can Be New 'Exodus', urges parents in the Southern Baptist Convention to adopt the Convention's recommendation to pull their children out of private schools. In his most striking suggestion, Thomas calls on the 17 million members of the Southern Baptist Convention to instead put their children in private…