''Proper Education''

33 ADVENTIST PERSPECTIVES, Spring, 1989, Vol. II I, No. 1 ''Proper Education'' by G. H. Akers Dr. George H. Akers, currently "Mr. Education" for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, absorbed the educational wisdom of a one-room church school, an academy in the sweeping Shenandoah Valley, and Washington Missionary College (CUC). Teaching, cleaning, and administering education at various levels have been his life for more than forty years of serv ice to his church and his God. His doctorate in higher education and historical/philosophical foundations was earned at USCLA. Some sixteen years at Andrews University climaxed with his appointment to the first deanship of the School of Education. Dr. Akers' lively communicative style brings a refreshing touch to Adventist Perspectives as he writes of ''Proper Education" and Ellen White's relationship to it in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. he above title mav not be surveyors, architects, engineers, tech all that original. Neither nicians, service professionals, business was it in 1872 when Ellen leaders, and practitioners of every sort. G. White utilized it to "Can Do" had become the order of the T launch her distinguished day, and America's colleges and uni career as a philosopher of Christian versities were expected to help sub education. A perusal of the literature of stantially in achieving the manifest the times reveals that the expressions destiny of an exuberant, expanding "L~ucational reform" and "properedu young country. cation" seemed to be tavorite buzzwords in the press, bandied about .4 Nelv Voice to Society freely by editors, politicians, and cele and Clzurclt brated speakers on the Chautauqua circuit who found it popular to inveigh It was in this late nineteenth-century against the impracticality of the classi cultural context, with the Great Con versation moving from coast to coast cal curriculum. The entrenched educa regarding the appropriate training of tional establishment of the day, so re the young, that Ellen White moved in sistant to change of any sort, was a with her landmark essay "Proper Edu special target of writers and speakers. cation." In it she offered her own pre around, the centrality of education in Clearly, grassroots post-Civil War scription for worthy educational goals the work of the Plan of Salvation. Either America was growing impatient with for society and church and the best way, education had to do with the its schools. Elitist education, reserved methods for their accomplishment. wholistic, restorative development of for the upper class and essentially for Somewhat restrained in her critique of the individual in the advancement of cosmetic effect, was definitely under the educational profession of the day the kingdom of God on earth-a paren siege as backward-oriented, exhausted, and the application of education to tal, pastoral (as well as professional) as and entirely too static to respond to the national goals, she focused on the cen signment for teachers. needs of the robust new social order. trality of moral training, particularly The generic themes "Righteousness The times called for a more appropriate the Plan of Salvation in the work of exalteth a nation," "It's character that educational product-trained artisans, education. Or to put it the other way finally counts," and "Education is for Page 29 34 service and the practical duties of life" ties and issues on people's minds. All model of modem inspiration on the pervaded her message to society at this was legitimate grist for her mill. It false notion that this saint of God sat large; but it was primarily to the young has always been so with the Lord's supinely by at Sunnyside in Australia Adventist Church, its parents, pastors, anointed through the ages. or Elmshaven in California, waiting for and teachers, that she directed her in the angel to dictate. Not so; she did her spired advice about training the young. A New Construct part-her homework. No matter how For the students themselves she had As with her prophetic forebears, Mrs. the vision for Christian education came much counsel on how they might profit White gleaned the bits and pieces of her to her (even the apostle Paul could not from God's plan of education. world from wherever they might prove say for sure how he visited heaven, yet true and useful. She applied contempo he knew he had been taken there), Ellen Essay as Overture rary illustration and every legitimate White knew that she had received some strong, more-than-human impres The prophetic quality of Mrs. White's bridge of communication to reflect and sions-that she .. saw" God's plan for utterancesoneducationisprobablybest interpret the vision of Christian educa something better in education. We have seen in this 1872 premier production tion given her. These building blocks no evidence that she had some single "Proper Education." It was here that supernatural encounter, such as a she introduced the special perspectives dream or vision, with respect to educa that for the remainder of her writing tion.1 ministry occupied her thoughts about 11 Ellen White ... applied con The plan apparently unfolded to her schooling . In this piece cluster the car under the Spirit's steady tutelage over dinal concepts that constitute her con temporary illustration ... to the thirty silent years, 1842-72. It tribution to early American educational reflect and interpret the vision awaited the issues and problems of a discourse-counsels to a young nation of Christian education given ripe time, perhaps for optimum im and church. Here seems to reside the II pact. That prime time came in 1872 foundational philosophy which she her. when she put her pen to paper to dis elaborated, reiterated, and applied to cuss formal education, laying out in evolving Adventist education over the thirty incisive pages her reaction to the next four decades. A cursory review of educational abuses and fads of the day her subsequent counsels on education went into the distinctive edifice of and offering her version of something reveals that she strayed very little from thought she was erecting. The shallow better. As we will attempt to show later the basic thrusts of 1872.1t must be said criticism that recognizes a few bor in this discussion, God did indeed in all fairness that the macrovision she rowed or retouched bricks here or there, provide her with sublime alternatives then brought to education was so and promptly declares the whole piece to the current conventional wisdom in comprehensive that she probably purloined and therefore morally education. The essay bears the insignia needed the next forty-one years to de flawed, misses the mystery of the di of divine illumination, in terms of the fine and clarify it. vine-human interface in the prophetic function. Thus prophets work with utter overarching educational principles it Cosmic Dimension contemporaneity and relevancy of ap enunciates. plication. The indisputable fact remains Ellen White, with many other voices that this faithful messenger took a Sister Ellen's Sources of the time, called for educational re wheelbarrow of bricks from around form. She expressed her critique of the her, a generous giftload from heaven, Let us disabuse our minds then of a status quo, but in addition did what and an armful of her own with which long-standing legend regarding Ellen true prophets of God have done from she built a brand new conceptual edi White that says she received her heav the dawn of time. She joined the na fice. The result was a statement of edu enly instruction direct by supernatural 11 tional debate from heaven's point of cational mission and modality that yet dream/ vision transmission ( how else view, enriching the dialogue with a stands as a marvel of transcendent edu can the extraordinary insights she con cosmic dimension. This aspect of her cational philosophy, replete with uni veyed be adequately explained?" goes contribution to the educational thought versal considerations. the rationale). We now know that Ellen of the time illustrates an important White was probably one of the best aspect of the prophetic role. It does not The Mystery of the read thought leaders of her day, and operate in a vacuum. Ellen had to com that out of the wealth of her reading municate with her world for God, Divine-Human Modality and reflection she spoke and wrote, against the cultural backdrop of her Unfortunate it is that several genera receiving meanwhile the Holy Spirit's times, and within the societal sensitivi- tions of Adventists have based their special illumination that indited her Page30 35 words with compelling unction and of interpretation in the quest for mean writings in terms of transcendent prin moral authority-the gift of prophecy ing. For many this is at present consid ciples in Christian education; what was at work in the modem church. Her fre erably murky and uncertain. This worthy to be set unequivocally and quent admonitions to students and makes advocacy positions built solely permanently in the inspired diadem of workers-to read and study on their on Ellen White pronouncements inces our spiritual legacy as a people; and own and become the sharp instruments santly controversial and divisive, po what was obviously beamed to a local in the hand of God that they were in larizing deeply committed Christian time and circumstance, with all the tended to be-were obviously born out brethren and sisters, and fracturing the constraints inherent in such temporary of her own experience. We have the unity of the family of God. It is there situations. witness of the collection in her personal fore a matter of considerable signifi Since we are many centuries removed library of more than eight hundred well cance, for it drives right to the heart of historically and culturally from the marked books that attest to the credi our identity as a special people, deserv scene, scholars have the long perspec bility of her counsel, not to speak of the ing our best time and attention.

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