February is the month when we honor our two greatest U.S. Presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, born on the 22nd and 12th, respectively. We honor Washington for his character and leadership, around which colonial Americans rallied to win their freedom from an oppressive monarch, and again for the leadership that gave us our Constitution and a pattern for all future presidents. We honor Lincoln for his character and leadership that guided this nation through its darkest hour, bringing national unity and the end of slavery.
If these two great men were alive today, what do you suppose they would say about parents using Ignite Christian Academy® to educate their children?
It is easy to imagine George Washington, the energetic owner of a self-sufficient Virginia plantation, heartily approving of parents keeping their children at home to receive the best Internet-delivered education possible. Judging from the following statement from his Farewell Address, Washington would have especially liked AOP curriculum's Christian emphasis:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports . . . And let us indulge with caution the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion . . . Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle."
Abraham Lincoln, famously self-taught, would also have approved of Bible-based, in-home education. In his "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible" in 1864, he stated, "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book."
In view of their own educational experience and beliefs, it is hard to imagine Abraham Lincoln and George Washington doing anything but heartily endorsing the idea of children getting a true education delivered by a fully accredited Christian school, directly to their homes. Think of that when you observe this President's Day. Who knows? There may be a future great president attending ICA right now!
David Bauman
Principal, Ignite Christian Academy