Do we experience freedom in education? 

Americans are quick to celebrate their various choices, and options are king in the culture. When it comes to education, however, consider that many choices are made by someone else.

Who, after all, decides the content of study? It's the school, of course, which is likely following state guidelines, keeping an eye on standardized test content. High school diplomas are based upon state-mandated content, while colleges set similar content requirements for entrance. The better performing students think themselves clever archers, not realizing that others set the targets and choose the arrows.

The point to consider is that someone else decides what is academically important and what is expendable. Somewhere along the way, for instance, the subjects of Latin, formal logic, philosophy, rhetoric have been sidelined in favor of "more important" skills such as keyboarding. The study and application of Biblical Truth has disappeared outright to make room for High School 101.

Choices remain, though they are hidden from common consideration.  The committed student will have to proactively reach to put such valuable studies in his shopping cart. The modern educational culture will neither mention their value nor recommend them. Academic systems reward knowledge, missing the importance of the higher goals of understanding and wisdom. Choosing such vital, but neglected studies requires a steeper path that pays rich dividends with a greatly enhanced mountaintop view. In this case, poet Robert Frost captured today's student option succinctly:

“I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”