The American Crisis (Part 6)

Every time an educator communicates in the classroom, they are teaching three things: beliefs, values, and worldview. A child will spend 16,000 hours in front of teachers from Kindergarten through 12th grade. The decisions a person makes when they are 30 years old are a direct result of how they were trained during those 16,000 hours. Research shows that the top three greatest influences in a child's life are: 1. Parents, 2. Peers, and 3. Teachers. However, the greatest influence on a child's critical thinking process is a teacher. The teacher’s perspective on life and the events of life becomes the single greatest influence on a child's thinking.

Let’s look at more historical examples: The Downfall of Germany and D-Day.

Downfall of Germany

1. What decision did Hitler make that ended up weakening the German army to a large extent? Hitler decided to take control of Western Europe and capture Russia simultaneously.
2. What happened on the eastern front? Hitler invaded Russia in the summer, expecting to quickly take the country as he had done with other nations. However, the Russians used a strategy of retreating, which extended the fighting far longer than Hitler anticipated. The German army found itself scattered over hundreds of miles, poised to take Moscow and Stalingrad. Then winter hit, and the German soldiers lacked the proper clothing to survive the intense cold. It was also not feasible for supplies to reach the troops in time. The Germans retreated, suffering significant casualties, which weakened their army and eventually led to their defeat.

D-Day, The Normandy Invasion

1. What was the initial date for D-Day? June 5, 1944
2. When was it postponed, and why? At the 0400 briefing on June 4, the weather prospects seemed completely hopeless for a June 5 invasion. All experts predicted seas that were heavy enough to swamp landing crafts and a low ceiling that would prevent the air forces from carrying out their part of the assault. Under these circumstances, the air commanders were unwilling to take off, and Admiral Ramsey, after being advised that winds would reach 25 to 30 miles per hour, feared the Channel would be too rough for small craft. Only "Monty" (General Montgomery of England) wished to carry out the schedule. Eisenhower decided to postpone the operation for 24 hours, to June 6. Signals were sent out at 0500 on June 4, recalling all ships and crafts already at sea.
3. Why wasn’t the German army prepared for the invasion? June 5 was a miserable day for the soldiers cooped up in little beach landing crafts under lashing rain, and a day of intense anxiety for the top commanders watching from the shore. The surface weather chart for June 4, 1944, showed an intense low-pressure system centered west of England, with a cold front extending southeast to Ireland. The foul weather that set in on June 4 threw all German commanders off their guard. Since they lacked weather observation stations west of the continent, they were unable “EQUIPPING FUTURE GENERATIONS FOR LIFE AND ETERNITY” Early Childhood: 6645 Bert Kouns Ind. Loop, Shreveport, LA 71129 | Telephone: 318.698.4093 | Fax: 318.698.4119 Lower School: 2820 Summer Grove Drive, Shreveport, LA 71118 | Telephone: 318.687.9003 | Fax: 318.687.9607 Upper School: 6645 Bert Kouns Ind. Loop, Shreveport, LA 71129 | Telephone: 318.698.4093 | Fax: 318.698.4119 Shekinah School: 2820 Summer Grove Drive, Shreveport, LA 71118 | Telephone: 318.687.9003 | Fax: 318.687.9607 to predict the favorable weather that would follow the frontal system. The German weather station in Greenland had been evacuated at the beginning of June, and no weather-reporting U-boats were positioned to detect the induced small area of high pressure. Rommel was certain there would be no invasion between June 5 and 8 because the tides were "not right." In fact, he was at home in Germany on the morning of D-Day when news of the landing reached him.
4. On June 6, the weather was still a cause for concern. A gusty wind blowing from the west at 15 to 20 knots produced a moderately choppy sea with waves in the mid-channel of 5 to 6 feet. This was a heavy sea for the small craft, which had difficulty making headway. Even the assault area was rough for the shallow-draft vessels, although the wind didn’t exceed 15 knots, and the waves averaged 3 feet. Visibility was 8 miles, with a cloud ceiling at 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Scattered clouds from 3,000 to 7,000 feet covered almost half the sky over the Channel at H hour, becoming denser farther inland. Maritime polar air had moved over the Channel behind the cold front as the low-pressure system of June 4 moved eastward; the deep low off Labrador on June 4 moved north-northeast toward the southeast coast of Greenland. This was the key to the clearing weather: if the Labrador low had tracked eastward, foul weather would have prevailed.
5. Unloading at Utah Beach proceeded in an orderly fashion, with the chief distractions being intermittent shelling of the beaches and air raids in the early morning hours. On the night of June 7 and 8, when the Luftwaffe first raided the Utah anchorage, the ship Bayfield was ready with a smoke screen. Ships Somers, Enterprise, and Hawkins had no provisions for making smoke but were not hit. The destroyer Meredith was sunk by a glide bomb.
6. By D-Day plus 12 days, the flow of men and supplies over the beaches was running smoothly: 314,514 troops, 41,000 vehicles, and 116,000 tons of supplies had been landed on the American beaches, with almost identical figures for the British beaches.

Do you see it? One could argue that chance, weather, or science led to the successful invasion. However, the 12-week battle in Normandy and ultimate victory were not due to any of these factors. It was because God orchestrated the weather to protect a mission with a lifelong, eternity-changing impact. How a person views these facts is crucial. A teacher could communicate that all this happened by chance or luck, or they could communicate that this is exactly how God designed it to be recorded. God caused the weather, the confusion among the enemy generals, and the clearing at just the right time for a surprise attack to take place. This was God being in control of history, not man.

How our children are taught to seek answers is essential. Will they seek them from a biblical worldview perspective, or will they view them as matters of chance and luck?

This is the American crisis

Mr. Euler has over 20 years of experience working in Christian Schools, 13 as a Head of School and is currently the Head of School at Word of God Academy, Shreveport, LA., a ministry of Word of God Ministries.
Website www.wogacademy.org
Facebook Word of God Academy
Instagram Word of God Academy