WTS says that JW children are better educated

by Lady Lee 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  Lady Lee

  I can't find the quote for this but I remember being told that JW children were way ahead of their classmates when it came to reading and spelling. Both my daughters knew how to read before they got to school.

  I remember writing school reports and using the Awake! for my research. That was supposed to be better than worldly books.

  I know I always did well in spelling even before my mother started studying with the JWs. Later on I attributed my spelling skills to the WTS and all the reading we did.

  I know I can still spell. I have a bigger problem with typing (as I'm sure many of you have seen from some of my posts - those are typing errors not spelling mistakes).

  Something that I have noticed here on the board is that maybe we weren't as well educated in the basics as we were told. I often see the mistakes below

  • their/there/they're
  • your/you're/you are
  • no/know
  • whose/who's
  • write/right
  • hear/here

  The list goes on and on.

  So am I the only one who remembers this belief that we were better educated because we were JWs?
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  Saoirse

  I used to think that the JWs were better educated than everyone else, then I got an education.
  

  I found this in the 1/8/1970 Awake. It's basically a propaganda piece for the Theocratic Ministry school.

  Benefits Derived from the School

  Many are the benefits that you and your family will derive from attending this school. For example, the New York Times, September 28, 1969, called attention to the seriousness of the reading situation in the United States. It reported that, according to James E. Allen, Jr., the new United States Commissioner of Education, one-third of the schoolchildren in the United States read below their grade level. But does this situation exist among the Witnesses? No, it does not. Why not? Primarily because of the Bible-reading program of their Theocratic Ministry School. Thus a mother in Ottumwa, Iowa, told that her fourth-grade child had a second-grade reading ability until he took part in the Theocratic Ministry School’s Bible-reading program as carried out at home. Then within three months he advanced to fourth-grade reading ability, to the amazement of his schoolteacher.
  

  In the Theocratic Ministry School, in addition to learning to read well, students also learn to communicate clearly with others. Time and again its youthful students have been highly commended by their secular schoolteachers because of their ability to present interesting material in an effective manner. Thus a schoolteacher in the Caribbean island of Grenada asked a young Witness if he had ever heard his voice on a tape recorder. When the youth replied that he had not, the teacher asked him to do some talking. The youth gave a sermon on the subject "Life in God’s New Order." The teacher was visibly impressed. "You surprise me, young man! You speak so meaningfully and coherently for your age. You will make a good speaker in the future." The youth credited his ability to the training he received in the Theocratic Ministry School.

  Likewise testifying to the value of this school is the incident that took place in a Luzon town in the Philippines. There the school officials asked local religious leaders to supply a speaker for an anniversary program. They declined because of not having received notice far enough ahead of time to prepare properly. Finally, on the very day of the celebration the school officials decided to ask the Witnesses to supply a speaker, and a young Witness minister responded. As the program had already begun, he at once changed from his work clothes and accompanied them. He spoke for forty minutes on the subject "Meeting the Problems of Today’s Youth." Later, when the main guest speaker, the chief school official of the entire province, got up to speak, he complimented the young Witness and said: "If I gave the speech I had prepared I would only be repeating what this young man said, and I would probably not do as well."

  The wondering school faculty later asked how this Witness, an ordinary workingman, could speak so well before a distinguished audience. Yes, it was because of his attending the Theocratic Ministry School at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As the apostles had learned from Jesus, he had learned at this school.—Acts 4:13.
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  damselfly

  I remember this as well, only it was also added that homeschooled JW children were better educated. If this is true, someone needs to explain to me why at 30 years of age I am just now getting my highschool math and sciences?

  This belief circulated in my opinion as a way to boost JW's self esteem and make them think it was another way that witnesses were "special" and unique in the world.

  Dams
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  Mary

  I wouldn't say that JW kids are "better educated", but at the elementary level, they're certainly better trained for public speaking than their classmates. I remember when I had to give a speech in Grade 5. I decide to do the topic on drugs (which was quite something back then!). I got all my info from the WT & Awake magazines. I made sure the introduction was of proper length, was "appropriate to theme", I made sure the timing was right on, and I spoke clearly and understandably with proper pauses throught.

  I got the highest mark in the class and I do credit my training as a Witness for that. No other student had the vaguest idea how to put a speech together, or even what a "theme" was, let alone proper pausing or volume.

  It is possible that many Witness children might be better readers than their classmates, simply because they're always having to read, read, read all the literature. But when it comes to critical thinking outside the box, the Witness children fall right to the end.
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  Highlander

  I really grew tired of the WTS concept that witness children were better educated. One sister that I grew up with learned to read quite well by 4 years of age. Everyone in the

  congregation gave praise and credit to the WTS for this accomplishment. I must say, that really bothered me, cuz in reality, this 4 year old sister should have been recognized

  for her intelligence and skill level, but no, it was all about the WT corp. Why not also give some credit to her parents for working with her and teaching her to read at such a young

  age? Nope,, it's all about the WT corp. Oh, and one last thing, this same sister,, she's still very intelligent, but she's wasting her abilities as a pioneer. :(
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  sass_my_frass

  "yes, you can't get people any smarter than those guys on the stage"
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  stillajwexelder

  I would like to see more than 1% of JWs do integral Calculus - their math skills tend to be lacking
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  theinfamousone

  i still get that one from my mother whenever i do talk to her... which is rarely... but according to her, its because of the WTS that im in university and that i am so smart.... it has nothing to do with my determination, curiosity, strength of character, or intelligence.... its all about the WTS!!! yeah right!

  the infamous one
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  DannyHaszard

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/16/106507/10.ashx here Blood ban 'bad press' getting more bad Blood ban riddled with complexity
  Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN - 4 minutes ago
  By Richard N. Ostling. NEW YORK – Jehovah’s Witnesses are renowned for teaching that Jesus is not God and that the world as we know it will soon end. ... Witness beliefs Jehovah’s Witnesses, famous for door-to-door evangelism, believe their faith’s authorities, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., teach the only true interpretations of the Bible, including these tenets: •Orthodox Christianity wrongly believes in the Trinity, one God in three persons. Jesus isn’t God, and the Holy Spirit is merely God’s impersonal power. •Before his earthly birth, Jesus was the Archangel Michael. •The last days began in 1914 and the War of Armageddon will occur while people conscious of 1914 events remain alive. (Before 1975, Witnesses literature strongly suggested that the final war would occur while people who lived during World War I were still alive.) •After the current world system ends, true believers will enjoy paradise on Earth while 144,000 of the anointed rule with Jesus in heaven. Others will be annihilated, not punished eternally, since hell is the grave. •God’s proper name is Jehovah. •“Pagan” observances such as Christmas, birthdays and national holidays shouldn’t be celebrated. •Since Satan rules this world, true believers must not vote, hold public office, serve in the military or salute national flags. •Jesus died on a single “torture stake,” not a cross. •Believers should consider “theocratic” careers without worldly higher education.
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  jwfacts

  I remember that statement too, and discussing how many JWs were in advanced classes. I am sure that the regularity of meetings and bible study must have some benefit. However, there were quite a few JW's I knew with low grades as well.