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scandal

Accepted – What Will Get You Into College?

June 12, 2021 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

A small college prep school in rural Louisiana boasts that 100% of graduates are accepted into college, including 32% into Ivy League schools. An impressive record. It gained national media attention due to viral videos of students learning of their acceptances. That got the attention of documentarian Dan Chen, whose film Accepted is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The T.M. Landry College Prep is certainly an unusual school. It is located in a warehouse. There aren’t traditional class rooms or schedules. The average family income for the students is $32,000. The students are challenged by Tom Landry, the founder of the school, to focus on doing all they have to do to get into a prestigious school. Some of the students we meet spend up to 12 hours a day studying.

Chen, after the school became known nationally, chose to follow some students of the class of 2019 through their senior year. Each is hoping to do well in tests and find their way to a future they never really imagined. They are dedicated students. They have learned to work hard. Landry is very motivational, but he also creates a great deal of pressure these students must deal with. Is that what will serve them well in college?

But then during the year, the New York Times publishes a story about how the school has falsified transcripts—listing classes students didn’t take and activities they were never a part of. The story also makes mention of abuse by Landry. (We see an example of his temper that could easily be called emotional abuse.) As Landry fights for his school’s reputation, the students must decide what they will do in response to these allegations. What will happen to their dreams—their futures?

At issue isn’t just whether the students are really prepared for life at such schools. We see that they clearly have skills that will serve them well. It is also the system of college admissions. Landry has learned how to game that system to the benefit of these students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but who may well be deserving of schools’ consideration. This is compared briefly with the “Varsity Blues” college admission scandal that included several celebrities who paid large sums to get their already advantaged (but not academically skilled) children into some of these same schools.

The film evoked a certain cynicism in me. Not so much about these students, but about the overall college admission system that has become so competitive that it has engendered schemes to cheat in various ways. We like to think that the educations system is a meritocracy, but we know that it never has been. This film exposes the systemic shortcomings in a new way.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Reviews Tagged With: College admission, documentary, high school, scandal, Tribeca Film Festival

Ravi Zacharias Revisited; WandaVision; The Bachelor

March 18, 2021 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive christian podcast

The fallout continues after Ravi Zacharias’ sexual abuse is confirmed. In a new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about the related issues, trying to come up with some hopeful takeaways for how we can heal and do better in the future.

We also take a few minutes to look at our current pop culture favorites, including WandaVision and The Bachelor, noting not to neglect pop culture’s role as a primary way people interact with philosophical and social issues.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: ABC, apologetics, blm, christian podcast, Disney, philosophy, Podcast, race, racism, ravi zacharias, scandal, sexual abuse, the bachelor, WandaVision

Trump v Biden Debate; Ravi Zacharias Scandal

October 2, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

We respond to this week’s (crazy? disheartening?) “debate,” asking questions about what leadership in this country looks like, and whether Christians need to be wary of the idol of politics.

We also discuss the allegations against the late Ravi Zacharias and how the church should respond when leaders fail.

Finishing the theme of leadership, we listen to a portion of Dr. Francis Collins’ recent Templeton Prize acceptance address, where he discusses what individuals can do to fight polarization, even without ideal leaders.

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 2020, abuse, biden, christian podcast, church, corinavirus, covid, culture, debate, francis collins, politics, ravi zacharias, scandal, templeton, Trump

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