Love vs. Discipline

During my morning quiet time today I read the passage John 14: 15-19.  What struck me in my current state of mind was this: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  In context Christ was promising the disciples the Holy Spirit, but today I thought about how that might apply to parents and their children as well as teachers and students.

Love is one of those  over and misused words in our society today.  Too often what we think is love turns out to simply be like or lust.  When I think of love I first think of God’s awesome benevolent love for us and my feeble attempt to give Him back the love He deserves.  Do you love anyone enough to sacrifice your own child?  God does.  Next, I think the deep, passionate, caring love I have for my wife and family.   Finally, I think of the love that I should have, but don’t always feel or display for my fellow sojourners on this rock.

Now, where am I going with all this?  Part of love is respect for the object of your passion.  Let’s apply this to the misuse of the word love.  A young man “loves” his first car.  (I actually have a friend of still owns his first car after 35 years.)  A part of the devotion to his car is seeing to the daily needs and maintenance of the vehicle, ie. oil changes, waxings,  and tune-ups.  He listens to the sound of the engine as he drives and attends to any indications of distress.  He freely gives of his time and money because he values what he loves.  Even though this is not “real” love some of the principles do transcend to the true actions of love.

This next questions really makes me question my Red Foreman approach to education and discipline:  If children are loved by and in turn love their parents; and if those children were taught to love/value education and those providing the education, would the crisis in our nations homes and public schools even be occuring?  It is very hard to even fantom anything but discipline when confronted by an angry, out of control, apathetic kid.  But what if that kid knew God’s love for them?  What if the child’s parent knew God’s love and was sharing it with their family?  What if that child knew healthy compassion for those around them? 

Love is forgiving and mistakes will be made, but I am willing to give it a try.  One person doing one little thing doesn’t make much of a difference.  But many people doing one little thing can effect eternity. 

Love ya, RT   

Blessed or Stupid in America?

Another school year is screaming to an end and I feel like I am Slim Pickens from the movie “1945″ riding that speeding missile to its inevitable end.  State testing, district testing, semester testing……. only three weeks left to finish the curriculum and do test preparations.   Ah, alas it will soon be  time to reflect on the year’s victories as well as defeats.

Sounds easy right?  Make two columns; one for successes and one for failures.  I am blessed to work in a district full of committed, talented, highly motivated and highly qualified teachers.  It is a district with a high tax base and stellar record for passing bond issues.  These allow for state of the art technology, new construction of schools, remodeling of schools, and sports facilities that are the envy of many colleges.  But this is not enough!  If money were the issue, the US would have the highest scores in the world.  Unfortunately, we don’t, so what is the problem?

The biggest problems facing public education in America are student  accountability, apathy and parental influence.  However with that being said, students have learned some lessons very well.  Ask any “hall smart”  fourth through eighth grader what happens if they fail a class, nothing!  You might be surprised to know they are correct.  Based on “research”, administrations have decided that it does no good to retain a student to provide another opportunity to learn grade specific concepts.  They believe it is better to send them on ill-prepared to the next grade level.  Students know this and are too immature to know the snowball effect this will have on their education.  Administrations, who should know better, are now faced with the fact that these same students they have let slide through the cracks are being required to pass end of instruction exams for a high school  diploma.

This lack of accountability has caused apathy among students to run rampant.  The argument has been made that today’s students don’t look at education as important as those of past generations.  This comes from them being able to find anything they need on the internet.  Sadly, this is mistaking information for an education.  We need  thinkers and problem solver.  We need artists and those with a passion for creating.  We need scientists who can find a way to contain and regulate anti-matter as a fuel source.  Apathy is not the way to achieve this!  A passion for and a value of education is required.  And parents….that is where you come in.

Parents, if you are best friends with your child, something has gone terribly wrong.  Namely your parenting.  Children need love, support, encouragement and safety to thrive, but they also need boundaries, consequences, and humility.  The latter three often make parents unpopular.  Deal with it!  When a doctor prescribes your child medicine, don’t you see to it that they take the medicine whether they like the taste or not?  Don’t you follow through with required check-ups?  Don’t you employ preventive measures?  Sure you do, because you know it is in your child’s best interest.  Why is it then, that so many parents ignore their child’s education?  If part of the third grade curriculum is to learn the times table, why don’t you make sure that child knows theirs even if it takes practicing at home?  We are talking about your child’s as well as our nation’s future here.

People we are so very blessed to live in a nation that provides a free education to all of its inhabitants, citizen or not.  What a gift!  Maybe the fact that it is free is the reason we as a society can’t see the value.  It is human nature to not see the value in what we have until it is lost.  

Blessed or stupid? 

You decide, RT.