August 21 2011
School has or is about to start for the kids living in our area and with that I want
to encourage you, their parents/ guardians, to be involved in their schooling. Get
to know your children’s teachers, encourage them, pray for them, do something
nice for them every now and then. Attend open house days, performances, and
sporting events. Be part of the PTA or parents club especially if you’re a dad. In
short, be as involved as you can possibly be, and don’t stop just because they
are getting older. It makes a difference, you will help your child to be a better
student, have more communication, and demonstrate how much you care about
them.
Last school year at one of our daughter’s track meets I spoke with a grandpa
who is raising his grandson by himself, even while he is morning the loss of his
wife. They had started the task together, now he is finishing it by himself. It was
amazing to witness the relationship they share, clearly he is investing, he will end
up being the most influential person in that young man’s life in the most positive
way. He is making the effort, “Whether I feel like it or not I am going to be there
for that kid,” he said, and he is.
From my experience of over twenty years of substitute teaching and coaching at
our local schools I can tell you that you can in almost no time tell which children
have parents who are involved and those whose parents are disengaged, it really
is that drastic. Are there parents/guardians who go overboard, so much so that
they think that they could run it all better? Certainly, and I don’t encourage you
to be one of those. There are also parents who just manage from crisis to crisis,
that’s when they show up, go off like a volcano, hold everybody but themselves
responsible, and disappear when the crisis settles down. That’s the very definition
of dysfunctional parenting, it will teach your children all the wrong things. None
of us who are involved in parenting should expect schoolteachers to do our job.
My Mom, whose formal education didn’t go passed the 9th grade, sat down with
us to do our homework, got more help when it was over her head, kept educating
herself on how to be a better parent, and thought us how to love learning. We
got in trouble if we were disrespectful, and I was disrespectful and worse, to our
teachers. My Dad set the expectations high and didn’t flinch to invest in anything
that smelled of education, which meant a good deal of what he wanted to do he
didn’t get to do. I am grateful to both of them.
While I am at it, be nice to the principal and the school secretary. Think about it
principals have to deal with fiscal problems, staff problems, tons of kids problems,
and too often dysfunctional parent problems. Be a breath of fresh air and be a
solution. And cut the secretary at the front desk some slack, most likely she didn’t
do it so be nice to her.
Lastly, but most importantly, the children under our care have been entrusted
to us by God, He literally calls them gifts (Psalm 127:3), we are responsible to
train them (Proverbs 22:6), and beyond school we are to “bring them up in the
discipline and instruction of the Lord (God),” Ephesians 6:4 (parenthesis mine).
That’s why it is important to not only be involved in your children’s school but to
also be an active part of a local church together.
To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans