Kingdom Education

Wow, this has NOT been a good week for updating this blog (although I HAVE been uploading lots of pics to my photo blog). I've been busy getting ready for school; I have a PTF (Parent Teacher Foundation, similar to PTA) position this year that requires a fair bit of work at the beginning of the year, and of course I've had things to do to get the Bug Hunter ready, as well. Today was "Meet the Teacher", and we are SO happy (both of us!). Perfect, Godly teacher, great mix of kids, and even though the year will be challenging, it appears that the support system is in place to make it a really good one.
And, a wonderful thing happened earlier this week at parent orientation. It's one of those things that makes our school stand out and reaffirms to me that the sacrifice of private Christian school is WORTH it. Our headmaster put together an incredible orientation that included uplifting praise music, the introduction of new staff and the opportunity to see the ENTIRE staff come up front (sort of a "WOW" moment to see how many people it takes to keep the school going). But the absolute slam dunk was the speaker, Dr. Glen Schultz. He is headmaster of Sherwood Christian Academy in Albany, GA, the setting for "Facing the Giants". He is simply amazing in his vision and his understanding of what's happening with our youth today, and how frightening the direction is in which we're headed. He surely convicted ME; I wish everyone could have an opportunity to sit and listen to his words. You can read his book and get a good grasp of what he has to say, but to hear him actually deliver the speech is just priceless.

Here are the ten points that he emphasized in making educational choices for your child(ren):

First, the total education of our children is a primary responsibility of parents.


Second, this education process is a 24-hour,7-days a week process form birth all the way to maturity, which includes schooling, church, and home.


Third, when you read scripture, the primary goal of education from God’s perspective is number one: that they come to know Christ the Savior and number two: that their gifts are honed and reach their full potential so they can really go out and serve Christ while they live here on earth. It’s a deeper meaning of discipleship than what’s usually used in the church, but that’s what discipleship really is.


Fourth, their whole educational system must be grounded on God’s word as being absolute truth and foundation for all knowledge.


Fifth, Christ, because of what he did on the cross, is supposed to be the preeminent person in the entire process. So he should be preeminent at home, definitely at church, but also in the schooling of our children.


Sixth, the education we give our children cannot harm them spiritually and morally. In other words, what they learned in textbooks from philosophy and in classrooms or what they’re watching at home should draw them close to Christ, not push them away. The reality of Christ represents all of life and any time you push someone away from Christ, you’re pushing them away from the truth and from what matters.


Seventh, when parents do delegate this to others, they need to choose men and women who have the same worldview and belief systems and follow these same principles, so there’s a consistency in front of their children.


Eighth, when educational process is completely through, the students will be like their teachers. They’ll have the same beliefs, values, motivations, and attitudes. That’s why you choose them[teachers] properly.


Ninth, the education we give our children is supposed to lead them to true wisdom and understanding according to the Proverbs. That’s done by connecting all knowledge to Biblical framework. This principle emphasizes there is no such thing as spiritually neutral knowledge. Everything has God-intended meaning in it.


Lastly, tenth, since all education comes from some image we have of the future, we’ve got to make sure the image of the future we have in educating our children has an eternal perspective, not just a temporal or secular perspective as we’re finding in secular education today.


The other thing that was totally convicting to me was his assertion that children "are God's homework assignment to parents". 24-7... not to be put off til later or ignored. And someday, God is going to call those assignments in; what kind of grade will we get? It's pass/fail, and you DON'T want to fail. The horror of hearing God say "I regret that I ever entrusted this child to you" is almost beyond my comprehension, and yet, I realize that He WILL hold me accountable. Honestly, that's why I haven't posted as much; I need to make sure that I'm doing all that I can as a mother, NOT a blogger. I just don't think God is going to grade me on my blog as much as He will on my parenting decisions. Don't get me wrong; I'm not going to stop what I do here. I love preserving memories, and I do pray that there will be hearts touched in ways that I may never know. But my first priority is to God, second to Handsome Hubby, third to Bug Hunter, and then the blog, and I'm not so sure that I've done that lately. So I'll be here, and I'll be checking in on all of you, but only AFTER I've done my homework!