Luke 1:17-19 (New International Version, ©2010)
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
Education has taken some real hits lately. Our profession gets the blame for everything. From the standpoint of the media, we make too much money, (in the past few years their are very few industries who have laid off as many as in the education), we are lazy, and the down fall of our society is our fault. The high drop out rate is completely because we don't teach in an "entertaining" method so kids will want to come to school. In my job, they think we put too much emphasis on sports and extracurriculars. Our society thinks we should be able to make every kid a college graduate with a Doctorate in Mathematics. But, I see one of the largest contributing factors in our poor academic success is the lack of parental support for our students.
As a High School Administrator, i get to see a lot of kids every day who have absolutely no positive parental support. I haven't taken any professional surveys or made in big movie documentaries, but I see kids every day who have absolutely no support from home. I'm not talking about parents who come in and say their kids don't do anything wrong. I'm talking about parents who won't hold kids responsible for doing homework, won't make kids come to school, won't come to get to know the teaching staff, won't enforce curfews to make sure kids get proper sleep, and won't return phone calls when staff call about problems or issues. I'm talking about parents who have let drugs and alcohol take over their lives. I'm talking about parents who care more about their next husband or wife than holding their kids responsible for poor decisions. Just like with teachers, their are some great parents out there and it's not the majority of parents that are like this. But, their are enough like this and worse that it is affecting the success of our educational system.
In this verse, Zachariah is told that his unborn son will "turn the hearts of parents to their children". Even in the time of Jesus, this was an issue. When a society loses the focus of educating the next generation, it is doomed to failure. When we lose sight on this primary goal, the downfall of our nation is not too far behind. As parents, when we commit to having children, we are also committing to raising these kids with all our hearts, soul, and mind. We are not to focus on our jobs, we are not to focus on our career, we are not to focus on our friends, our material needs, or our selfish ambitions. We are too focus on what is best for our kids.
I can't tell you about the hearts of the parents of this country. I can't tell you where the hearts of the thousands of educators across this country are focused. However, I can tell you the focus of Garrett Keyser Butler Schools in Garrett, Indiana. Every single day I hear teachers, administrators, support staff, and coaches ask the question, "What is best for our kids?" We are going to make mistakes in that judgement, from time to time. But, I can tell you we are serious and sincere about doing what is best for our students. We have a large number of staff who have hearts for God and that helps us focus our hearts on kids. We not only want to prepare our kids for their future, we want to prepare these kids for the Lord. The job of educating our youth is number one. Everyone needs to work together to make this happen. Parents, Teachers, Community, and Nation! Together Everyone, Achieves, More!
Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of children. We know it is an awesome responsibility. We also know that we are not sufficient for the task. But, with your love and guidance we can succeed. We can succeed with our help and with turning our complete attention on our kids. We know your heart is with us. Help us to do as you would have us. We love you and praise your name. Amen!
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
Education has taken some real hits lately. Our profession gets the blame for everything. From the standpoint of the media, we make too much money, (in the past few years their are very few industries who have laid off as many as in the education), we are lazy, and the down fall of our society is our fault. The high drop out rate is completely because we don't teach in an "entertaining" method so kids will want to come to school. In my job, they think we put too much emphasis on sports and extracurriculars. Our society thinks we should be able to make every kid a college graduate with a Doctorate in Mathematics. But, I see one of the largest contributing factors in our poor academic success is the lack of parental support for our students.
As a High School Administrator, i get to see a lot of kids every day who have absolutely no positive parental support. I haven't taken any professional surveys or made in big movie documentaries, but I see kids every day who have absolutely no support from home. I'm not talking about parents who come in and say their kids don't do anything wrong. I'm talking about parents who won't hold kids responsible for doing homework, won't make kids come to school, won't come to get to know the teaching staff, won't enforce curfews to make sure kids get proper sleep, and won't return phone calls when staff call about problems or issues. I'm talking about parents who have let drugs and alcohol take over their lives. I'm talking about parents who care more about their next husband or wife than holding their kids responsible for poor decisions. Just like with teachers, their are some great parents out there and it's not the majority of parents that are like this. But, their are enough like this and worse that it is affecting the success of our educational system.
In this verse, Zachariah is told that his unborn son will "turn the hearts of parents to their children". Even in the time of Jesus, this was an issue. When a society loses the focus of educating the next generation, it is doomed to failure. When we lose sight on this primary goal, the downfall of our nation is not too far behind. As parents, when we commit to having children, we are also committing to raising these kids with all our hearts, soul, and mind. We are not to focus on our jobs, we are not to focus on our career, we are not to focus on our friends, our material needs, or our selfish ambitions. We are too focus on what is best for our kids.
I can't tell you about the hearts of the parents of this country. I can't tell you where the hearts of the thousands of educators across this country are focused. However, I can tell you the focus of Garrett Keyser Butler Schools in Garrett, Indiana. Every single day I hear teachers, administrators, support staff, and coaches ask the question, "What is best for our kids?" We are going to make mistakes in that judgement, from time to time. But, I can tell you we are serious and sincere about doing what is best for our students. We have a large number of staff who have hearts for God and that helps us focus our hearts on kids. We not only want to prepare our kids for their future, we want to prepare these kids for the Lord. The job of educating our youth is number one. Everyone needs to work together to make this happen. Parents, Teachers, Community, and Nation! Together Everyone, Achieves, More!
Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of children. We know it is an awesome responsibility. We also know that we are not sufficient for the task. But, with your love and guidance we can succeed. We can succeed with our help and with turning our complete attention on our kids. We know your heart is with us. Help us to do as you would have us. We love you and praise your name. Amen!
2 comments:
I only wish the focus on the kids in my county was as intense as it is in yours. These kids are gifts from God to us...they're just on loan. God bless you for sharing this timely message.
I’ve been following and enjoying your blog for a while now and would like to invite you to visit and perhaps follow me back. Sorry I took so long for the invitation.
Thank you for the encouraging words. I have been following your blog for at least the last two or three weeks. It has been great. Keep it up!
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