Summer is a good time for rest and reflection.
Well, it’s official, we have survived another school year. School ended for us yesterday and as always, my entire family breathes a collective sigh of relief. We are a family that prefers a slower pace of life. We don’t really like to rush. We are not super competitive. We speak kindly to one another.
And school, well school can be the complete opposite of our ideal lifestyle. So, my kids work hard and get good grades. They struggle through group project after group project, where they are forced to do most of the work. Didn’t you just hate group projects? I mean, everyone you ask hated group projects, yet the teachers continue to assign them.
They have to study a lot. They get their grades through hard work, not because they have some super intellectual gift. School is not fun for them, but it’s necessary. If they want to go to college and follow their dreams, they have to get through school. It’s just a fact.
And the subjects that don’t interest them? They have to study them anyway. They also have to obey teachers that they may disagree with, (you know, the ones who keep giving them group projects.)
There’s a new trend among high school students. If the subject doesn’t interest them, they don’t give it much attention. They barely squeak by or fail. I have a friend who teaches a college class who reports the same trend. If they don’t like the assignment, they either won’t do it or put in very little effort.
I’m not sure where this attitude has come from. Life is full of things we don’t want to do like paying he mortgage and cutting the grass, but we do them. We pay the mortgage because we want to keep our house. We cut the grass either out of pride in our yards or perhaps, respect for our neighbors.
I think we have lost the entire idea of respect, as a society. We don’t respect our leaders. Many children don’t respect their parents. Ask a teacher how respectful their students are these days.
Here’s a scarier thought: If our children don’t respect the adults standing right in front of them, how in the world can they learn to respect a God they can’t see?
I’m all for standing up for what we feel is right and I encourage that in my children as well. But, there’s also a time and a place for protest. When a teacher gives them an assignment, they are expected to complete it to the best of their ability, whether they like it or not. I expect them to do what I tell them to do and I pray that teaching them to respect authority will pay off when one day, God gives them an assignment.
I don’t think He would really appreciate a lot of whining and complaining and the story of Jonah tells us He doesn’t appreciate downright disobedience either.
Summer break is finally upon us. It’s a season to slow down and rest. It’s also a good time to reflect on things like respect. Are we modeling respect for our kids? Are we insisting on respect from them? We have elections coming up in November. We could pray for leaders we can respect. We can vote for leaders we can respect.
We can make an effort to make respect a part of our lifestyle as well as a part of our society. What do you think about respect? I’d love to hear from you.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂