Among the many things we can say about the past year, we would all agree that it has been a year of learning. There is an old saying, “We learn either in the classroom or on the field trip, and we have been on the field trip.”
That which was hidden from view has been brought out into the open for us to see more clearly on many fronts. Living rooms have become classrooms as classrooms have been brought into our homes. We have acquired knowledge about the dynamics of our children’s education that we would not have acquired otherwise. Knowledge is the “awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.” With knowledge comes responsibility.
We are on high alert of what is subtly happening all around us that is impacting us all, especially our children. We have learned of hidden motives and agendas.
“The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.”
Proverbs 20:27 (NLT):
As parents, we have a decision to make. Do we ignore this newfound knowledge and hope it is not so, or do we seek the Lord and act upon it? We must pray as the Psalmist did in Psalm 119:66 (NLT): “I believe in your commands; now teach me good judgment and knowledge.”
We have learned in this experience that our children are learning more than the 3 R’s. As parents we must determine what they are “not” in school to learn. Our children should not learn of a teacher’s political bias or of any controversial subject that does not present both sides of an argument. When our children share with us information that causes us to wonder, we must explore and monitor the information dispersed in their classrooms.
Indoctrination is the process of teaching others to accept a belief uncritically. Children are extremely vulnerable in that regard. Critical thinking comes from receiving all information and processing it. God has always put a premium on the home and the parents to shape our children.
“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NLT)
We must choose to remain in the “know” of what is going on in every aspect of our children’s lives post-COVID. And as we go, remember Philippians 2:14-15 (NLT): “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”
