It happened again this week, just like it did last year around this time, and the year before that, and the year before that – the first day of school in the new academic year. Moms took pictures. Kids carried new backpacks. Teachers smiled at a classroom that will not be this clean for nine months. High school boys scoped the halls because high school boys scope the halls.
At some point in the year, most parents will address with one of their young scholars the question, “Why do I have to go to school?”
Some Good Answers
You know the standard answers. They were given to you, and they’re not bad answers. Some are positive; others are negative.
“You need to go to school to get a job.”
“If you don’t go to school, you’ll never get into college.”
“You need to go to school so you can learn how the world works.”
“School helps you discover what you’re good at.”
“You go to school so you can have more choices when you grow up.”
“School helps you practice doing things even when you don’t feel like it.”
“You go to school so you can learn how to work with other people.”
“Because your future self will thank you for it.”
But what if you’ve got one of those really smart kids who isn’t satisfied with your answers and offers rebuttals? Something like this…
“Joe’s dad quit school, and he runs his own business.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go to college.”
“Where do I sign up for the class, “How the World Works’”?
“I already know what I am good at, and school isn’t one of them.”
“I don’t need choices. I like things how they are now.”
“You make me wash dishes when I don’t feel like it. How much more do I need to practice things I don’t like to do?”
“I don’t want to work with other people. I prefer to do things by myself.”
“Have you met my future self? No? Then how do you know what my future self will thank me for?”
The Best Answer
With our children and grandchildren, the best answers we can provide point them to our God. They go to school and do their best because learning glorifies God. The best answers to all questions are the ones that make a straight line to God, answers that avoid the subjective territory of human experience – a good job, a better life, and more opportunities.
You’ll need to think over these conversations depending on the age and maturity of your child, but they go something like this.
“Son, we are Christians. Have you thought about how God made us? He gave us brains, but those brains didn’t come loaded with every app. He could have done that for us, but he did not. Our brains are a gift from our creator. We please him, and we glorify him when we use and develop the gifts he has given to us. Is that hard? Sure, it is. Will he help you? Absolutely, he will. So, we go to school because going to school and learning as much as you can about what God created glorifies him and is good for you. Will you glorify God by going to school today?”
The appeal to the conscience puts your child in direct line with God. At the moment, your kid is answering not only to you but to God. That’s a good thing.
To be sure, there’s more to the conversation than the brief interaction I described, but there is not less. In every application, our best move in the formation of the young Christians who follow us is to place them under the Lordship of Christ. For many, you will need to study the best ways to have that conversation, just like you studied hard when you were a student and as hard as you expect your children to study.
Here’s a great verse for you and your family as the new school year begins.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:5).
Note: If you made it this far, thanks. Also, I do know the correct spelling of school. The title was a tease to get you to read further. It worked.
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.