Train up a child…

Can Children be Thankful for School?

One might wonder if children could possibly be thankful for school. After all, we hear a great deal of grumbling and griping about school from the children, and when they are in school, they often do only enough work to get by. It would seem that most of the children in this country really do not like school in spite of the fact that teachers go out of their way to try to make it pleasant while still teaching the fundamentals.

Some time ago, a couple of things were reported in the news that would indicate that it is, indeed, possible for children to thankful for school. When a 14 yr. old girl in Pakistan was shot in the head for insisting that girls had a right to obtain schooling, we saw an example of a person who undoubtedly would have been very thankful for the opportunity to learn. It was also reported that children in the Northeast were truly glad to be back in school after experiencing the hurricane, Sandy. Pictures were shown of a crowded situation where the children from a school that had been demolished had been taken in by another school. They were thankful to be back in school.

Is it true that we appreciate most the things that are hardest to get? When we earn something, it means more to us. When school is forced on children, they resent it. When they can’t have it, they want it. Millions of dollars are spent on our education system in America, yet the children don’t seem to learn what they should learn. When children really want to learn, they will learn whether they are in a crowded school with poor facilities or a fancy modern school with the latest technological equipment. An appreciative, thankful attitude would do more to improve our country’s educational system than any amount of money, new programs, or better educated teachers. These things are all helpful, but the child’s attitude is the most important of all.

What can be done to help children be thankful for the opportunity to be educated? It is obvious that all of the things that have been done to entertain children have not worked. Nothing succeeds like success. When children do well, they have a true sense of accomplishment that motivates them to try again. In addition, parents need to pattern appreciation for education. When parents run down the schools and the teachers in their conversation, how can we expect the children to think any differently? When children realize the importance of education, they will come to appreciate it more. This can be accomplished by showing children examples of people with and without an education as well as pointing out stories such as the girl in Pakistan and the children in the Northeast.

I received an e-mail recently of the story of a teacher who removed all the chairs from the classroom and made the children sit on the floor. She told them that someone had to earn that chair for them. At the end of the day, veterans came in and she introduced them as the ones who had earned the chair for them to get an education. Creative ideas such as this will help children be more thankful for their education.

It is not easy to help children learn to appreciate free schooling or anything else when it comes easily. We must try to help them show appreciation, however, or we will have another generation of adults where many feel entitled to all that brings self comfort at the expense of the work of others. Yes, children can be thankful for school, but it takes effort on the part of adults to help them come to that attitude of appreciation.