It is the middle of August, we are approaching Labor Day and, our young people are about to start back to school. Little ones might be excited, teenagers not so much.
But what a blessing it is! I am not talking about the blessing for parents, but rather, the blessings education can give to children. In the process of growing, maturing, developing their talents they can also achieve wisdom, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Some may develop their talents in music, some in the arts, perhaps some in math and science and others in the social sciences. We need all of these talents to make the world a better place, and, building up the Kingdom of God in the present moment is a challenge for all Christians to achieve. There is also the social interaction with other students and teachers. Sometimes, depending on the interpersonal relationships, they can be a challenge. But in school, and with school activities, they develop friendships that will stay with them for a life-time. When I was teaching in St. Louis, many years ago, the line was every student should be involved with at least one extra-curricular event—whether sports, band, a club or something---being involved meant making new friends, meeting new people and developing a relationship with at least one teacher. I think that holds true whether public schools or private.
But the primary mission of any school is wisdom. The teaching and passing on of knowledge to the next generation. I am reminded of certain third world countries with little or no education resources available. What a gift we have in the United States where the education is so well established. That does not mean it is perfect, human beings are running the schools, and even though I have met a few administrators over the years who thought they were incapable of error, they were. Wisdom is more than just learning the alphabet, how to add numbers or how speak correctly (though those are important for small children to learn), wisdom is learning how to think for oneself and being able to rationally understand as a mature individual. That is what I hope our high schools are challenging our young people to do.
