|
|
Christian Indie Radio
GetChristianMusic
Solid Walnut Music
|
|
|
|
|
|
Devotionals
|
|
Cartoons
Culture
Family
Games
Health
Homeschooling
Humor
Inspiration
Kids
Men
Ministry
Parenting
Poetry
Teens
Women
|
|
Statement of Faith
Contact Us
|
|
|
|
Choose to Lead:Virtue
by Jim Shoff (Jim's bio)
Send this page to a friend
In 1993 former Education Czar William Bennett felt that our country and our young people needed to be reminded of the importance of Virtue in our lives. He states, "For children to take morality seriously they must be in the presence of adults who take morality seriously. And with their own eyes they must see adults take morality seriously." As another school year begins now is a good time to think about those who participate in the educating of our children and ask, "Where do they stand?"
In the educational process there are four basic participants. First, there are the young minds that hold the future of our land in their hands. These are the very ones that need to see virtue being acted out in the lives around them. Many of these young people will be asked to be leaders among their peers and will need to exhibit virtue in the way they handle their lives. We must pray that these students have open and receptive hearts and that they will be able to see and heed the virtuous behavior they see.
Among the adults involved in the educational process teachers spend the most time with our children. They also assume the greatest amount of power. They control the spin put on every subject discussed in their classrooms. Bennett in his book shows that there is absolutely no lack of material to use in teaching virtue. The hope and prayer is that these molders of minds choose to lead our children both instructionally and by example in how they live their lives.
School administrators and elected school board members are the adults who take the arrows for our schools. Public scrutiny bears down on each of them with every act of violence and report of poor test scores. Administrators must labor to make the best decisions for our students while providing teachers and parents all the tools they need to insure educational success.
Parents, we must now step up and do our part. Outside simply encouraging our children we need to encourage and model virtue to the teachers and administrators. We need to accept the role of leader in this process by spending time each day praying for our children and our schools. We need to be leaders and create an atmosphere that allows our children to learn and our teachers to teach. We must be leaders by modeling the virtue we want and expect our children to develop.
Copyright 2001, Jim Shoff. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Jim Shoff: Jim is married and the father of three teenage daughters. Through his work in sales in the technology sector for the last twenty years, Jim has developed a desire to provide personal development advice for Christian business leaders through his www.leadershipresource.net web site. E-mail Jim |
Send this page to a friend: