Our School Motto

Here's a little poem I wrote yesterday about educating our children...at least from my point of view.

We're not making scholars,

We're molding Godly men.

We're not producing athletes,

We're preparing them to win.

We're not turning out more masters,

We're training them to serve.

We're not just imparting knowledge,

We're empowering them to learn.

I know it might sound like I'm ripping on athletes or masters or scholars, and maybe I do wish to demean those titles a little, if only to esteem some of the lesser lauded stations in life.  Sometimes I feel the focus is on all the wrong things when it comes to educating and equipping our children for adulthood, so I'm sending out my insignificant thoughts into the vague and unknown realm of this blog.  I do so love the irony of the situation here ;)

In school, in high-school particularly, it's the athlete, the prom king/queen, the lead in the school play, or the star intellectual student who gets all the notice.  Why is it that just being a nice person, being caring, helpful, conscientious, hardworking and eager to learn, aren't given loads of attention and praise (or any at all)?  I'll tell you why--it's because the 'grown ups' have decided that's how it's going to be.  Our entire society loves the 'hero' and the 'star.'  The average Joe (or Jane) who just does his/her best and is a decent person, gets no kudos for doing their part to make our society or our economy function.  It's the exact opposite of how it should be; and I assert that it is very detrimental to our children and to humanity as  whole.

Just as the 'Cinderella/princess/fairy tale' lie has never done any girl a favor in the real world, so the 'superstar athlete'/CEO dream disservices every little boy.

All through school our kids are lied to and told that they can achieve anything they work toward and that they can realize all their dreams if they just dream big enough.  What  a load of crap.  Talk about setting kids up for failure and future bouts of depression.  Life is hard.  It is a supreme amount of work, and most people never reach the goals they've set for themselves.  Only a very few ever become the 'American Idol,' or MVP of the game, or actor, model, writer, newscaster, CEO or even a manager of a company.  We tell them they can attain to any/all of these highly esteemed positions, and that is just not plausible.  Not everyone will be 'someone' in the eyes of this crazy world.  There aren't that many movie studios and publishing houses clamoring for new talent--it's just not going to happen. 

You might be a very talented writer, a poet, a songwriter, a speaker.  None of that means you will have a very good chance at a career where you are actually using those skills and making money off of creating/producing your own work.  You've a better chance at being someone's secretary/assistant than being any of those things.

You might love music or sports or art.  That's wonderful!  Most of us do love at least one of those things.  But the sad truth is that there is no great shortage of musicians, ball players or painters.  Many of us have these abilities; many are very, very good at these things.   It is just that the top tier does not have room for masses and masses of individuals to fill those spaces.  There is but one rung at the top of the ladder, one capstone atop the pyramid.  Your chances are slim to none--and yes, I get to be the ONE person who will tell you this.

Now, I am realistic.  I know that most people know their chances are slim, and I'd never, ever blame someone for trying to reach for the stars, their goals, their dreams.  In fact, if you don't try, you may live with more regret than ever; so I don't recommend that.  I just wish that schools weren't ruining kids by filling their heads full of marshmallow dreams and fools fables.

I merely survey the world around me, and I can tell you, that the evidence is overwhelming to prove my point.  How many people do you know who went to school for such and such a degree, and they are pushing paper somewhere doing completely unrelated work.  Maybe you went to seminary and are working for a construction company, or an auto producer, or not working at all.  I know more people who are not using their degrees than those who are.  Life throws us curve balls, sometimes one right after the other, and sometimes we just make different choices (family over work).  But the one thing life does not throw us is a leg up the ladder.  Most of us are slummin' it here down at the bottom of the pile, holding everybody else up.

And I contend, what is so wrong with that (being a nobody)??  Why are we so celebrity obsessed anyway?  It's insanity.  I mean, someone can tell me, 'hey, so and so published a book' or 'bought a restaurant franchise' and immediately that person's stock goes up in my mind.  Why?  Why would I esteem someone just because they had some random success which none of the rest of us seem to be afforded by God or time or chance.

I tell you, I'm wired just the same as the rest of you are.  We, with our fallen nature, are prone to worship those who attain to fame and fortune.  It's just silliness and it is something that, I would assert, we need to re-train our brains on.  I would like to see people not being 'respecters of persons' as Jesus puts it.  We are all of the same value, whether servant or master, teacher or student, athlete or trainer, famous or unknown.  The people cooking the meals are certainly every bit as important as those doing the eating.  The one who cleans the hotel room is even more necessary than the hotel manager or the CEO of the chain.  Those of us on the bottom, doing servile work, are THE most indispensable elements of society; and incongruously, we are the very least esteemed, the most underpaid, and devalued members of society. 

I feel very certain--scratch that, I am completely certain, that this will never change.  In 5777 years of human history it has always been the same, so any real turnaround would be impossible.  But, it would be nice, wonderful-in fact, if all of us nobodies just stopped worshiping the somebodies of this world.  What if we stopped chatting about the who's who's of this world and just started esteeming one another instead.  What if we stopped empowering all the lords and masters and started really glorifying Jesus.  

It is true that in the kingdom of Heaven, the first shall be last and the last shall be first; the one who would be the greatest must seek to be the lowest servant of all.  So go ahead, rebel against the status quo of this fallen world and embrace your lowly place, and know that if you are doing all that you do to bring glory to Jesus and to help your fellow brethren and sisters, you are a bright and shining star indeed!