The following is excerpted from a recent email I sent to our parents. Perhaps it will be helpful.
Regardless of the pedagogical approach, strategies and tactics, we are always teaching our students. I’ve mentioned before that as a parent, while I’m thrilled at the academic lessons my children have learned at ECS, I’m even happier at the other things they’ve learned. They delight in the people at ECS and they delight in the Lord, due in no small measure to who is teaching them and with whom they are learning.
Sonja and I have failed plenty of times and become frustrated when trying to educate our children. Many invested parents can relate. We have taught lessons that we shouldn’t teach, like…
- It’s okay to be snarky with your family when you’ve got a lot to do.
- History tests are laborious.
- Reading is a chore.
Sadly, I could keep going. I don’t believe these things, but sometimes I teach them to my kids through my behavior and attitude, nevertheless. But fortunately, when I become frustrated, I’m reminded that God’s grace has proven to be abundant in the education of my kids, and – thanks much to the influence of our ECS teachers and community – our kids are learning (whether they know it or not) other things more in keeping with our school’s vision, things that most kids are not learning today:
- There is sweetness to be found in Christian community.
- The enemy is most threatened by happy Christian warriors.
- Learning about our place in the river of Western Civilization is rich and fun.
- History teaches us not only where we have come from, but also where we are going.
- Only a worldview that assumes the pervasive lordship of Christ can rightly explain how the universe works.
- Singing is cool. Really cool.
- Songs are weapons.
- Math and science only work because of Christ’s lordship.
- Reading is awesome.
- And much, much more.
So, read this as encouragement that we are always teaching our kids, especially when we don’t want to be doing so…teaching them academically, or how to handle life or difficult people or circumstances. Keeping this in mind really helps.