Monday, June 13, 2005
WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT...?
By Len Woods, Excerpted from "Life Application Family Devotions"
When report cards came out last term, Christy Tolbert's grades were terrible. She just didn't try at all. So her parent laid down the law: no TV, no phone privileges, and no outside activities Monday through Thursday until the next report period.
Thus far the new studying strategy has worked. Christy has pulled up all her grades. In fact, she does well on her geography project (a report on the Everglades), she may even make the principal's honor roll.
Up late the night before the geography project is due, Christy is trying to copy her paper from the hard disk of her dad's computer onto a floppy disk -- to save it. Somehow he erases the whole paper, or the computer eats it, or the hard disk malfunctions. At any rate, the paper is gone!
Christy and her mom try unsuccessfully to recover the missing document.They call Mr. Tolbert (he is in Atlanta on a business trip). He suggests some other ways to try to save her paper. None of them work. Now Christy is in tears. Even if she can piece together her disjointed scribbles and rewrite the whole thing, it will be at least a day late. That will mean a whole letter grade penalty.
"Daddy, I worked so hard!" she sobs. "And now my average will be all messed up! I probably won't make the honor roll."
Mr. Tolbert tries to comfort his discouraged daughter. "Sweetheart, I don't care so much about your grade. I care that you tried your best and that you learned something."
Which is more important -- making good grades or learning about a subject? How accurate are grades as an indicator of knowledge gained? What advice would you give to someone who was struggling in school?
Proverbs 12:24 says, " The diligent hand will govern, but the slothful will be enslaved." [How does this warning apply to your kid's study habits?]
In this age of information, knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. It is a basic attitude that affects every aspect of life. The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord -- to honor and respect God, to live in awe of His power and to obey His Word. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for your understanding of the world, your attitudes, and your actions. Trust in God -- He will make you truly wise.
Tip for parents. You can better motivate your children to study if you yourself will spend time "studying" each night. While they "hit the books," do some reading, learn a new skill, take a correspondence course, or get a review in the "three Rs" (by helping your children with their homework).
When report cards came out last term, Christy Tolbert's grades were terrible. She just didn't try at all. So her parent laid down the law: no TV, no phone privileges, and no outside activities Monday through Thursday until the next report period.
Thus far the new studying strategy has worked. Christy has pulled up all her grades. In fact, she does well on her geography project (a report on the Everglades), she may even make the principal's honor roll.
Up late the night before the geography project is due, Christy is trying to copy her paper from the hard disk of her dad's computer onto a floppy disk -- to save it. Somehow he erases the whole paper, or the computer eats it, or the hard disk malfunctions. At any rate, the paper is gone!
Christy and her mom try unsuccessfully to recover the missing document.They call Mr. Tolbert (he is in Atlanta on a business trip). He suggests some other ways to try to save her paper. None of them work. Now Christy is in tears. Even if she can piece together her disjointed scribbles and rewrite the whole thing, it will be at least a day late. That will mean a whole letter grade penalty.
"Daddy, I worked so hard!" she sobs. "And now my average will be all messed up! I probably won't make the honor roll."
Mr. Tolbert tries to comfort his discouraged daughter. "Sweetheart, I don't care so much about your grade. I care that you tried your best and that you learned something."
Which is more important -- making good grades or learning about a subject? How accurate are grades as an indicator of knowledge gained? What advice would you give to someone who was struggling in school?
Proverbs 12:24 says, " The diligent hand will govern, but the slothful will be enslaved." [How does this warning apply to your kid's study habits?]
In this age of information, knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. It is a basic attitude that affects every aspect of life. The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord -- to honor and respect God, to live in awe of His power and to obey His Word. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for your understanding of the world, your attitudes, and your actions. Trust in God -- He will make you truly wise.
Tip for parents. You can better motivate your children to study if you yourself will spend time "studying" each night. While they "hit the books," do some reading, learn a new skill, take a correspondence course, or get a review in the "three Rs" (by helping your children with their homework).
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:18 PM 
