Recently, scanning the middle grade fiction section at the library with my<\/span> kids, I stood by a young mom trying to help her daughter find something new to read. And, because I am like my father\u2014which according to my kids means I talk too much to strangers\u2014I inserted myself into their conversation, saying, \u201cIf you need recommendations, we\u2019ve got lots …\u201d. I began to pull books off the shelves and list titles she should look up later.<\/p>\n As we talked, she admitted that she doesn\u2019t know what her daughter is reading at school. She can\u2019t keep up. But she has noticed that what her daughter reads influences her ideas. And what her daughter brings home from the school library is not what she wants her to be reading.<\/p>\n With tears in her eyes she confessed that her daughter is learning too much about gender, race, and homosexuality at school and not enough about reading, writing, and arithmetic. \u201cI thought school was the way it was when I was little, <\/span>but it\u2019s not,\u201d she said. \u201cMy praying with them at home and taking<\/span> When talking to parents like this young mom, I think it is im<\/span>portant to listen first. Just like when you are trying to share the gos<\/span>pel with someone. <\/span>I talk to people I don\u2019t know because God is always busy drawing <\/span>men to Himself. Everyone has a story to tell\u2014how they got to where <\/span>they are. Listen and hear. Allow God to move in the moment. Sim<\/span>one Weil has said that \u201cit is impossible for two human beings to be <\/span>one while scrupulously respecting the distance that separates them, <\/span>unless God is present in each of them.\u201d The gulf between two selves <\/span>is bridged only by a Third Person. God is essentially mediation.<\/span><\/p>\n Remember that these parents wrongly believe that \u201cschool\u201d is <\/span>still the same experience they had. They do not understand philos<\/span>ophies of education. They remember school with sentimentality. Let <\/span>them come to their own conclusions before you tell them what to <\/span>do about it.<\/span><\/p>\n Second, they believe school is supposed to be free. There is no <\/span>category in their budget for tuition. It requires a big leap of faith to <\/span>pull children out of the local neighborhood school\u2014to go against<\/span> Parents don\u2019t often realize how many alternatives are available <\/span>because it requires work to find them. And money to pay for them. <\/span>So be patient and encouraging as they think through options. Vali<\/span>dating their concerns and the implications of those concerns is the <\/span>first step in helping them get out. Showing them the beauty of clas<\/span>sical Christian education is the next.<\/span><\/p>\n I have no idea what God is going to do with the words I ex<\/span>changed with this mom, but I do know that God has used the right <\/span>idea at the right time to change the course of my life. So, I am hopeful. And I will continue to talk to strangers. \u2724 MANDI GERTH teaches at Coram Deo Academy in Dallas, TX. She and her husband have labored for over twenty years to build a family culture for their five children that values books, baseball, museums, home-cooked meals, and conversation about ideas.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Giving hope to discouraged parents “My praying with them at home and taking them to church is not enough to compete with what is happening to them at school. I\u2019m not going to win.” BY MANDI GERTH Recently, scanning the middle grade fiction section at the library with my kids, I stood by a young […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[356,114,14,70],"tags":[362,346],"yoast_head":"\n
them to church is not enough to compete with what is happening <\/span>to them at school. I\u2019m not going to win,\u201d she realized with grief and <\/span>heartache written all over her face.<\/span><\/p>\n
the<\/span> system. Even more so when going against the system comes <\/span>with a hefty price tag. It usually has to get really bad before parents <\/span>are ready to make that kind of change.<\/span><\/p>\n
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