This month's “teaching tip” is Right is Right and will build upon last month’s concept of No Opt-Out. Just as students are not allowed to be unprepared and then be “let off the hook,” as it were, so likewise students are not allowed to have a lackadaisical attitude to the quality of both the work they turn in or the answers they give to questions during their study time. When St. Paul admonishes us to do whatever we do with all our might to give glory to God, so likewise must the parent-teacher be gracious yet firm in requiring their students to give their very best (Colossians 3:17).

Right is Right: answers must be correct!

Whether in answering a question that the teacher asks, or in a student-led discussion amongst siblings or in a homeschool co-op, the student must give the correct answer. The idiocy of so-called “new math” as well as the “self-esteem” movements floating around the public schools at all levels of academia today is a fast path to intellectual destruction and an incompetent, inarticulate working class. Such “movements” are the result of psycho-babel psychology, Marxist sociology and the whine of second raters.

Sadly, the results will be a dumbed down rabble of low-performing drones always looking for the lowest level of performance and having found it, the blame-complain game will begin as they seek to blame others for their low performance and look for “breaks” everywhere to get out of hard work.

As Christians, both the Old and New Testaments mitigate against such an attitude toward work (Proverbs 13:4; 14:23) and Christian education is no different: Right is Right! Whether, we are dealing with math problems, science formulas or who was involved in the War of 1812 – the student must answer correctly before moving on to the next part of the lesson for the day. If he or she seems confused or unsure, they need to go back to the previous day’s lesson and relearn the previous day’s teaching target/goal. To do otherwise, is merely putting off the inevitable bad news of failure and an inability to press forward academically.

Simple.

Granted, there are days when both teachers and students are not feeling up to par and are just having an off-day. Nonetheless, the general rule must be upheld that Right is Right: all answers must be correct. Do we not require the same from our doctors, dentists, and auto mechanics???

Part of Christian Education is character development as the book of Proverbs makes clear (Proverbs 22:6). If, as teachers and parents, we give into our children’s whims and desires, we only set them up for a harsh reality later in life (Galatians 6:7).

Be diligent teachers, and your students will be also!