What Does August 1 Mean to You?

By Dr. Roger Erdvig, WCS Headmaster
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August 1st - I don’t know what that date represents for you, but for me as headmaster of WCS, it means we’re in the final stages of preparing for the new school year. For families, it likely means getting in those last trips to the beach or mountains while beginning to think about what our kids need for the start of school. Backpacks, #2 pencils, and folders all come to mind.
 
But more than school supplies, our children need our prayers as parents, guardians, grandparents, and other mentors. In this article, I’d like to offer some Biblical perspectives on what you can pray for the children in your life as they return to learning in school.

Philippians 4:9 says,
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice
these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
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While Paul is writing about issues of discipleship, his framework for how people learn can be equally applied to other areas of learning and can be harnessed as a guide for how to pray for the new school year.
 
First, notice that learning starts with hearing and seeing a mentor. Paul lived the kind of life that he was challenging his readers to live. The same applies in the modern classroom. Pray that your student’s teachers will fully live out the truths they’re seeking to pass on to their students. Whether in math, world languages, or art, students need to see and hear their teachers loving and exploring their subject matter right alongside of them.
 
Second, Paul points to the heart of the student when he mentions receiving. All of us are best able to learn when we have a receptive posture. You can’t learn what you won’t receive. Sure, you may be able to memorize something for a test or give a teacher exactly what he’s looking for in a paper. But unless a learner comes to the learning task with the humility of being open to receive, authentic learning will not happen. Pray for your children to approach the school year, their teachers, and their subject areas with a humble heart to receive.
 
It is key that Paul uses the term “learned.” The rich Greek word translated into English as “learn” is so much more than a mere mental grasp of facts. Rather, it is an experience with truth that is marked by reflection and usage of that truth in real life. We at WCS see learning in the same way. We don’t want our students to merely hold something in their minds long enough to spit it back out on a test. We long for our students to deeply engage with truth through reflection and practice. Pray that your students would experience authentic learning this year—learning that involves thinking deeply about truths and being quick to apply what they learn.
 
Paul closes his exhortation about learning by encouraging his readers to practice what they are learning. That’s where we as parents and mentors can play an important role in our students’ learning. Pray for yourself, that you will be an effective partner in helping your children learn by being ready to help them practice what they’re learning.
 
As you buy your kids the #2 pencils they need and the folders they’ll stuff with assignments, be sure that you don’t ignore the most important preparation of all--prayer.