Ken Smitherman, President, Association of Christian Schools International (retired 2009)
Change—I look in the mirror and I see it. I look at my children and I see it. I look at my grass and I see it. I am reminded of a statement attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would suggest that a more accurate version would be, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and change.”
Even as we sometimes grieve and worry over the certainty of change, we also go to great efforts to celebrate change. We are most wise when we capitalize on the certainty of it, particularly as it relates to our children. It is the reason that you as parents invest so heavily in Christian school education for your children. You recognize the inevitability of change, you know there is a particular direction you want that change to go, and so you have carefully selected the place you believe will produce the desired change in them.
Now that our own four daughters are grown and are each parenting children of their own, it is interesting for my wife and me to look back through the picture albums and the home videos and to recapture snippets of time. Often for the briefest moment we will pause and wish again for one of those times to be recaptured and frozen in place. Then we quickly realize that this phenomenon is not going to happen—nor should it.
Change can take different courses of direction, and some of them are sad. It is the recognition of this fact that so quickly sobers the thoughtful and caring parent. Often, a solemn reminder comes to my mind from Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (NIV). Here, Scripture gives a mandate: you, Mom and Dad, take responsibility for the change that is supposed to occur in your children. Know the way your children should go, and take the course of action to create that change.
In a pamphlet published by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), The Distinctives of Christian Schooling, Dr. Derek Keenan writes (2006; italics in original), “Schooling, no matter what type, shapes its students in significant ways. These ways cannot be separated or pulled apart, as some may think, but are all woven into the person that each child or young person is becoming. This shaping may be thoughtfully defined or ill defined, but no matter the intention of the school, the life of every student is being changed in these areas:
- Academics
Thinking that includes knowing and understanding
- Skills
Proficiency in using content and ideas
- Worldview
Belief system about the world and how it works
- Spirituality
Individual personhood and the core beliefs that control behavior
Change is inevitable, and the great news is that change can be very good.
Change is inevitable, and the great news is that change can be very good. Your Christian school, the education change agent that you have chosen, is strategically endeavoring to bring about change through an education process that strengthens the academics by integrating faith, that focuses on strengthening students’ skill development because there is a higher purpose for implementing those skills, that purposefully intends to develop in students a biblical worldview, and that nurtures students spiritually toward a love of God and a commitment to Him. I commend you for your choice of Christian schooling—an effective agent for change.
Agent for Change
Ken Smitherman, President, Association of Christian Schools International (retired 2009)
Change—I look in the mirror and I see it. I look at my children and I see it. I look at my grass and I see it. I am reminded of a statement attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” I would suggest that a more accurate version would be, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and change.”
Even as we sometimes grieve and worry over the certainty of change, we also go to great efforts to celebrate change. We are most wise when we capitalize on the certainty of it, particularly as it relates to our children. It is the reason that you as parents invest so heavily in Christian school education for your children. You recognize the inevitability of change, you know there is a particular direction you want that change to go, and so you have carefully selected the place you believe will produce the desired change in them.
Now that our own four daughters are grown and are each parenting children of their own, it is interesting for my wife and me to look back through the picture albums and the home videos and to recapture snippets of time. Often for the briefest moment we will pause and wish again for one of those times to be recaptured and frozen in place. Then we quickly realize that this phenomenon is not going to happen—nor should it.
Change can take different courses of direction, and some of them are sad. It is the recognition of this fact that so quickly sobers the thoughtful and caring parent. Often, a solemn reminder comes to my mind from Proverbs 22:6: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (NIV). Here, Scripture gives a mandate: you, Mom and Dad, take responsibility for the change that is supposed to occur in your children. Know the way your children should go, and take the course of action to create that change.
In a pamphlet published by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), The Distinctives of Christian Schooling, Dr. Derek Keenan writes (2006; italics in original), “Schooling, no matter what type, shapes its students in significant ways. These ways cannot be separated or pulled apart, as some may think, but are all woven into the person that each child or young person is becoming. This shaping may be thoughtfully defined or ill defined, but no matter the intention of the school, the life of every student is being changed in these areas:
Thinking that includes knowing and understanding
Proficiency in using content and ideas
Belief system about the world and how it works
Individual personhood and the core beliefs that control behavior
Change is inevitable, and the great news is that change can be very good.
Change is inevitable, and the great news is that change can be very good. Your Christian school, the education change agent that you have chosen, is strategically endeavoring to bring about change through an education process that strengthens the academics by integrating faith, that focuses on strengthening students’ skill development because there is a higher purpose for implementing those skills, that purposefully intends to develop in students a biblical worldview, and that nurtures students spiritually toward a love of God and a commitment to Him. I commend you for your choice of Christian schooling—an effective agent for change.