Back to School
Remember when school didn’t start until AFTER Labor Day? Well, things have changed since those times, and at least in this area, school started this past week. While parents may have been excited for their children to return, and while most of them are excited to return to the rigors of education, some students feel “cheated” out of the last few days of summer. But this is the “new norm” and so classrooms are again filled with both students and pupils: students being those who are eager to learn, and pupils being the others who are in attendance.
It was my grandmother who taught me the difference between “students” and “pupils.” She had taught school for many years, the last twenty or so of those years being the first-grade teacher at Windsor Elementary School, Stockport, OH. She loved children and realized each one had their own mind and therefore their own “speed” of learning. “Students” were those who attended, ready and eager to learn and apply that learning to their advancement in education. “Pupils” were those who attended but were not so eager to learn and often less eager to apply the lessons to further educational skills. Yet, she never “failed” a student. She insisted their “less than satisfactory grades” were lessons in how NOT to succeed, and thus the very opposite of what they needed to achieve to be successful. She stressed the importance of reading and comprehending what you read. To her, this was more critical than any other subject, albeit she incorporated arithmetic, science, and English into her reading classes, so all subjects were covered. She noticed the more her students learned, the more eager her pupils were to “stay even with their peers” and it worked! She allowed the children to help each other and from that experience, advanced the learning of both students and pupils. Everyone prospered, no one failed, and the goal of learning was achieved!
There is so much of that pattern that works for growing minds regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ! Reading is the primary necessity (1 Timothy 4:13). If you don’t read well, there are many ways to receive the help needed: audio tapes, or even someone who is willing to read the scriptures to you! Discussion of what you read is always the best way to comprehend the text. First, read it aloud (you’ll hear it better!), and second, tell someone what you read! Next, take notes! When I was helping students (and pupils) with study skills and strategies, one of the most effective ways for them to retain what they read was to have them rewrite what they read in their own words, and then share that with another person who would either agree or disagree with the interpretation. If agreed, they knew they both understood the text. If they disagreed, then they both needed to reread the text and discover why they disagreed. At the conclusion, they both learned what they read and retained what they learned! That works for bible study as well!
Behind the scenes, every good student has an “encourager.” This could be a parent, or in the case of bible students, a spouse, or another serious-minded Christian. This is the one who asks, “How are you coming with your study of ……?” They are constantly ready to help by studying with you, reading with you, discussing with you, or even asking and answering questions that will challenge both of you. It works! Rarely are serious-minded Christians ignoring such a fellowship by encouraging and admonishing one another to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Yes, there are those with the attitude, “I don’t want to go to school,” and equally those who at least think, “I don’t want to go to bible study.” For whatever “reason” (which is more accurately an excuse) they claim, “I don’t get anything out of it.” Friend, if you don’t put anything into it, you aren’t going to get anything out of it! Instead of telling your children, “You have to go to school,” you’ll find that if you encourage them with, “You GET to go to school,” their attitude will improve. Likewise, if we convince ourselves that we GET to go to bible study and worship instead of we “have” to go, our attitude will improve, and we’ll inherently gain from our time in the assembly.
Finally, as we focus on this being an encouragement to increase our desire to assemble, worship, study, and thereby increase our faith and assure our destiny of heaven eternal, let me suggest that must never take for granted any single part of our time being assembled. Every verse of every song sung teaches us (Colossians 3:16). Every word of every prayer ushers us to the throne of God. Every word spoken from God’s word and discussed in bible study or sermon delivery is important to our growth in His grace and knowledge (Matthew 4:4). But if like the bored pupils at school, we sleep through the service or listen only to the tune instead of the words of the song or fail to pray with the spirit and understanding also, then we have wasted our time and shamed the God we claim to worship! How can anyone claim to desire heaven eternal and not prove their longing for it with worship in spirit and in truth, with reverence and godly fear?
Yes, there are teachers we respect more than others, but if they have given their best in instructing us with book, chapter, and verse as our text, and an unerring delivery of how this truth influences our lives and keeps us in the love of God, we must accept it with thanksgiving! Let’s rejoice in going “back to school” with renewed zeal, hope, and determination to gain all we can as we improve our strength and vitality in the service of the Master Teacher, Jesus the Christ!