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pologist. He has been studying J ap–
anese culture for 25 years.
"The Japanese mother," writes
De Vos, " is a very important
inAuence on the educat ion of her
chi ldren.... She takes it upon her–
self to be the responsible agent,
responsible for the education of
their children."
Parents s hould realize schools
are only
one
e lement in the educa–
tion of children . Infants are
taught-whether knowingly or
not-by their parents from birth.
dren ... when
you
sit in your
house, when
you
walk by the way,
when
you
lie down, and when
you
rise up" (Deut.
JI :
19, Revised
Authorized Version throughout) .
Not only are the parents to be
involved, but also the grandparents.
" And teach ... your chil –
dren
and your grand–
children"
(Deut. 4:9).
People have neglected to
observe that the Bible is a
book about true education
and sound educa tion a l
methodology. •
The Bible consistently
stresses the parenta l role
in educat ion. Parents are
responsible for training
their children. "Train up
a c hild in the way he
should go ... " (Prov.
22:6). In fact, the book of
Proverbs is ma inl y a n
instruction manual writ–
ten by a father to bis chil–
dren.
lt
contains a gold
t:
mine of information.
1
~
What Can Be Done
i
Parents need once again to
~
assert themselves in the
Start a fun-filled, challenging one-night-a-week family study.
teaching of thei r offspring.
Parents need not be schol–
ars to teach their children.
What they need is the will,
Have your family look at one specific subject. One week it could be
geography, the next, identifying world leaders.
and sorne imagination, to
prepare children to func–
tion intelligently within
reinforcing the education process
instituted in the schools."
Education Begins at Birth
We see a general decline in stan–
dards and deteriorating quality of
education of young people in indus–
trialized countries because parents
commonly no longer help in the
educational process. Parents send
their children off to school begin–
ning at age
5
or 6, then expect the
government
to
educate their chil–
dren. There is a basic flaw with this
concept. Educat ion is a process that
begins at
birth.
Experts agree the
first few years set the foundation to
future performance.
Sorne writers, notably Theodore
M. Black in his book
Straight Talk
About American Education,
have
perceived the problem. Author
Black warns, " Parents, not schools
or governments, are fundamentally
32
Babies pick up their parents' atti–
tudes. Children observe
from their
parents
attitudes about music, the
use or misuse of a lcohol, a nd
respect or the absence of respect
for authority, among other things.
Parents cannot just wash their
hands of responsibility for their chi l–
dren's education. Parents either per–
form a vital element-the missing
ingredient- in thei r children's edu–
cation or by neglect set examples
they may be totally unaware of.
Parental Role Wrltten Long Ago
The irony is, this missing ingre–
dient in education was understood
long before our present educational
crisis. This knowledge, available in
a book t ranslated into dozens of
languages, has been neglected in
modero educational c ircles. The
book, called the Holy Bible, says:
" You
shall teach ... your chil-
society. Take your children on local
outings, expose them to art, zoos a nd
museums. Visiting nearby historical
sites or restored famous bornes
leaves lasting impressions. Educa–
tional and wi ld life programs are
good supplements to formal educa–
tion
in
class.
Start a fun-filled , challenging
one-night-a-week fami ly study. Dur–
ing one evening that is most conve–
nient, have your family look at one
specific subject. One week it could
be geography, the next, identifying
world leaders. Subjects are endless
and vary with age. Bring older chil–
dren into the family study. Make it
exciting! Arouse enthusiasm, open
doors within c hildren's minds.
When parents themselves resolve
lo do their share, we will see the
reversa! of the downward trend in
educational standards and achieve–
ments.
o
The PLAIN TRUTH