Saturday 22 September 2007

Great Expectations

Some people plan their entire lives around finding the ‘best’ schools and educational establishments for their kids.

1. How do I best help prepare the ‘next generation’ for the future marketplace without placing unspoken expectations on them?

2. Does this question matter any less to a Christian parent, given that wealth and asset accumulation have no significance in the kingdom of God? What if our kids grow up as unbelievers and place more value in these things?

2 comments:

Storytellertrainee said...

1. I think the key is to train our kids to act responsibly and to aggressively pursue wisdom. Neither of these requires elite schooling.

Also, it seems to me that some expectations are good for kids. For example, children need to know that they're expected to respect adults and to deal with authority in the right ways. As kids get closer to adulthood, I think it's important to let them know that they're expected to work to support themselves once they're on their own. Maybe the key word here is "unspoken," since that seems to imply some sort of deception or unwillingness to communicate. If that's the case, then I'd say that the answer is to clearly communicate expectations about the things that really matter and then be willing to let the rest go.

2. I think if we're serious about following Jesus then we'll equip our kids to do the same. Wealth is not required for this, of course. But as you say, maybe our children will choose not to follow God. If that happens, hopefully they will still have learned to be responsible and wise. (Because if wealth is their goal, these habits will take them a long way towards it.)

sputnik said...

i am enjoying your blog contributions stt. responsibility and wisdom.

i am with you on responsibility and learning where the limits of under-responsibiliy and over-responsibility lie.

im unsure about 'wisdom'. how would you define wisdom and how do you train another to be 'wise'?

on 'unspoken', i dont think it has to be deception or an unwillingness to communicate. sometimes i think 'normality' is cultural. that is to say that the generation above may try to prepare the next generation for what is their idea of 'normality', which of course has been shaped by their own experiences, environment and culture. the generation below will likely grow up in a different culture.