By VAN YANDELL
Proverbs 22: 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Several math teachers have told me, one of the most difficult math concepts to teach to youngsters is fractions. They just can’t seem to deal with the idea that a small number is more than a larger number.
Four is a larger number than a two so “how can one fourth be smaller than one half?” The logic is understandable but at times we have to think (and learn) outside the logical box.
As an industrial arts teacher, my effort was teaching the reading of a rule (zig-zag, tape measure or yard-stick). To use a machinists scale divided into sixty-fourths, was impossible and for the purpose of secondary IA not really necessary.
Often I asked the students, “Can you count to sixteen?” They usually laughed and answered “Yes Mr. Yandell, how dumb do you think we are?” They were not dumb and I knew that and told them so!
The point being, the bottom number of a fraction (denominator) simply tells how many equal pieces or parts the item in question is divided into. That item may be a cherry pie, the planet earth or an inch on a rule. One-sixteenth of an inch is simply one part if the inch is divided into sixteen equal parts.
A home-economics teacher told me the most challenging lesson she taught was how to half or double a recipe.
I asked a math teacher to show me (because I had forgotten from the eighth grade) how to figure square root. Shop teachers used the Pythagorean Theorem to figure the diagonal line of a right triangle. She told me she had been teaching the theorem for years and never knew a practical use for it. I wasn’t surprised.
Carpenters and other tradesmen use the theorem (3-4-5 right triangle) to square a door or window, lay out a house foundation and many other uses in which a perfect right (90 degree) angle is necessary.
Such a simple concept as fractions seems obvious to many but the logic of a child certainly places a challenge in that learning process. These are the same kids that when they were three years old, asked mom, “Why is a nickel worth less than a dime since the nickel is larger?”
I am absolutely convinced that God was referring to more than religion when He told David to write Proverbs 22: 6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The teachings to children from parents should cover a multitude of subjects and while on the subject, there are many areas we cannot expect the public school system to teach.
The sovereignty of God is an important lesson children will not earn in school. Exodus 20: 3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” There is a reason for this commandment being number one. God wants 100% of our love and devotion. Our obedience to Him must be total and complete. He will accept nothing less.
Teaching children occupational opportunities and the importance of reasonably and logically choosing what line of work will be their choice is of extreme importance. Many decisions last a lifetime.
The importance of nutritional selections should be also at the top of any parent’s list. One fact the reader may have noticed at this point is simply that many of the earth-bound, real life lessons our children must learn are in the Holy Bible. Leviticus eleven teaches dietary preferences for good health.
The Bible teaches the dangers of debt (Proverbs 22: 7) and the result of placing too much importance on the accumulation of wealth (1 Timothy 5: 10).
The value of knowledge is not just a fact but an attitude. I am so angry with myself that my thirst for knowledge was not as insatiable at age sixteen as it is now. I remember telling my dad when I was about sixteen, “They teach the wrong subjects in high school. If they taught fishing and target shooting, baseball and drag-racing, I’d make straight A’s.
Many have believed over the years that when a parent told a child to be quiet in the presence of adults it was so they would learn respect. That is true but may not be completely the case. The concept of learning more from listening than talking may have been the actual reasoning.
Manners, courtesy, respect and the dangers of rudeness must also be included in our children’s education. The teaching of right and wrong is at the top of the list. A police officer once told parents, “You make them behave when they’re children or when they grow up, I will!” Parents have a choice to make.
Of course, the most valuable teaching of parents to children is the Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. When considering (or determining) what should be first on our list, eternal salvation must take precedence over all else.
We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9) and resurrected (Matthew 28: 6).
We can be the greatest teacher our children ever had or will ever have. What they learn from us will not only determine their success and happiness in this life but scripturally speaking, for all eternity.