Are They Ready?

The difficult economic times have had an effect on everyone including Christian schools. Enrollments are down in many Christian schools, teachers have been laid off, and some schools will close. Many parents, who desire for their children to be educated in a school where they can learn more about their Christian faith, are finding that they are no longer able to pay for their children to go to a private school. Where will these children go next year? Many parents say they will home school their children until they can afford to send them back to a Christian school. But other parents are making the hard decision to send their children to public school.

Are the public schools ready? I think that the public schools have not anticipated the large influx of children they will receive who previously went to private schools. There has been much talk of laying off public school teachers and having larger class sizes. But have they thought about the multitude of private school students in the “Bible Belt” area, where a lot of private school abound, that will be going to public schools next year. This influx of students will increase the tax dollars that the schools receive from the government. Will it be enough to prevent teacher lay offs and keep class sizes the same? Only time will tell.

But more importantly, are the children ready? Change is difficult for many children. Not only will they be going to a new school, it will be one where they do not teach about God, some rules and values will be different as will the academics. Some changes will be beneficial for the children, but many parents do not feel they out weigh the negative. Are the children ready spiritually? Will they be able to stand firm in the beliefs that their families and churches have taught them or will they be swayed by peer pressure into making poor choices? These parents will do what they have always done. They will pray for the Lord to take care of their children and give them wisdom to do what is right.

picture from:http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/results.aspx?qu=school&sc=20#60

Dealing With the Stress of a Test

For some students a test is very stressful. They want to get a good grade, but each time they sit down to take a test, the answers seem elusive or they feel they studied the wrong information. Many students struggle with academic grades. Some students must work very hard to achieve success. Each step toward success is a hard won battle.
As the test gets closer, some students become very upset that the facts they are reviewing will not stay in their brain. Some even become ill at the thought of how they are going to do on the test. What can we do to help? Good help does not start the night before the test. There are several stones we can use in building the road to success. The first one is the most important—the student. Is he/she motivated to try? Does he believe in himself---that he can succeed? The second stone is a support group around the child. Teachers, parents, siblings, and friends can all play a role in helping a child feel like they can achieve success by encouraging them to do their best and believing in them. (A child’s best may not be an “A”, but if they do their best, then it should be labeled as success.)
The teacher’s role in the classroom is enormous. Is she using techniques that engage the student s in learning and help them with learning good study strategies? Good preparation can help with dealing with the stress of taking a test—good notes, recalling activities that were used in teaching the lesson. Also, many teachers give a guide to what will be on the test. A student should use these tools to help them study. Now a student must decide which study process works best for them: making note cards to review, memorizing lists, studying with a friend.
Even when a student uses all these helps, they can still get discouraged. That is when the good support group should step in. They can remind the student of all the good prep work they have done and remind him to believe in himself that he can succeed.
Test day. The room is silent as students scribble furiously on their paper with many of them wondering if their best is going to be good enough to get the grade they desire. Even if the result is not what the student hoped for, it is important to be sure the child is resilient in bouncing back to try again and maybe try a different technique to help him do better next time.

picture from www.plu.edu