Growing up, I attended school in a small mountain town in North Carolina just a few miles down the road from our home. After breakfast each morning, my mother or father would lead us in prayer before we left for school. It didn’t matter if guests or anyone else was in the home—we still came together as a family and prayed before going to school. At school we learned three very important “Rs.”
I’m not referring to reading, ’riting, or ’rithmetic, though we certainly spent plenty of time on those subjects. I’m talking about:
- Respect for authority, for other people, and for property.
- Responsibility for our personal actions and their consequences.
- Reverence for Almighty God above all.
We said the Pledge of Allegiance, learned about the Ten Commandments, and prayed as part of the school day.
From our nation’s birth onward, respect, responsibility, and reverence have been foundation stones in our society, and in the upbringing of America’s children. Today, however, it seems that those three time-tested Rs are too often being exchanged for three others—for rebellion against established norms of decency, a redefinition of the most fundamental truths, and a culture that rejects anyone who takes a strong stand for traditional moral values.
So, what are those who care about the education and well-being of children in this country to do? Or again, to cite Scripture, “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:3)
I want to suggest three constructive steps for every concerned citizen to consider:
First, pray.
The word “pray” gets tossed around so carelessly that we’ve lost sight of the vital role of prayer in America’s greatness. Making America’s foundation strong surely involves reasserting the place of prayer in our nation’s affairs, and specifically in our schools. Parents, grandparents, and students need to be praying for school boards, administrators, security officers, teachers, aides, and students.
Believe it or not, prayer in schools is still constitutionally protected. In every school across this country, students can seize the opportunity to pray individually or pray with their classmates. The Bible and history show that Almighty God hears humble, earnest prayer from people who seek to please Him. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I know personally that God responds when His people cry out to Him for wisdom and help. This is true in relation to our schools as well. After graduating from college, my wife Jane Austin taught in a public school, and she saw firsthand the incredible difference that prayer can make in the classroom education experience.
Second, get involved in your local school.
If you’re a parent, you can volunteer or serve as a substitute teacher in the classroom. Be a participant in your parent-teacher association or in the extracurricular programs and booster clubs. Even better, consider running for a position on the local school board where you can have a direct impact on the staffing, regulations, and curriculum of your area’s schools. Students can also participate in school board meetings, run for student government, participate in campus debates, and organize prayer with other students at pep rallies, graduations, and between classes.
Third, parents should retain primary oversight for their children’s upbringing in the home.
In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). It’s not the job of teachers to raise our children—that has always been the God-given responsibility of parents.
Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to drive by the school where I grew up. Of course, it stirred many memories—including some that I’d rather forget, given that I was prone to get into trouble! While the school and its campus still looked remarkably similar, I could not help but reflect on how much has changed since then, in the American family and in our nation’s schools.
To get back on track, we must individually and together call on Almighty God for His help, get involved in our schools in order to have an impact for good, and stand strong in our homes to ensure that our children have a firm foundation for greatness that comes from faith in God and time-tested American values.
Respect, responsibility, and reverence—those are three Rs worth defending, now and for our American future—and it all begins with prayer!
