A different kind of educational funding

A major issue in this election is school funding. It is important. Indeed, education is probably the most important investment we make in our nation’s future. That said, there is a different kind of funding we need to seriously consider: time and interest. One experienced teacher said that the two most effective things you can do for your child/ren’s education is to read to them and to listen to their reading. You might say ‘That’s okay when they are little but what about when they grow older?’ The commitment is still as important. Reading to and listening to reading with little children involves both, adult and child, speaking and listening. This is a commitment of time and attention through a neutral thing, a book, and the common experience can lead to communion. Children love this not just because their reading improves but because we are made for communion. Our God is a community, Father, Son and Spirit. Being made in the image of God, the desire to be with each other is wired into our heart’s DNA. We have a deep desire to be with each other. As children morph into adolescents the desire is still there but we, as adults, have to be more sensitive and creative in finding a ‘neutral’ thing, a hobby or interest, where we can be in communion with our child/ren. As we work to make connections, to find things that foster communion, we become more loving, more Godlike. It is not only our child/ren that are transformed. Our own hearts too are fulfilled.

Loving God, send me the wisdom of your Spirit so that I make find the best ways to spend time and show interest in my child/ren. Let our time together lead us into love and a richer life. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.