Old But Still Good

by Zig Ziglar

A number of years ago, one of the military schools in America prepared some guidelines for parents to use when selecting a school for their boys. They pointed out some things that still have value today. They started by saying that what suits one boy may not suit another; however, there are many activities and characteristics that all parents want when they send their son (and nowadays, daughters) to school. 

First, you want a school with a background -- a history, if you will. This particular school's guidelines said that all of us are charmed with new things, but only the old can touch the deepest springs of life. There is much truth in that statement. They contended that you would want a school with a future. That school would be thoroughly equipped and adequately supplied with material resources that are sufficient to guarantee its perpetuity. They pointed out that a man becomes, in a sense, an orphan when the school from which he graduated passes out of existence. The lives of our children are too precious to be wasted in the futile effort to educate themselves without the necessary machinery (today, we would undoubtedly say technology). 

When you choose a school for your child, you want a school with a personal touch, where the student and teacher are familiar with each other, and where the teacher is the one who carries the respect and is the authority in scholastics. The teacher, however, must be authoritative and not authoritarian -- there's quite a difference. The authoritative teacher will explain what must be done, but then, tells why it needs to be done. They emphasized that the greatest things in life are caught and not taught, that the teacher must be a role model for the students, and that life cannot be handed across a desk with notebooks and computer chips. We need to remember that teachers can teach what they know, but they reproduce what they are. 

A school is needed where the teacher is devoted to each individual student, and that devotion should carry beyond the mere teacher/student relationship. This particular school emphasized that the intake of ideals of a school is inevitable for a young person, and that he or she breathes ideals into the very fiber of his or her being in the corridors of the school. Is the school a place favorable to keen moral judgment? Is the rule of right the rule of the school? The school must have a soul. 

They emphasized that in choosing a school, one should wish to know that almost indefinable thing we call atmosphere. Educators believe that the atmosphere of a school is of supreme importance, and perhaps the most potent influence of an institution is its atmosphere or environment. 

The school should definitely exert an influence on the student. This takes place through individual effort; and the attitude and charisma of the teachers themselves all make up the subtle forces called influence. The school should have a philosophy that is simply designed as the love of wisdom. That philosophy must be in harmony with God's laws and the laws of the country, incorporate the individual's needs, and involve the growth and development of the "whole person." 

The school emphasized that the educational process should meet the present and future needs of the students, that it should stimulate their desirable interests, and develop them to the fullest capacity, enabling them to see their obligation to society. 

As you read what the school guidelines were saying about the school, you may be thinking, "Boy, would I love to send my son or daughter to a school like that!" The good news is that some of those schools are still around. It takes research, which can be done via the Internet, but they are there, and your son or daughter will be eternally grateful if you can find one and send him or her there. It would certainly speed their ascent to the top! 

Posted via email from Kleerstreem's Posterous