As we continue to pray for students in these days, let us pray that God would give them a spirit of perseverance. Perseverance can be defined as the continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failures, and opposition.
Many kids go to school because they are required to. Some go to school because they love it. Still some others, particularly older students, are thinking about quitting. Depending on the location and other factors, the dropout rate of high school seniors is 6% to 15%. Most likely people in that group (considering dropping out) are not reading this article. But you might know someone who is considering that right now. Pray for them. Talk to them. Do what you can do encourage them to persevere.
In some families the student you know might be the first one to graduate. It is certainly possible a student you know is the first one in the family to graduate college or to pursue an advanced degree. Do what you can to encourage them to persevere.
In any classroom or grade level of school there can be a diversity of difficulties with challenges to overcome. A pastor friend who lives in Georgia reports there are sixty-three different languages spoken in the high school near where he lives. Imagine how difficult and challenging it would be to learn and teach in a setting like that.
Cheryl Sacks, in her book Reclaim a Generation, lists several challenges students face today including, poverty, lack of access to transportation, addiction and substance abuse within the home, broken families, depression, and mental illness. There are also such things as undiagnosed learning disabilities, racial inequality, and homelessness. All these factors and more can affect the learning years of students. I am glad to report that a high school principal shared with me there are no high school or middle school students in our immediate area classified as homeless. That is great news.
The value of a quality education is priceless. A little bit of determination and perseverance now will pay rich dividends for a lifetime. Let us do what we can to encourage students to persevere and even become lifelong learners. Pick up a book and read it. It seems to hold true in many families – when parents and grandparents read, their kids become intrigued with reading. Even before they can read, curiosity is birthed in kids when they see an adult or role model sit for a while and stare into a book. They do not know what the person is doing but it looks interesting. Since modeling is the greatest form of unconscious learning, be a lifelong learner yourself and see if the children and students in your life become the same. Do what you can to encourage your children and grandchildren to persevere and may God richly bless you as you invest in the lives of students.
