Uncompromised Excellence

November 28

The American educational system is accused of producing students who know little but who think quite highly of themselves. The observation is that our teachers are busily building their students’ self-esteem but are not doing much in the way of actually conveying academic or spiritual knowledge to them. This, if true, is a sorry assessment of a broken system—which, by the way, was once the premier educational machine in the world.

Bill Gates, one of the world’s wealthiest men, is credited with stating, “Before a child gains self-esteem, he should have accomplished something.” Mr. Gates, in the opinion of many, is entirely correct in that observation. But, parents and teachers and administrators often differ. They feel that for a child to achieve, he must be first validated as an achiever.

Is this getting the proverbial cart before the horse? If the Lord were interjecting His opinion here, what would it be? According to the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians 2:3, 4, we are to, “In humility consider others above ourselves. Each of us should look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others.” The initial portion of this scripture seems to assent to the notion of affirming our young people. But, read in its entirety, we understand that in doing so we should be looking to their interests.

It becomes ever more apparent that building self-esteem does not further the interests of youth, in the short term or in the long term. If we want their futures to be secure, we must assure that they have the tools with which to build their futures and the knowledge of how to use those tools. The proven method for conveying knowledge is that which has succeeded in the past—the insistence upon excellence. Yes, we may use every tool of modern technology to accomplish that excellence, but we must not compromise on what excellence is, not academically and certainly, not spiritually!