3 Strategies to Help Your Child Develop A Godly View of Student Success
Updated: Jan 1, 2021
With so many advocates in your youth’s corner, encouraging them to study hard and do well in school, it’s not a surprise that they are successful today. I am one of those advocates, and I take God’s vision for my life seriously. My mission is to educate, equip and exhort believers to pursue student success for God's glory! As a believer, I want to take what you know about student success and supporting your youth in school one step further. I think that you would agree with me when I say that God wants us to do everything for the glory of God! And because we know this, why would your children's success in school be any different? Let's explore three strategies about how you can help your youth to develop a Godly view of student success. Are you ready? Let's dive in.
1. You need to help your youth understand the big picture about why they are getting their education. In the grand scheme of things, we know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He died and rose again, and now, He lives in us. Because we know this, we can have confidence that God wants us to be victorious and to win! At this point, you may be wondering, well, how does this connect to us helping our children to develop a Godly view of student success? Here’s how. We have to impress upon our children that when they excel in school and do their very best, God is pleased. God wants us to always put forth our maximum effort. For example, in Mark 12:30, He tells us to ‘Love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul.’ In the same way, you must encourage your children to study and excel in school by giving it their all.
2. You need to teach your children to make their grades work for them. What do I mean by that? It's simple! Everything that we do in life is tied to a reward or a consequence. In the Bible, God lets us know that we have a choice to make, either death or life. According to Deuteronomy 30:19, He encourages us to, ‘choose life,’ because that is what is best for us. And yet, when your children choose to perform subpar in school, they are essentially choosing death. By intentionally neglecting their studies, they are in part saying, ‘school is not for me, I do not like school, and I do not care about my future.’ When your children see that there is a reward waiting for them from God, from their teachers in the form of good grades, from their parents in the form of recognition and validation, and finally when they realize the connection of good grades and its impact on their future careers, they will finally understand that getting good grades is actually in their best interest!
3. Lastly, you need to help your children understand that their educational journey may not be perfect, and that is okay! While many of you reading this article may have children who have straight A’s in school, this is not the reality for other parents. When your children do well in school, they are changing the trajectory of future generations. As parents, you know that it is a good thing to have expectations and to expect excellence from your children. God wants our best, always. Yet, you need to realize that helping your children to develop a healthy view of what it means to get off the beaten path as it relates to their grades, or anything else in life, and then back on track, will be important. We all make mistakes, including your children, yet God forgives us and helps us to continue on the straight and narrow path. In the same way, you should take the time to share our educational journey with your children so that they will know that they are not alone. You must teach them that failure is not fatal, nor is it final and that they will continue to live!
Helping your children to develop a Godly view of student success can be done successfully when you put our faith and trust in God, and you take the time to invest in your children. As you encourage your children, you must know that God will give your children everything that they need, including the strength to pursue student success for His glory!
Your Favorite Student Success Expert, Deandra Smith
