week’s Tabula article):
As I helped her finish math homework one evening,
I said to her, “Let’s do some more problems for review.”
She replied, “But, that was not assigned.”
I again encouraged, “Still, we need to practice some more fractions to catch up.”
“But, Dad, Ms. Leong is my teacher.”
In my head I thought, “Oh, no, you didn’t just say that!” Outwardly, I straightened up in my chair, looked her in the eye, and said in a loving but firm voice, “Let me be clear. Your mom and your dad are responsible for your education, not Ms. Leong. She is a wonderful teacher, but everything she does is in support of us, your parents. She works for us. And, I’m not just saying this because I’m the Headmaster; I’m saying this because I’m your father. So, when I say we are doing more fractions, then school is still in session.”
Yes, she touched a nerve, and not just a personal nerve, but a long-held conviction of this school. At Trinity, we believe God gives authority to the parents as the primary educators over their children, and any authority the school or its teachers have in this regard is delegated to them by the parents. (Deut 6:4-9, Eph 6:1-4). That is why our mission statement makes a point to say TCS “partners with parents.”
Therefore, I encourage you to say the same sort of thing to your children as I said to my daughter. Feel the freedom to assert your loving authority in their lives, and impress on them the primacy of the family as an institution of God, over and above the school. Of course, we do want to teach our children to respect their teachers and others in authority
over them. But, do not let your children hold their teacher’s authority over your own. That is not God’s design, and it is not the school’s intention, nor Ms. Leong’s. Allow me to be blunt: if we have imbued your child with the tools of learning and guided them toward an impressive transcript, but they are cold toward their parents and indifferent
of their authority, then we have failed in our mission.
If you know of a family that might benefit from the kind of support TCS offers to parents and children, please encourage them to attend this Saturday’s Open House.
In Christ,
Stephen Sprague
Headmaster