"A Child Left To Himself"

As I was reading this Education Week article this morning regarding school districts experimenting with virtual "work from home" days, I immediately thought of Proverbs 29:15: "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." The New English translation renders this verse as follows: "A rod and reproof impart wisdom, but a child who is unrestrained brings shame to his mother."

The above article lists some pros and cons with regard to working at home, citing this statistic: "With nearly 4 million U.S. employees now working from home at least half time, it makes sense for schools to experiment with more flexible days, say experts who study the changing workplace."

The question I have to the above proposal, is that with many parents now having to work outside the home, what does this mean for children who have virtual "work from home" days? Folks, there's a big difference in allowing 4 million supposedly responsible adult U.S. employees to work from home, and allowing children who are not yet responsible and without parental supervision to work from home with the hope of gaining a secular education.

The author of this blog emphasizes the biblical concept of what motherhood is all about, elaborating on the above quote from the Proverb writer plus some other quotes from Proverbs. The author makes this important observation regarding children being left alone: "Since they are children, we cannot teach them what is right one day and then expect them to always do it and pursue godliness. We have to be around them to correct when their behavior is less than desirable."

Beloved, as with all other "experiments" the liberal element in our society come up with, the idea of leaving children to themselves to acquire an education at home without parental guidance and supervision, is in my view ludicrous. Why? Because children who are left to themselves, are not mature or responsible enough to follow through with any "virtual" online instructions, even when those instructions comes from a public school teacher.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets