691) I have taught multiple grades of children for three and a half decades. When people find this out, they often ask me how kids have changed throughout the years. A huge change is the kids being saturated in the digital world but this is far from what I notice the most. As each year passes, I see the breakdown of family units and more and more of my students’ parents shirking their responsibilities with their children.

Believe it or not, in teaching middle school kids, I have had students who do not know how to tie their shoes. I have sat with one boy behind my desk and taught him how to do it. Many of my students think it’s normal to have multiple households that they bounce from place to place. Some beginning students come to school not knowing any of their ABCs or colors, things most from my generation knew before we walked through the school’s door.

Besides these things, many know nothing of the Bible and stories I grew up with: Noah and the ark, Jonah and the whale and the Life of Jesus, for example. These spiritual things are important and we see just how much they are in Judges 2:10-15. It says here that the whole generation of Israel that were living at this point in history grew up not knowing the Lord and what He has done for their people. This is specifically because they were not taught by their parents. It is vital that children are led and taught by their parents the word of God. It may be the only place they may learn of these things.