Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Often we seem to think that education is the cornerstone of society. We think that everything starts and ends with education, yet this is the last in the list of the seven spheres of society. There is a reason for this being last. Education is extremely important because it is preparing the next generation to carry on and expand the legacy of the current generation. It is preparing the leaders of tomorrow. However it is last on this list because until we start living by these principles, the next generation will not listen to as we teach them to live by these principles. Education needs to be an addition to what is already being lived and taught in the family, at church, and even through the government. It should be an expansion on the other areas of society, not a replacement. That being said education is a very important area of society and there are definitely Biblical principles to apply in education that will help us to turn are society around.
Truth:
First of all we need to teach truth. There is a new idea becoming prominent that truth is relative. Truth all depends on what you believe. This teaching is devastating as it goes into the belief on right and wrong. As we teach that there is no such thing as absolute truth we are teaching that there is also no such thing as right and wrong. Biblical commands like "you shall not lie", "you shall not commit adultery", and "you shall not murder" lose there authority because all of a sudden we are telling are kids that they must decide if lying, committing adultery, or even murder is right or wrong in there situation. In our society we have allowed morality to become relative which allows for immorality to run rampant.
Inspiration:
Secondly, education should be inspiring children to keep learning. Proverbs 1:5 says "A wise man will hear and increase in learning..." Education only starts in the official schools and we need to be inspiring our children to continue the lifelong process of learning. We should be challenging them to study things out on their own and constantly seeking out new knowledge. We should be inspiring them to have great dreams looking forward into the future.
Living Examples:
Finally we need to be living examples of what we teach. The concept "do as I say not as I do" does not work. We must live out what we are teaching. If we are not excited about education then neither will our students be. If we don't live out the concept of right and wrong our students will follow suit. We need to live out what we are telling the next generation to do so that they can see it in practice and see that it works.