[163 words]
Prosecutors in Knox county Tennessee decide to do something about a numbers of students that had been chronically absent from school. Under Tennessee law, parents can be held responsible for their children’s missed days. So they sent a letter to 582 parents of habitually truant students telling of a meeting they could attend to learn about the law and avoid being arrested. But 241 parents, 40 percent of those contacted, failed to show up! It is not hard to figure out why their children don’t show up to school either. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Part of that training is setting an example to follow. A child that is told proper behavior but never sees it modeled will never put that behavior into practice. Children will listen to what we say but will do what they see us do.
Barry Haynes
Hope church of Christ
Hope, AR