What are you immersing your kids in?
I hear this every now and then:
“We would choose to enroll our kids at Westpark but we have chosen French Immersion.”
There are no doubt good reasons why someone would make this decision. And if you have good reasons then this post will only strengthen them.
These could be reasons like:
- long term cognitive effects of learning a second language
- greater appreciation of Canada’s diverse history
- easier time reading (although in MB this is not the case - click first link below)
(Check out this study (French Immersion 30 years later) and this paper to read some relevant findings)
However, I rarely hear those reasons.
This is the reason I hear most:
“It will be easier for them (the student) to find a good job.”
This reason bugs me since it is basically an economic reason and thus is potentially at odds with Kingdom values. It echos a little too much of the encouragement I have heard some parents give to kids who are eager to pursue missions or ministry full time. Mom and pop encourage junior to not pursue those God given dreams because God given dreams often don’t pay that well or have fantastic retirement packages.
Where and when this happens - it is messed up and I don’t hesitate to say so.
A primary role of the Christian parent is to portray discipleship as the adventure of following Christ step by step to places you’d never go yourself and trusting him to provide as you obey. These are the bed time stories you need to tell. Tell about times daddy was scared to say something to his friends about Jesus but still did and look what Jesus did. Tell the kids about the underprivileged who are better off because daddy and mommy only live off of 75% of what God gives them. Don’t use bedtime to tell little Johnny stories about how if he plays his educational cards right he can be easily employed by the federal government and hit his magic 80 by 50 years old and then live out his days watching the TSX ticker at the cottage.
I talk, or in this case write, a good game. But it is a daily struggle for me to live in the “Holy Wild” of obedience. And part of the struggle may even come as I to try to have what my parents didn’t enjoy materially because of their choices. I never want to put 300k+ on a 1986 Plymouth Voyager.
But at the end of the day, I usually lean towards their example than away from it. I can only imagine how much harder it would be if I had parents who didn’t set a good example in this way. I’m forever grateful to my parents for choosing obedience over security. Not too many 30 year olds (my dad) leave their post as principal of a public high school to haul their 2 young kids across the country to drain their savings getting that most marketable of diplomas at bible school for 4 years. Not too many wives agree this is a good plan.
However, my parents did and it makes a heck of a bedtime story for my kids, I know Larry and Shanon kissed a lot good-bye and confused a few people with that move. But the ripple effects are still being felt.
I wasn’t immersed in French (although I took two classes in university as electives and was 2-3 more away from checking the “bi-lingual” box on an application). I was immersed in something else - and I am grateful.
Talking now about something broader than where Johnny takes grade 1 - because it is entirely possible to take French Immersion and fulfill every call God has placed on you as a parent. At this stage of my argument I am no longer talking about the specific which started me off on the whole thing.
Right now I am talking about examining how your family culture either reinforces or erodes Kingdom living. And you have to examine it lest it default to the pleasant sounding cultural values which upon a closer look are at odds with what God is calling you to.
