“1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.
14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.
28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.
”
Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart!
Yesterday I was trying to help my 12-year-old daughter Brie with her school assignment as a good parent does in times of global pandemic. Keeping in mind the Proverbs regarding the careful instruction of our children and the warnings against raising fools who inherit folly I saw this as an opportunity to train up a child in the way she should go! The assignment was a study of economics and a comparison of GDP with the happiness index. As we read through the questions together and looked at the data provided, it was clear to me there was a significant socialist agenda to the assignment. I won’t get into details here, but the questions were written in a manner to elicit only one possible answer – and that answer was wrong!
So, I took the bait and decided to “help” Brie sidestep the biased question composition and answer the question with real “wisdom.” I’m pretty sure the teacher will know what went on given her answer to the first question began with, “given the limited data set provided…”
The problem, of course, is that my “help” started a quarrel with Brie, who would rather have simply answered the question easily, the way the socialists who wrote it wanted it to be answered! What ensued was exactly what Solomon says quarrels bring; strife. In fact, Solomon was exactly right – this was just before lunch and I would rather have headed for the basement with a crust of bread than endure the argument that broke out. It really was like breaching a dam!
I tried hard to de-escalate; the entire household was now involved. I had to apologize for “my approach.” Perhaps I should pick my battles more carefully?
About an hour later I was “vindicated” as the reading in another assignment supported my viewpoint (truth) and completely contradicted the biased questions in the previous assignment. I guess I win the “are you smarted than a 6thgrader” game! But it sure didn’t feel like I had won.
I wonder if I will be asked for help today?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What do you do when folly abounds and must be corrected, but the correction causes a dispute? How can you stay silent and protect loved ones from inheriting folly at the same time? Share your thoughts below.