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Ray and I lingered in conversation with a college administrator and a local school administrator after the church auditorium emptied yesterday morning. The college administrator (I’ll call her Janie) works on a campus out of state, but returns often to her home here in Gainesboro.

About a month ago a woman entered a research center on Janie’s campus and shot a professor before killing herself. As a member of the administration, Janie heard about it immediately. She called her mother here in Gainesboro right away, so that her mother wouldn’t worry when she saw the story on CNN.

Our discussion of this incident led to a discussion of other problems on college campuses, including:

  • Peer pressure among college students.
  • Eighteen-year-olds having the rights of adults without having the maturity to act like adults.
  • Hazing and other activities practiced by far too many fraternities and sororities.
  • The problem of alcohol.
  • The practice of treating athletes as if they have no rules.

What’s a mama to do?

I was very impressed when an eighteen-year-old homeschooled friend of ours emailed Ray recently to set up an appointment to talk about his future plans and the fact that he has decided to take a gap year before going away to college. That is an excellent idea for many young people. One of the ladies in our conversation yesterday said that when she went to school at eighteen, she was almost like an adult student because she had two jobs and did not live on campus. That, too, would help many students.

I believe that the core issue is a core issue. Behavior comes from what is in the core of our being.

The core issue is a core issue.
The core issue is a core issue.

Every human being lives in a world where rules exist whether we know the rules, believe the rules, or obey the rules. We live in a world that was created by a God Who loves us and Who has told us how to live.

No external pressure from anyone can make anyone follow God’s will. A desire to do that must be down deep in the core of a human heart. As Jesus said:

But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart,
and those defile the man.
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Matthew 15:18-19

What do mamas worry about when their children go to college these days? Well, murder and fornication to name a couple of the many. Of all the things mamas teach when they teach their children at home, the training of the heart is most important.

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4 Comments

  1. Charlene, this is so very true, and so very scarry, not only the peers, but a lot of non-christian professors intimidating students with their secular beliefs….I personally would call that bullying. No matter how many people think 18 year olds are adults, They are still children. I have experienced an 18 year old whom everyone would have said she was totally grounded in her faith was deceived by the professors she was to trust and believe. very very scarry indeed. We need the heart trained. But also as the parent, and the knowledge of the secular colleges that could do great harm to all the training we have given, We need to evaluate the college, We need to wonder what is more important, a great “secular” college so you can make a lot of money, or the heart of your child and what is being poured into that child by others at the college level, we have a huge responsibility here. Our 18year old children are still very very vulnerable.

  2. Well said–“the core issue is a core issue.” The best homeschooling advice I ever received was to focus more on the heart and character of my children, than on the academics. And the older they get, the more important this is, for the stakes are much higher as they get older. We are thankful that our two oldest have chosen to continue living at home and do their college classes online, at least for now. The more time they can spend in an environment that safeguards their faith, the better for them.

    • Excellent choice, Betsy.

      “The more time they can spend in an environment that safeguards their faith, the better for them.” Very well said.

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