Notes from my Knapsack 2-27-2025
Jeff Gill
A few recurring thoughts about education
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Regarding education, public and otherwise, there is a small set of observations I have made in this space before, even more than once, but in hunting through back numbers it appears I haven't made these points here for more years than I'd have thought.
Seeing and hearing some of the comments online and in television punditry around this subject leads me to want to put three baseline realities out in front of y'all.
Point one: how much time does the average child spend in school, from birth to age 18? I'll save you some math and make my point in a single digit. 9 percent. Children spend 9% of their childhood in school.
Yes, I know, folks will say "wait, you're cheating here." Right, I'm counting it all. Before starting school, sleeping, vacations. Can you see why? If a child comes to school utterly unprepared in kindergarten or first grade, or if a high schooler comes to the morning bell without rest, if any kid is walking in the schoolhouse door hungry and fearful . . . see my point?
Teachers have access to less than ten percent of their students' lives. If the other 90+% is chaos, then you will have challenges in making good use of your 9%.
Point two: Ohio's current graduation rate is 84%; Granville's is 98.7%. What people don't understand is that grad rates have steadily climbed since the 1950s. Yes, increased. But many are certain our grad rates are in free fall. They are incorrect.
My grandfather was a school district superintendent. He retired in 1969, honored for successfully graduating . . . 50% of all the students who began first grade with his district for his last decade.
My mother had the blessing and misfortune to have him as her algebra teacher, her high school principal, and knew of his challenges in a rural Illinois setting, but she reacted strongly ten years ago hearing me make this point. "Oh no, all my classmates graduated."
Well, he kept yearbooks most of his years as principal and superintendent, and we went to them. In the early 1950s, there were about 75 kids per grade level in elementary; after eighth grade (which held a graduation ceremony; my grandmother sent me a card and gift when I finished eighth grade in the mid-1970s and I was at the time, baffled) the class head count went to about 45, and the graduating classes ran 22 to 25 in all her years of high school.
Mom was still certain the graduation rate in her days was closer to 100% than 50%. The yearbooks show it was more like 30%; her father deserved credit for bringing that up to 50% once he was in charge.
Point three: we haven't always educated everyone. This is related to the second point. In fact, Licking County (thanks to Eleanor Weiant) has a proud, long tradition of educating all children, even those with disabilities. That only became the law nationwide in the 1970s, and in many places wasn't fully deployed until the 1980s. I'm not even getting into legal discrimination by race nationwide.
The reality is since the mid-1980s we are educating many, many kids our schools didn't even formerly try to teach, or have in their buildings. Some of those situations incur costs which would stun you, but are now legal mandates (for the entity which only has them 9% of their lives).
Please consider these three points as we debate how education should operate in the challenging years ahead.
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he was also the attendance officer for Granville Schools for sixteen years (long story). Tell him how you remember education at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads or Bluesky.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Monday, February 17, 2025
Faith Works 2-21-2025
Faith Works 2-21-2025
Jeff Gill
Looking for the presence of God
___
One more time, we can hope one last time, our local "emergency warming center" operation swung into action this past week.
We will, by dawn Friday morning, have been in operation 18 nights this winter, which is two or three nights more than any winter since Jan. 2019 when this community volunteer-based operation got going. 18 times four shifts is 72 shifts (not counting the post-activation "shift" of laundering 50 or 60 heavy wool blankets & folding and returning them to our location, so technically 77 shifts this winter).
In general we need four volunteers per shift, not counting the food delivery & transport assistance from the hospital & county transit board, so volunteer-wise we've needed 288 "volunteer shifts" in total, 298 counting five laundry run duos. Obviously some people work multiple shifts, but it comes to at least 150 people "showing up" at some point over the winter. Bless them all.
It has been a rough winter, to be sure. Practically speaking, and spiritually. But in the Old & New Testaments I'm most familiar with, there are some guideposts as to where we should look for God's presence. For starters:
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 (Moses here): "If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be."
I Samuel 2:8 (Hannah speaking): "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world."
Psalm 9:18: "For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever."
Proverbs 14:31: "Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him."
Proverbs 16:19: "It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud."
Proverbs 19:17: "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and will be repaid in full."
Luke 4:18 (Jesus citing Isaiah 61 in Nazareth): "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…"
Luke 6:20-21 (Jesus preaching again): "Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."
II Corinthians 8:9 (Paul here): "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich."
Galatians 2:10 (at the Jerusalem conference with Peter, James, & John, where Paul & Barnabas were being instructed): "They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do."
James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
Remember the poor, look for God's blessings at work in the midst of those who are without, and always be mindful of Matthew 19:30 (not the only place he says this), where Jesus notes "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Sit with those who are distressed and cast aside, and you will encounter God. There are few clearer promises in Scripture.
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; tell him where you meet the Living God at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads & Bluesky.
Jeff Gill
Looking for the presence of God
___
One more time, we can hope one last time, our local "emergency warming center" operation swung into action this past week.
We will, by dawn Friday morning, have been in operation 18 nights this winter, which is two or three nights more than any winter since Jan. 2019 when this community volunteer-based operation got going. 18 times four shifts is 72 shifts (not counting the post-activation "shift" of laundering 50 or 60 heavy wool blankets & folding and returning them to our location, so technically 77 shifts this winter).
In general we need four volunteers per shift, not counting the food delivery & transport assistance from the hospital & county transit board, so volunteer-wise we've needed 288 "volunteer shifts" in total, 298 counting five laundry run duos. Obviously some people work multiple shifts, but it comes to at least 150 people "showing up" at some point over the winter. Bless them all.
It has been a rough winter, to be sure. Practically speaking, and spiritually. But in the Old & New Testaments I'm most familiar with, there are some guideposts as to where we should look for God's presence. For starters:
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 (Moses here): "If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be."
I Samuel 2:8 (Hannah speaking): "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world."
Psalm 9:18: "For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever."
Proverbs 14:31: "Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him."
Proverbs 16:19: "It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud."
Proverbs 19:17: "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and will be repaid in full."
Luke 4:18 (Jesus citing Isaiah 61 in Nazareth): "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…"
Luke 6:20-21 (Jesus preaching again): "Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."
II Corinthians 8:9 (Paul here): "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich."
Galatians 2:10 (at the Jerusalem conference with Peter, James, & John, where Paul & Barnabas were being instructed): "They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do."
James 1:27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
Remember the poor, look for God's blessings at work in the midst of those who are without, and always be mindful of Matthew 19:30 (not the only place he says this), where Jesus notes "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Sit with those who are distressed and cast aside, and you will encounter God. There are few clearer promises in Scripture.
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; tell him where you meet the Living God at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads & Bluesky.
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