Category Archives: Education

5 Steps to a Good Reputation

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“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

Having a good reputation to some means that everyone says good things about you and that everyone likes you. But as the scripture above shows, having everyone speak well of you is not necessarily a good thing. Even as I’ve been discussing having a good reputation, my focus has not been on what people think or say about you, but it’s all been about you doing what God tells you to do, handling your holy business, if you will. This is what gives you a good reputation in the eyes of God, your family and the world.

God may be pleased, your family may speak well of you, but the world may simply not say anything bad about you, and that doesn’t mean they will say something good about you. And if you have a good reputation, when the world says something bad about you, you won’t be guilty of their accusations. This is what the scripture means when it charges believers to be blameless. So how do you gain a good reputation where 1) God is pleased; 2) your family speaks well of you; and 3) you are blameless before the world?

Count Up the Cost—Before endeavoring to do anything, make sure you have what it takes to complete the task. Only proceed when you can give your all. You don’t want to be known as the unreliable saint.
Keep Your Word—This is similar to the first but deserves its own category for people who intentionally commit to something with no intentions of following through or with the thought they can always cancel if the commitment they made inconveniences them. Be a woman of integrity.
Avoid the Appearance of Evil—Don’t go to places where people can question whether or not as a Christian you should be there. Such places could include the casino, bars and going on a trip with your boyfriend. You may just be eating, dancing or enjoying a warm island, but the appearance could be that you are gambling, getting drunk and having premarital sex. Don’t give anyone fodder for gossip.
Be Selfless—Go out of your way, if possible, to help others. Think of them before yourself.
Don’t compromise—Don’t make excuses for your bad behavior or others’ sin just because you like them. Waffling makes you look weak concerning your beliefs.

Using these five tips is a great start to gaining a good reputation. Always seek the Lord and use His word and you will be a blameless Christian who pleases God and your family adores.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Be Resourceful

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If you wanted to know what was going on around town, I was the one to ask. In my on the go days I knew of the latest happenings, not because I was in the in crowd but I would keep up with newspaper articles, look at every flier that came my way, remember conversations and just ask questions. I think this curiosity may be the journalist in me or it may just be that I truly am “Little Verlenia,” a young version of my very resourceful grandmother.

My Grandma Thomas, like many grandmothers, was the go to person in our family. She always had food, a comfortable place to stay and money, even for us, her educated children with the good jobs but mismanaged funds. I learned a lot for this woman, whose highest level of education was a high school diploma that she obtained by attending night school as an adult. Most of her jobs were as a domestic or a cook, but her work always provided what they needed and even more to share. It still amazes me that her household never lacked any needs, and she and my grandfather (a local truck driver) sent two of their three children (the third didn’t want to go) to college on their salaries. But like many in their era, they knew what to do so their household didn’t lack, and everyone felt the love behind their efforts. So the following are some tips I learned from my grandmother, who was the ultimate Proverbs 31 woman:

Recycle:

    Use a deep freezer to save large quantities of food that would be otherwise thrown out after a few days. On days when you don’t feel like cooking or lack the time, pull out different items to create a new meal.
    Reuse aluminum foil and plastic bags. Even though my grandmother would wash aluminum foil and storage bags that had greasy items in them, I don’t recommend that. But you can reuse these if you previously stored dried items, like bread or fruit. Just shake and wipe them out, and they should be good for at least two more uses.
    Use household products in more than one way. For instance, you can use baking soda for cooking and cleaning. Clean your teeth, your food (fruit and veggies, including greens), your kitchen and bathroom. Vinegar works to clean food surfaces, like wooden chopping boards, floors and sinks, and disinfects garbage disposals. Another good product to try is food grade hydrogen peroxide. Stronger than regular peroxide, this kills E. Coli and other bacteria, fungi and pesticides. It can be used to decontaminate food and used for personal hygiene.

Next Friday I plan to have more tips for you. As I look at the need for women to be prudent with their time, there are more resourceful tips I have that will help in that way. As always, I look forward to hearing from you. And by all means, share some ways that you have been able to be resourceful to provide for your family’s needs.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Joshua's Journey, Part 1

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He had been educated in a safe environment, receiving instruction in a place that showed him love and encouragement, affirmed his heritage and strengthened his spirituality. Now it was time to integrate and the powers that be tried to block his kind. This was not Alabama, Arkansas or Mississippi or the 1950s or ’60s. This was Michigan—Detroit—in 2009 in an urban school system that was rejecting a six-year-old black boy because he was an undesirable; he was a homeschooler.

Me and Joshua

Me and Joshua

This is the story of Joshua Lee Smith, my firstborn, who I home schooled for his first three years of his formal education. My spiritual conviction led me to do so, and now my spiritual conviction was leading me to place him in the public school system. Before the end of last school year, I met with his new school’s principal. She gave me a tour of the school, answered all my questions about her and the school, and told me when I enrolled him that I would need normal documentation, in addition to his report card and the curriculum that I used. She was quite pleasant, very accommodating and looking forward to Joshua integrating. But with the recent shakeups in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), I had been checking news reports to see if there had been any changes with Joshua’s school. Three weeks ago I found that the school had a new principal, who wasn’t so accommodating.

When I called her to make sure that the enrollment documentation that I had for Joshua was still sufficient, she dismissed the curriculum (“I haven’t heard of that.”) and the report card, by saying, “Who would give him a report card?” doubting my objectivity as his teacher. “You just have to be very careful with homeschooling,” she said. “It has to be done every day,” suggesting a slack in commitment on the part of home educators. She eventually told me that all the students (new and returning, homeschooled and non-homeschooled) would be tested on the first day of school to see if they were in the appropriate grade, and when I enrolled him, she only took his immunization record and birth certificate and said that his enrollment was complete.

On the Thursday before Labor Day, essentially the first day before school, a school official called me saying that I needed to show documentation that my son had passed the 1st grade and is qualified to be promoted to the 2nd grade, and this was the only way that Joshua would be enrolled. She nor the principal, however, knew what this proof was but referred me to a central office number, that kept me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes; no one ever came to the phone to help me. While on hold, I called two personal contacts—a ranking official in state government and an education reporter—to see if they could direct me to someone who could help. They offered to make calls for me. In the meantime, I contacted six offices, only to be told there is a DPS homeschooling office, and the director is the only person who could help me, and she wouldn’t be in until the first day of school.

Before I decided to enroll my son into DPS, I checked the State Board of Education and DPS websites and found no information regarding this burden of proof that was now being required. DPS, under the leadership of Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, began the “I’m In” campaign to encourage parents to enroll their children into the troubled DPS system. I was trying to get my son “In” but was blocked at almost every turn, with even one worker chastising me, saying that I may have held my son back, and he couldn’t believe that “you kept your son at home and didn’t register him with the state.”

After six hours of the runaround and attacks all stemming from ignorance about and discrimination against home education, someone from Mr. Bobb’s staff called me, apologized for my mistreatment, talked to the principal on my behalf and gave me the final verdict: “Your son will be attending school on Tuesday. He will be in the 2nd grade and tested with the other children, and we’ll go from there.” He gave me his personal cell phone number and told me to call if I had any other concerns. I’m just glad Josh has been caught up in the drama of being in a new school instead of what it has taken to get him in the school. Josh in mirror

On this Labor Day, I want you to remember all those union workers, civil rights fighters and resourceful mothers who have struggled on behalf of the disenfranchised ones. I want you to remember that when you work, you don’t just work for yourself, but your presence and personal policies affect your life and the lives of generations to come. Make sure your stance doesn’t reek of George Wallace or Orval Faubus just because someone different from you seems to be a threat to all you know. Tomorrow, I hope that people see Joshua for who he is, a bright boy who was homeschooled and not a threat to tradition.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith