WILL I EVER USE THE STUFF
I’M LEARNING?
STUFF YOU MAY NOT HAVE LEARNED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: ALL THE U.S. PRESIDENTS WORE GLASSES. SOME JUST DIDN’T LIKE BEING SEEN WEARING THEM IN PUBLIC.
Of course you’ll use this stuff! Believe it or not, we use the stuff we learned in middle school almost every day. Kurt uses the stuff he learned in quantum physics, algebra, and the rocket science class he took in eighth grade to try to help the United States land on Mars. And Marko uses the stuff he learned in household education to make really yummy cookies. Um, that’s not totally true. Kurt got a D- in algebra. But Marko does make really yummy cookies.
Look, we’re not going to try to convince you of something you know isn’t true. Obviously you won’t use a lot of the stuff you’re learning very often. We can’t remember the last time somebody asked us when Christopher Columbus discovered America (1492, in case you’re wondering) or the last time we reached for our algebra calculators. (Of course, if Kurt had reached for his once in a while, he might have bumped that grade up to a C.) But even though you won’t use a lot of the stuff you learn every day, you’ll be surprised at how often you’ll fi nd yourself reaching back into the caverns of your mind and pulling out stuff you need to know. It’ll be old, dusty, rusty stuff that you haven’t used in a while, but you’ll be glad you have it! And when it happens it’s actually kinda cool.
It’s also kinda cool to think about the fact that God uses the stuff you’re learning at school to help you learn more about how he wired you. Some of you actually like math because it comes naturally to you and you like messing around with numbers. Some of you like English because you like reading and writing. Some of you like P.E. because...well, because you’re seventh-grade boys. Everybody has God-given gifts, abilities, and interests that God hopes we’ll put to good use. If there’s a class or two out of your entire day at school that you really like, it may be time to start thinking, Hey, I like this class, and I’m pretty good at it. Maybe God has gifted me in this area.
It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s amazing how often we’ll meet grown-ups whose careers have a whole lot to do with the subjects they really liked when they were in school.
“I’M GOING TO USE ALL THIS STUFF I’M LEARNING LATER? COME ON, LIKE I’M EVER GOING TO NEED TO KNOW HOW TO DISSECT A FROG.”
—CHAD, 8TH GRADE