"When Will I Ever Need to Know This?"

Edith Smith, M.A.

"When will I ever need this?" "What good will this do me?" The outspoken student asks, and the more reserved silently wonders. Many, failing to see the value of certain subject matter, just do not "waste time" learning it. These questions are fair and deserve an answer. The student who asks has probably already formed a negative answer in his mind, so the best time to answer his question is before it is asked.

The practical need to be prepared for a job or career may seem too apparent to require mention, but how a particular course of study is related to that need is not always apparent. Moreover, for children in elementary school and junior high, and even for many in high school, this is not an imminent need. How quickly they will be face to face with that reality is not in their thoughts. We do them a favor by bringing this to their attention from time to time. The following incident illustrates the need to learn to spell. A secretary was instructed by her employer, "If an application for employment contains one spelling error, drop the application in the waste basket and simply reply that the application has been received. I am not interested in hiring someone who cannot spell correctly or is careless about details."

Before a student questions the need of writing and speaking skills (including grammar) or explains that he does not intend to write or to speak before crowds, you can illustrate the advantage of these skills: A young man had sent his application for a job that he wanted very much but for which he had no experience or specific training. Because of his written application, he was asked to appear for an interview. The interviewer realized that he lacked some of the expected qualifications but was impressed by this applicant and made this unusual request: "Sell me yourself in five minutes." The young man's oral presentation got him the job, and he did well.

Speaking skills are important even in simple conversation. A young man working at a filling station lost his job because he was incapable of communicating clearly in a business situation.

The practical - and legitimate - answer that "you will need this some day to make a living" may encourage some students to be diligent, but literature and history may not seem important to one whose major interest is employment (unless he plans to teach one of these subjects). Again, an incident can be helpful. A news reporter commented that it was the general courses, especially history and a foreign language, that had been most helpful in her work - not the technical courses pointing to that career.

In addition to the getting and holding of a job, students should see the need in everyday life for the courses they are taking. Read aloud from a recent periodical that alludes to something they have just learned in their Bible, history, or literature class. Then ask them whether they would have understood this without the background knowledge they have just acquired. Encourage them to bring to class other examples; in this way, they can motivate each other to increase their general knowledge.

They meet real people and fictional characters - especially in Bible, literature, and history classes - that stir admiration or contempt. You can use the consequences of the attitudes and actions of these people to motivate change in students' behavior. The proverb, "Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn from no other" can help them see that there is more to learning than just facts. Effective teaching can lead at least some students to avoid or correct character flaws. Virtues can be shown as goals to strive for. The application is, of course, not automatic; but without sermonizing, you can lead them to self-evaluation and application of principles.

Christian education is far more than equipping young people for a job or a career. Neither we nor they can know what lies ahead. We must help them realize that life is not something out there in the future that they must prepare to live. Life does not begin when they graduate - when they "grow up." Life is now. Students have more mental and physical energy now than they probably will ever have again. Adults, in our desire to see students succeed, may be largely responsible for their feeling that school is not real life. They, and we, need to be reminded that a student's life is real life. The answer to the question, "When will I ever need this?" is "Now." God calls youth as well as adults to serve Him. One of the most important ways youth can serve Him is to "buy up" the opportunity He is giving them to learn now and to use now, "in real life," the things they are learning. Remind them from God's Word, I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in the right paths. When thou goest, they steps shall not be straitened: and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instructional for she is thy life. (Prov. 4:11-13). Help your students see that a soldier in basic training is as much a part of the armed forces as is a general.

You will not always succeed in answering the question before it is asked. When the typical question is raised, a reasonable answer may be that you do not know when they will need this particular knowledge, but it is knowledge that thousands have found useful. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning. (Prov. 1:5). The Apostle Paul is an example of those whose education enabled them, when brought before rulers, to speak forth clearly for Christ.

Wherever our students find their calling - in the workplace, the armed services, or the professions - we want them to be convinced that what they are learning will open doors to them that would otherwise be closed.

Reprinted from Balance, a publication of the School of Education, Bob Jones University. Used with permission of Bob Jones University. Please write BJU Press, for permission to reproduce this article.