Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in this episode, we're asking the question, do you have accountability? Now, this is prompted by an editorial piece I read in the Wall Street Journal recently about the Los Angele school system. Let. Let me share this story with you. Los Angeles Unified School District, along with the teachers union, approved a new contract recently with an 11.65% salary increase. So over 10% salary increase and expanded benefits for teachers across the board, despite the fact that the school system is not doing well. In fact, the district itself faces an 877 million budget deficit. It's facing a 25% decline. And in enrollment. And in Los Angeles county, only 18% of 8th graders are proficient in math. 18%. So the school system is mismanaging the money it has underperforming and diminishing in terms of actual size. And this all the while being. While spending per student is actually going up. spending per student is now 27, 7000, 418. We're spending. They're spending more money and getting worse results. This is really a story of a lack of accountability. And that's what the editorial board was saying. Like, everybody values teachers. Teachers are great. But of course, teachers have to do a good job. In fact, more than anybody, right? It matters that teachers are good at their job. Well, what do you do when they aren't good at their job? Do you keep valuing them? Do you value them even more with increase compensation and increase benefits? Or at some point do you draw the line and say, hey, better pay comes with better results? Now, listen, I'm not a politician and I'm not an educator. And so I'll kind of set that aside and say there's something larger going on here. When human beings don't have accountability, when someone isn't holding them to a standard, we race to the bottom. We choose comfort over excellence. That's why the writer of Hebrews says this. He says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful later on. However, it produces a harvest of righteousness. Of course, what he's saying there is that none of us like the idea of being held to a standard. None of us like the idea of being challenged or criticized or pushed. No one likes that. But the result of that is that we actually do the thing we. We've set out to do. So the question, of course, in this case for Los Angeles teachers are what really matters to you. Of course, everybody wants to make more money. Everybody wants to be able to make ends meet, especially in California, a very expensive state to live. But my guess is these teachers, when they started out, got into this industry because they wanted to positively impact students. They wanted to help students learn, help students chase a brighter future. Well, they're not doing that in Los Angeles, at least not at a high enough level. Their spending is out of control, their testing standards are diminishing. Teachers aren't winning in Los Angeles. And what they need is not just a comp increase. They need accountability, someone who holds them to a standard. And again, in this way, they're a metaphor for all of us. Because all of us would like a life where no one ever holds us accountable and we just keep getting rewarded. But the end result of that life is a life of actually missing out on meaning and purpose. In other words, if no one ever says to you that your parenting might be slipping or that your marriage might be struggling, or that your relationship with God, huh, Needs to grow, if no one ever says those things, that might feel good for a little bit, but the consequences, you're going to look back on a life where you left a lot on the table. So the question when you read this story is not what are they doing in la? Because even if that's a good question, we're powerless to affect it. It is, am I like this? Do I welcome critical feedback? I welcome people to challenge me in love, but in a good way. Have I made it clear to my employer, to my spouse, to my children, to my friends? I want to hear from you. Because what I want more than anything is, is actual purpose, actual meaning to accomplish the things that matter. You know, I can't help but think about, my son Graham, who's nine now, was eight last year, who came home from his first practice at Little League and said, dad, I don't think we're going to be very good this year. And I said, oh, why is that? And he said, man, our coaches really didn't care what we did and let us do whatever we wanted. At 8 years old, Graham was saying, I think people thought that was fun, but it's going to lead to a lot of losing. So which is it? Do we want the cheap short term win of being left alone and being rewarded for doing nothing, or do we want the long term win of actually making a difference? Well, the teachers union in Los Angeles county has picked for them, but it's up to you and I to decide what that looks like. In our own lives. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!