I was shocked this morning to read in the paper that a school in our area had a new fundraising plan, guaranteed to raise more money than selling candy bars. For a $20 donation,  students could get 10 extra points on any two tests of their choice. Yes, you read that right, the school was offering grades for purchase! The list of things that are wrong with that idea is long: Grades are supposed to reflect the student’s mastery of the material, not his financial condition. Financially poor students could be outranked by academically poor students. To exchange money for a public advantage is usually considered bribery. The very offer to trade money for grades would get you kicked out of most colleges. Who came up with this idea, anyway?

Believe it or not, a parent’s council developed the idea and the principal endorsed it. This surprises me, but it shouldn’t. As our culture increasingly accepts a “there is no absolute truth” philosophy, we are going to see more and more of these situations where adults do not seem to be able to distinguish right and wrong. When we neglect the law of God for doing what feels right, we’ll see that different things feel right to different people and that those who benefit from a situation generally feel pretty good about it!

We need to teach our sons that there is a right and wrong and it is defined in God’s Word.

Through Your precepts I get understanding;
         Therefore I hate every false way.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
         And a light to my path. Through Your precepts I get understanding;
         Therefore I hate every false way.  Psalm 119:104-105

Let’s teach the Word of God to our children. Then they might remember, “Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD,” and decide that it is better to measure everyone by the same scale. Or,  remember that in James 2, we are forbidden to show partiality based on wealth and stand up for right.

UPDATE: The county school authorities have ordered the school to stop the fundraiser. Glad that someone cares around there, or was it the publicity? We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say, “Good work!”