God, teach them how to spell

If it comes down to putting God or literacy first in my life, then, in front of God and everybody, I choose literacy. God, if you disagree, so be it. But I don't think you do. I am one of those people who keep you in my life, but not first. I am a believer in the God who gives people the gumption to help themselves.

My kind looks curiously at people, well-meaning as they may be, who trust you to take care of them completely. A present example: On Friday, The New York Times published a story about a football league in Georgia, created for kids of high school age who are home-schooled, probably for reasons of faith, because the name of the league is the Glory for Christ Football League.

Among several photos accompanying the story is one of a sign on a chain link fence at a practice facility. The sign reads:

North Ga. Falcons
Priority List
1. God
2. Family
3. Acedemics
4. Atheletics
There are no exceptions! – Coach McDaniel

God, this makes me mad. I am a teacher, and I bust my butt, semester after semester, to teach kids the important of literacy. In my subject, which is journalism, literacy is the First Cardinal Rule. Why? Because it is a matter of credibility. If a reporter misspells a word, or fractures grammar, in the first paragraph, the reader will ask: How can I trust this reporter to give me an accurate story about the game, or the election, or the budget, or the Glory for Christ Football League?

Yes, we all make mistakes, but literacy, God, gives us the power to minimize those mistakes, and the willingness to look up the spelling of a word, such as "academics," or "athletics," before committing it to public view. My kind of people thank you for contributing to the events that provided us the kind of brain which recognizes our opportunity to seize that option.

Please, God. You have such a high place in Coach McDaniel's life. Encourage him to consider an exception in his priority list for the young people in his charge. As it stands, he is not providing them their best chance to get into college. Forgive me, but they would not pass my class.