The Influence of Other Students

Certain boarding schools may have impressive academic standards. But what about the moral standards of those who attend or perhaps even of some operating such schools?  Concerning the sort of people that would abound  in these "last days," the apostle Paul wrote:  "In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, disloyal, having no natural affections, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away." -2 Timothy 3:1-5.

This moral and spiritual decline is global, presenting a challenge to Jehovah's Witnesses in living by Bible principles. Students who come home every day find that even their limited association with worldly schoolmates  can exert  a powerful negative influence on their spirituality. Counteracting that influence can be quite a struggle for Witness children, even with daily support, counsel, and encouragement from their parents. 

What, then, is the situation of children who are sent away from their homes to boarding schools?  They are marooned, cut off from the regular spiritual support of loving parents. Since they live with their classmates 24 hours a day, pressure to conform  to the crowd exerts a stronger influence  on their young minds and hearts than it is likely to do so on students who live at home. Said one student: "Morally,  a boarder is living in danger from morning to night.

Paul wrote:  "Do no be misled. bad associations spoil useful habits." (1 Corinthians 15:33) Christian parents should not be misled into thinking that their children will suffer no spiritual harm if they are in constant association with those who do not serve God. Over a period of time, godly children can become desensitized  to Christian values and can lose all appreciation  for spiritual things. Sometimes this does not become evident to parents until after their children have left boarding school.  Then it is often too late to correct matter. 

The experience of Clement is typical.  He relates:  "Before going away to boarding school, I had love for the truth and went out in field service with the brothers. I particularly enjoyed participating in our family Bible study and the Congregation Book Study. However, once i went into boarding school at the age of 14, I let the truth completely. Throughout the five years I spent in boarding school, I never attended meetings . As a result of bad company, I got involved with drugs, smoking, and heavy drinking.'

Next time: The Influence of Teachers

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997