The Bible has much to say on how we can become better parents. Basic principles are set down in the Volume of Sacred Law as guides to parent-child relationships. Chief among these is the Fifth of the Ten Commandments: "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." (Deuteronomy 5:16) Parents should see to it, for instance, that their children attend their house of worship and receive adequate instruction. Too frequently, parents default in this field, and the child grows to manhood or womanhood without the emotional conditioning which, in early years, can bind young persons to the church, synagogue, or mosque and, consequently, to a sound code of morality, thus making them constructive members of society.

The family is facing unprecedented challenges today. There can be no question that the major responsibility for the spiritual development of children falls on the home and the parents. Everett Dean Martin once said: "The best luck that can happen to a small boy is not to be sent to a first-rate school (though that is an extra piece of good fortune) but to have first-rate parents—to have inherited the best they had to hand down, and to have been well-raised at home." This statement is particularly significant when we remember that a child spends only about one-sixth of the year's total hours in school, and the remaining five-sixths come under the jurisdiction of the home, place of worship, and other community agencies.

When it comes to the education of our children, our most precious asset, we are all partners: home and parents, school and teachers, church and pastors, synagogue and rabbis, the men and women who make up the community—all are involved. Our nation's strength in the world will depend on the kind of job each of us does, the degree to which we recognize our partnership, and our ability to keep clear the vision through which we see our common goals and objectives.

Sidney S. Guthman is a past member of the Civil Service Commission of Long Beach, California. He is the former Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of California. Recently, the Long Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center awarded him a special merit citation for his work as Chaplain, and he is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Sholom, Leisure World, California. A longtime member of the Long Beach Scottish Rite Bodies and Chaplain of Al Malaikah Shrine Temple, Rabbi Guthman was recently appointed Chaplain of the Long Beach Police Department, the first time a Rabbi had been so honored.