If you’re a parent who’s concerned about your teenager’s academic performance, here’s some advice from the folks at the National Center for Education Statistics regarding factors that fuel high engagement in academic pursuits. Kids are more engaged with their school work if they have a high level of interaction with their parents, if they eat dinner with their family, if they are involved in extracurricular activities, if they live in homes with rules related to TV viewing, and if they attend religious services at least once a month. While these are all worthwhile activities, we must remember that many kids who pursue academic success oftentimes do so for selfish reasons. Ultimately, our goal should be to instill a desire in our kids to work hard to the glory of God as a form of worship that gives God great pleasure. In fact, that should be the motivating factor behind all of our life pursuits. Teach your kids that the best way to worship God in their academics, is to pursue excellence to His glory, and not to the glory of self.