In making an effort both to find lessons for myself in order to better my teaching (and character) and to make contact with the ten people that actually read this....
To my teacher (and non-teacher) friends:
How do you find you best show Christ to your students? (Especially in a public school setting).
or
Have you seen another teacher really demonstrate this well; how so?
I find this extremely difficult and am so far pretty much a failure at it! But for the most part, in my feeble elementary way... I try to be reasonable (not hot-headed), extend grace when possible, be caring, inquire into my students' lives...
I would say where I am most successful is to make it a point to pray for my students by name. This gives me a reason to stay invested in their lives too because I need to know how to pray for them.
I try to be patient and give grace (often hard!!!), especially when other teachers are not in the mood. If they are upset, I like to try to talk through the problem with them.
I also find that it makes a huge difference in making a point to know each kid. I am still working on that too, but they light up when I ask about a new baby sibling, Saturday's soccer game, or the math test. They matter so much to God, so they should matter to me too (not just their grade or their behavior).
Thanks for the reminder to pray for them. It ends up changing my attitude towards the trying ones because I see them with God's eyes.
I'm in a different situation - I get to be very open in showing Christ to my students. Before orchestra I usually ask for prayer requests and we pray as a group.
We also have "Biblical Integration" as a key part of our lesson plans. That means that in some way, a lesson is supposed to show how the subject is connected to the bigger picture of God's plan for the universe.
In a public school setting, I might make it my goal to do some form of biblical integration each week, but without specifically saying God or Christian or Jesus. For instance, if you're talking about French culture you might talk about the hopelessness in many French high schools and open up a discussion to see if the kids relate in any way. In general, if you can get the students to think beyond high school and toward matters of eternal importance, that's a big step.
If they ask you what you believe, I'm pretty sure you're allowed to say what you think - you're just not allowed to teach it as truth. So you can bring up topics that easily lead into spiritual discussions (or moral, ethical, etc.) without preaching.
I guess it depends on how proactive you want to be. You may not want to do anything openly in the classroom; in that case, prayer and care are probably the most important things.
I've been really wrestling with this over the past few months, especially in regard to teaching my college biology students. As the others have mentioned, I've been trying to pray specifically for each of my students. Being patient when the situation is frustrating, and generally showing responses that are gracious, gentle, and loving... Because I am teaching biology, I am not usually very open about my being a Christian. Instead, I try to word my questions and topics such that it causes my students to start to think, to want to know the truth.
You absolutely amaze me with the depth and breadth of your thinking - not only is it a "mile wide" but it is also a mile deep! I like what your friends have had to say as well - and that you are all thinking about how to be christ (yes, little "c" - because we are mere shadows of Him) to those around us.
6 comments:
PS to my email:
Live the verse on the right: Psalm 28:7.
Uncle Jim
I find this extremely difficult and am so far pretty much a failure at it! But for the most part, in my feeble elementary way... I try to be reasonable (not hot-headed), extend grace when possible, be caring, inquire into my students' lives...
I would say where I am most successful is to make it a point to pray for my students by name. This gives me a reason to stay invested in their lives too because I need to know how to pray for them.
Hm Jenny just said everything I wanted to say!
I try to be patient and give grace (often hard!!!), especially when other teachers are not in the mood. If they are upset, I like to try to talk through the problem with them.
I also find that it makes a huge difference in making a point to know each kid. I am still working on that too, but they light up when I ask about a new baby sibling, Saturday's soccer game, or the math test. They matter so much to God, so they should matter to me too (not just their grade or their behavior).
Thanks for the reminder to pray for them. It ends up changing my attitude towards the trying ones because I see them with God's eyes.
Ditto on the prayer comments!
I'm in a different situation - I get to be very open in showing Christ to my students. Before orchestra I usually ask for prayer requests and we pray as a group.
We also have "Biblical Integration" as a key part of our lesson plans. That means that in some way, a lesson is supposed to show how the subject is connected to the bigger picture of God's plan for the universe.
In a public school setting, I might make it my goal to do some form of biblical integration each week, but without specifically saying God or Christian or Jesus. For instance, if you're talking about French culture you might talk about the hopelessness in many French high schools and open up a discussion to see if the kids relate in any way. In general, if you can get the students to think beyond high school and toward matters of eternal importance, that's a big step.
If they ask you what you believe, I'm pretty sure you're allowed to say what you think - you're just not allowed to teach it as truth. So you can bring up topics that easily lead into spiritual discussions (or moral, ethical, etc.) without preaching.
I guess it depends on how proactive you want to be. You may not want to do anything openly in the classroom; in that case, prayer and care are probably the most important things.
That is a fantastic question to ask, Abby!
I've been really wrestling with this over the past few months, especially in regard to teaching my college biology students. As the others have mentioned, I've been trying to pray specifically for each of my students. Being patient when the situation is frustrating, and generally showing responses that are gracious, gentle, and loving... Because I am teaching biology, I am not usually very open about my being a Christian. Instead, I try to word my questions and topics such that it causes my students to start to think, to want to know the truth.
You absolutely amaze me with the depth and breadth of your thinking - not only is it a "mile wide" but it is also a mile deep! I like what your friends have had to say as well - and that you are all thinking about how to be christ (yes, little "c" - because we are mere shadows of Him) to those around us.
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