Love in the classroom

The “9” in the 16-9 Movement is learning to display the Fruit of the Spirit in a public school classroom while honoring the laws of our great nation.  Have you ever noticed that the 9 fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” are really the fruit of the Spirit (singular). When we truly live out our faith, all 9 fruit are exuded as one. Wow, that’s a huge charge. Teachers who are living out their faith know that there are just too many of those days when we don’t feel so joyful or peaceful or even under self-control.  However, as Christians we are forgiven for our sins and convicted quickly to repent.  When we don’t display these fruit, we must acknowledge before God and with His Spirit be transformed. It’s no easy process and will certainly take us a lifetime, but for this discussion, I would like to take the classroom-eye view of what it looks like to LOVE in the classroom.

Love is powerful. It covers all sin. That student that gives us the most difficult time is loved also. Loving the unlovable is God’s way.  To be Jesus people, we look to Him.  Who did He touch? – the untouchable. Who did He seek? – the lost. Who did He love? – the outcast. Our classrooms of America are filled with students who have never had a kind word, a touch without strings attached and a life of difficulty. It’s not easy to love the unlovable, but that’s what we are called to do as Christian educators.  What does love look like in the classroom? When we love our students, we serve them.  We seek ways to enter into a personal relationship with them to truly get to know their needs in order to meet them. We all know how hard that is to do with classrooms that are too huge or full of issues, but love always covers.  Loving our students means setting boundaries that are clear and consistent. Students always want to know the limits and will push them until the boundary is defined.

Loving our students can also be a simple task of greeting them at the door as they come in. This small but powerful move, sets the stage of caring. One of my favorite teachers of all time greets his students at the door every day, every class period with a fist pump and the words, “Welcome home.” His students feel loved and know they can trust him.  Love is always displayed in unexpected ways. No one has a right to love, that is why it is such an elusive commodity. We all hunger for it, yet are often afraid to love.  Be bold. Love your students with kind words, random acts of kindness, Pay It Forward initiatives and smiling. Jesus loved the little children and we may be the only touch of Jesus on some of the lives of these children.  John 13:34
 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Please let us know other ways to display love in the classroom in the comment area.  You are loved!

Prayerfully yours,

K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

High Stakes Testing

What is high stakes testing? What does the 16-9 Movement have to do with high stakes testing? What is the role of a Christian educator during this time of evaluation?  High stakes tests have become the norm across the nation in the last decade.  SAT testing has been around for many decades, but federal and statewide mandates have touched every teacher and student with data driven decisions. High stakes testing refers to basing the results of testing on funding, grading and sometimes even passing to the next grade level. Is it any wonder that students and teachers are experiencing high levels of stress? The 16-9 Movement guidelines can help Christian teachers to be reminded of the high calling of our positions.  I have often been asked about prayer in the classroom and one of the greatest proofs that there still is prayer is during high stakes testing.  What Christian child, parent or teacher has not prayed for wisdom, guidance, peace and more during this season?

As a Christian in the public school, you must remind yourself always of the first “16” words of the First Amendment – “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” The prayers you are praying for your students are private, not with the students. Praying in and around the testing area, sitting in the student desks and requesting specific prayers on behalf of the students is highly encouraged when the students are not present. Students are perfectly free to pray with each other in the halls, waiting areas, cafeteria, etc. as long as they do not interrupt instructional time.  Most states have passed voluntary and even some mandatory “Moment of Silence” at the beginning of each day where students are free to pray or not to pray by choice.  (This is a link to the individual state mandates.) A believer has incredible Power to rely on during this time of testing. Sometimes we just need a little reminder. No one who is Christian should go into such an important time without prayer and dependence upon the One Who created us.  He will grant us a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Another very important part of high stakes testing for the Christian educator is our ability to exude the “9” Fruit of the Spirit. During a time of stress, a teacher who displays love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control and faithfulness will be contagious. It is our responsibility to be different and to be fragrant.  During the testing period, I believe the “9” Fruit of the Spirit can be summarized by the word integrity. Testing materials, testing schedules, testing guidelines must all be handled with integrity. Nothing should be taken for granted and all guidelines should be followed. It is incredible to see teachers who have been trained in all the guidelines, close the door of their testing room and “do their own thing.” A Christian educator is held to the highest standards and must exemplify the high expectations of the testing requirements. Let’s encourage our students to do their best, leave their worries behind and enter this testing period knowing they are well prepared. The value of their being is not based on any single test, but by the One Who created them.

May God bless you and your students with peace and a contagious spirit of joy on your campuses over the next few weeks of high stakes testing.  Ps. 143:1 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may Your Good Spirit lead me on level ground. 

Prayerfully yours,

K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Just Be

The Name of God that summarizes all His Names is “I Am.” What a name! I’m sure that there are theological scholarly studies that can help with a thorough and beautiful understanding of this powerful name, but I met a teacher in Charlotte this week that applied its power to us as teachers.  Karen Barber said that all she needs to remember when she walks in the classroom is to “just be.” Isn’t “am” one of the conjugations of the verb “to be?” When we are in our classrooms, we don’t need to say we are Christians, we need to “just be” Christians. What does that look like? How would you know?  Can it be learned? Why would you want to “just be?”  How can our actions reflect the Great I AM? The simplest things are not the easiest things and on our own it is impossible, but we are Jesus with skin on in our classrooms and without a word spoken about it, we can “just be.”  You know you are there when people ask, “Why are you always so happy?” “Why do you always smile?” or “What makes you so nice?” and/or any combination thereof. That is our opportunity to tell them about “I AM.”

I would like to suggest 5 Baby Steps for Christian educators in the public and even private schools. In this blog entry, I’ll do just a short summary of each step, but will give more specific examples and details in future entries.  The 5 Baby Steps are:
1. Know Jesus
2. Frame your worldview
3. Practice the Fruit of the Spirit
4. Learn the law
5. Be in communion

Baby Step #1 – Know Jesus.  Read about Jesus. Sing about Jesus. Listen to audio/video about Jesus. Immerse yourself in Jesus. He’s so amazing.  Who wouldn’t want to be more like Him? Begin to apply his questioning skills, embrace everyone who is needy, laugh with the downtrodden and love the unlovable. These are quite the shoes to fill, but when you can recall stories about Jesus, you can place yourself in His shoes (or at least try to!)

Baby Step #2 – Frame your worldview. This is what makes us different that other teachers. We look at everything through the lens of the Bible. We frame our thinking around life and love and what God has done for us. We are in humble adoration of the great I AM and know where we have come from and where we are going. That quiet confidence can be a cornerstone to “just be.”

Baby Step #3 – Practice the Fruit of the Spirit. Memorize them. Can you “be” love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control and faithfulness? (Gal. 5:22-23) I am looking for teachers to help me describe what each of these fruits looks like on daily basis in the classroom. Do you have a story or example to share?  Theory is great, but teachers want practice.  Please let me know what you do and consider being a guest blogger for the 16-9 movement!

Baby Step #4 – Learn the law.  As government employees, public school teachers must what they can and cannot say and do in the classroom.  We have been incredibly misinformed over the past 3-4 decades about separation of church and state and at times do not even realize just how much we can do under the First Amendment. It is imperative that all teachers and administrators come to know and understand, at least the first 16 words of the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ………”

Baby Step #5 – Be in communion. Our God is in constant communion with Himself and us. He created us to be in communion with Him and others. As a Christian educator, you are not alone.  There are thousands upon thousands of us who share this high calling. Unfortunately, we can be in a school for years without even realizing that some of our colleagues are Christian also. We need to seek prayer partners and friends on campus who want to learn how to “just be” so that we may transform our schools through the power of I AM. Being in an organization like CEAI, is a huge start in uniting Christians across our nation. Won’t you consider joining us to build this communion between Christians in our schools, districts, states and nation?

Prayerfully yours,

K

Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.

Prayerfully Dependent

The most important aspect of understanding the 16-9 Movement (please read the first post for more information) is being prayerful. It’s great to know the first 16 words of the First Amendment and wonderful to display the Fruit of the Spirit in our classrooms (love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control and faithfulness), but without prayer, we are running on our own power. Have you ever taken on a big project without praying about it first?  Typically, the work becomes larger, heavier and more cumbersome than it needs to be. Prayerfully dependent work is worship. Going to God to ask for His wisdom, guidance and inspiration is supernatural.  We are not naturally wired to seek Him first in all things, but to be our own boss. How’s that working for you? If you have not considered praying about lesson plans, daily routines with your students and for the way you speak to them, I want to encourage you to begin. He is the Lord over all our lives and all our possessions and He gave you the gift of being in education.  Do you think He would leave you alone to figure it all out?  Of all professions, we need to be the most prayerfully dependent.

For example, before I even write this blog or my “tuesdayswithKaren” newsletter/blog, I ask for His help for ideas, flow and wisdom.  I listen to Alistair Begg by podcast very regularly and both he and Dr. Barry Black, our US Senate chaplain taught me an old Anglican prayer: “Lord, may I think myself empty, write myself clear and pray myself hot!” Before I write anything I ask God’s help and more often, than not, I add that little prayer. What would it do for your classroom environment if you asked God to help you write lesson plans?  The designing of plans can be arduous, but if you look at it as a gift of creativity from the Lord and asked for His intervention, there is no doubt that your plans would be engaging, focused and purposeful. He created you to be creative. You are His image-bearer. You’ll never look at lesson planning the same way again if you first ask for His help.  In fact, I am sure that you will look back at some of your plans later and think, “Wow, I can’t believe I came up with that cool idea.” (That’s because you didn’t!)

Have you ever prayed before your students even entered your room? It’s powerful. What if you made it a daily practice to sit in the seat of a different student each day and prayed specifically for that child by name and need?  If you are a secondary teacher, it is going to take a much longer time to get to all your students, but it’s a worthwhile goal.  What impact might prayerful requests make in the lives of your students? You may never know, but prayer is the key to opening all our needs in the classroom.

Let’s raise up prayerfully dependent educators across our nation who understand that trying to teach alone is the greatest reason so many teachers are burning out. With the regulations and burdens of the teaching profession today, most teachers feel powerless. We are! Luke 18:27 - Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” God has given you the power of creativity even when it seems that you don’t have the option or ability.  He will help you see more engaging activities and ways to add interest to your lessons. He will take your burden and make it light. This is one of His greatest promises.  Matt. 11:30 – “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Finally, don’t try to go it alone. Find another Christian on your campus and share this idea with them. Ask them to help you commit to being prayerfully dependent in all things and ask them to join you or at least be an accountability partner who will hold you to your commitment. It is my prayer for you (since you read this far!) that God will supernaturally lift the burden of teaching to the joy of teaching.

Note: I prayed for you right now (in the style of my friend Richard) and asked God to help you really become prayerfully dependent. I know I don’t know who you are, but He does.

Prayerfully yours,

K

Retired educators

I had the privilege to speak with a most generous group of retired educators in my district yesterday.  They meet once a month and raise scholarship money for education majors, keep up with legislative issues and remain involved with local, national and state initiatives. They have a guest speaker each month and I was asked to present some of the newest trends in educational technology. At the end of my presentation, I was blessed to be able to share the 16-9 movement with them and how important it is to have such a great organization as CEAI to help administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals and districts have a balanced approach to religion in the public schools.  I love how the Lord works because I didn’t even plan to ask them to be involved, but I was led to encourage this vast wealth of wisdom and knowledge in retired educators.  God never created retirement.  Have you ever heard of anyone in the Bible who retired?  Just being among this precious group of former teachers was inspiring because by their very presence, it spoke volumes about their need to stay active.

If you are a retired educator, I want to encourage you to come along side us and help our school communities.  Staying active on your own terms, at your own speed and in your own way is what retirement is all about.  May the Lord press on your heart, the service that He has designed for you in your retirement years.  If it is to serve our next generation of teachers, let’s consider some of the ways you can help:

·      Adopt a teacher – Mentoring a teacher is powerful. Pray about a teacher in your own church or previous school who could benefit from the wisdom of someone who has been there and done that.  Your wealth of experience is priceless. Your prayers can be his/her covering and your support would be incalculable.  The manner is which you would establish this relationship is totally on your own terms. You’re retired! It’s up to you.

·      Adopt a school - Ask your church to adopt a school. Pray for specific needs of that school by asking a Christian educator in the school to post prayer requests. This is a totally legal and most appreciated way to encourage teachers in the public schools.  Once you have the prayer requests of specific teachers, begin a regular time of prayer followed by cards of encouragement. Who knows where this relationship will lead?

·      School prayer groups - Lead or attend regular prayer time with teachers on campus.  Teachers can legally meet on their own campuses for prayer and Bible study BEFORE or AFTER their contract times. A retired educator leading the group would help remove the burden of “one more thing to do” for our busy teachers.

·      Community prayer - Consider leading or joining a group of interested moms, dads, grandparents and/or community members to pray for a specific school or district on a regular basis and at a regular place outside, yet near the school.  Praying for the next generation is definitely our future.

Retired educators, we need you! Please consider this precious time that the Lord has given you as a time of service to Him.  If you are called in another direction, God bless your service, but if you are called to encourage, equip and empower our teachers in the public schools today, please contact me at ceai.karen@gmail.com so you don’t have to totally reinvent the wheel.  We need your wisdom, grace and insight.

Prayerfully yours,

K

Another Great Read

It’s really cool how we connect with other Christians today. I am always excited to find other Christians in my field and love to connect them.  It always tickles me when they say, “I didn’t know she was a Christian. I didn’t know he was a Christian.”  It happens in every school and every marketplace. Why? There are so many reasons, but the biggest, of course, is fear of losing our jobs.  This is a real fear, but I think we need to start looking at how we can be vehicles of Christianity in the marketplace and how we can be that sweet fragrance of our Lord everywhere we go. Last time I wrote about, “Making a Difference” by Donovan Graham because really grabbed me as a must read.  In fact, I am happy to say that I was able to give 3 copies to teachers at a middle school near me who are going to do their own book study with it.  I know it will transform the way the look at themselves, their colleagues and especially their students. This time I would like to recommend another great book by Angela Watson, “Awakened.” This was one of those amazing connections of our times.  I don’t know Angela at all, but I hooked up with her on her Facebook page – The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers. As I dug a little deeper, I noticed that she had written a book for teachers also and I found a great review on the Education ReThink blog by a John T. Spencer, a teacher she met at ISTE.  Of course, as I began to look at John’s blog, I noticed that he had a few books too!  I immediately downloaded, “Teaching Unmasked: A Humble Answer to Waiting for A Superhero.” Looks very interesting and I’ll report back after I’ve read it.

In the meantime, I would highly recommend both Angela’s Facebook page and her book.  She has masterfully blended the psychology of teaching and Christianity.  Her subtitle is, “Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching.” I love how she describes her bent to be one of the negative nannies in the teacher’s lounge to a transformation of her own personality with practical and spiritual principles.  She has a gift for being a real teacher and this is a most unique book because it helps the teachers in the trenches relate to the day-to-day difficulties of our profession and to be lifted above the mess.  I would love to meet Angela someday and bring her to one of our Christian Educator events or webinars.  She may be just the gift you need today.

Prayerfully yours,

K