Purpose Driven Classroom

The purpose of this blog is to encourage Christian Educators to recognize their high calling as a teacher. We will be studying the Book of Esther for the next few months. Join us for this ten part study and don't forget to comment on how you think this applies to the classroom. May God help you to see your purpose for Him as a missionary in our schools in America.

Day 24

My dear teachers,

The most important reading is always the Word of God.  We all own a Bible, but a Bible on the shelf has no value. If we want to be truly transformed by truth, we must be in the Truth daily.  Rick Warren put it this way, “The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God.”  Reading the Word daily pays tremendous benefits. When you need to make decisions at school, lean on your Biblical worldview for understanding.  All educational views change as the pendulum swings. Students’ views are unique to each generation. Political worldviews have no lasting value.  The only way to make sound judgments is to go to the Truth, the timeless Word of God.

 

At the Christian Educators’ National Gathering (Nov. 11-12), Bill Ziegler, our host, admonished us to put a biblical quote on the board daily.  Did you realize that EVERY President of the United States has quoted the Bible at some point in their presidency? There is no need to write chapter and verse.  Research the presidents and put their name as the one who quoted Scripture.  Here are some excerpts you can use (From the Oval Office: Prayers of the Presidents, by Dr. Larry Keefauver, editor)

 

“My custom is to read four or five chapters of the Bible every morning immediately after rising….It seems to me the most suitable manner of beginning the day…. It is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of the knowledge and virtue.”  John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

“I have always said and always will say that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands….the Bible makes the best people in the world.”   Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.  It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”  George Washington (1789 - 1797)

“On this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, we ask Almighty God to watch over our nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come.  We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow.  We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of life to come.  As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from God’s love. May He bless the souls of the departed.  May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country.  God bless America.”  George W. Bush, September 14, 2006 from the National Cathedral after the 9/11 terrorists’ attack.

From Rick Warren: John 8:31-32 - If you continue in My Word, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

From me: Ps. 119:105 - Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Until next time, I am…..

Prayerfully yours,
Karen

by: seddonk at 17:21 | link | comments

Day 23

My dear teachers,

 

It’s never too late to start growing.  It’s critical that we do grow personally.  As teachers, we are in the position of motivating our students to grow and mature, but how are we doing in Christ-likeness? Rick Warren says that it’s a change of mind, a decision to be a Christ follower and one who changes from self-centered thoughts to Christ-like ways. Rick Warren also said, “The Christian life is far more than creeds and convictions; it includes conduct and character.  Our deeds must be consistent with our creeds, and our beliefs must be backed up with Christ-like behavior.”

In our classrooms, we need to be striving for Christ-like character on a daily basis. Our first step is to change from a self-centered viewpoint to a student-centered paradigm. As the teacher, I confess, that I was often more concerned about how my lesson came off, or what my administrator thought when she was evaluating me, or “am I covering the curriculum?” In a Christ-like student centered classroom, we are changing our focus to them.  Did little Mary in the back who never says anything understand the purpose of the lesson today?  Why is Michael tapping that pencil constantly? Should I look at it as a challenge to my authority or pray for help to love him?  Is it comfortable in my room for the kids today?  Is it a pleasant place for them to come?  Do they sense my joy that they are in my room? 

 

I know that none of these thoughts necessarily come naturally, but as we begin to take the focus off ourselves and place it on the needs of our students, we will definitely pray more because we can’t possibly meet all their needs.  The edge that we have as Christian educators is that we know Who can meet their needs.  Claim your classrooms for Him.  Let the Lord show you each day and in every situation how you can help that particular child at that perfect time.  Without the Holy Spirit guiding our desire to be Christ-like, how can we possibly help this generation?  They are in desperate need of role models and moral compasses. They will be blessed if they have a Christ-like teacher like you growing in maturity each day with the Word of God and prayer.

 

 

From Rick Warren: Roms. 12:2 - Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.  Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect. (TEV)

 

From me: Roms. 15:2-3 - Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.  For Christ did not please himself…..

 

Until next time, I am…..

Prayerfully yours,
Karen

by: seddonk at 05:56 | link | comments

Day 22

My dear teachers,

We have been created to become like Christ.  Rick Warren’s study for this week admonishes us to really understand that we were made in His image and likeness.  This is a privilege and gives us dignity.  It is the same for our students, colleagues and administrators.  He has two great lines I would like to share for this study.  "Your character is essentially the sum of your habits; it is how you habitually act" and……."We are human beings, not human doings."

As teachers, we are some of the busiest people on the earth “doing” much, but have you ever stopped to think about what kind of a human “being” we are to our students.  If we are to become more like Christ each day in our classroom, we must develop Christ-like habits.  These are laid out for us in Gal. 5:22-23 -  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

It takes time to develop the fruits of the Spirit ,but they need to be practiced in order to become habitual.  In our classrooms, we are always so concerned about what we can/cannot do or say, but against the fruits of the Spirit there is no law.  Imagine if every educator displayed these fruits and our children had the benefit of our sweet fragrance.  It is not a natural thing to love every child.  It must be practiced.  I am helped greatly when I find myself with students that I dislike.  I practice praying silent the words of God in my head that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  He loves them.  Who am I not to love them? I may not ever like them, but it is my call as a Christian educator to love them.  No one said it was easy.

 

Joy is huge.  Do you students look forward to coming to your class?  Is there a joyful presence when they come to your classroom?  Peace is the gift you give them when you create an environment where they are all welcomed and made to feel like they were created in His image and likeness.  Pray over your room, attitude and presence before the start of each day.  Invite Him to help you.  No one said it was easy.

 

Goodness, kindness and gentleness are unquestionably weaknesses of mine, but from observing other teachers and being encouraged by their relationships with their students, I can practice being good to my parents, students, colleagues and administration.  Do unexpected nice things.  It helps others to know there is something different going on inside of you.  We were born to make Him attractive to others through are actions.  No one said it was easy.

 

Being patient is critical.  They are children.  I don’t care how big they are.  They are children.  They don’t make great decisions.  They don’t say the brightest things always.  That’s why we are there.  Be patient with them.  Use self-control. If it seems like it's not right to do, it’s not right to do.  Don’t examine gray areas.  Be a model who takes the higher road and always be known for your integrity.  If you mess up, confess.  No one said it was easy.

 

Finally, be faithful.  Be at school unless you have a sickness, emergency or assignment for some other school related duty.  Your kids take notice when you are faithful to them.  Covenant with them that you will only be out for a very good reason.  Most of all, be faithful to pray and read the Word of God each day in order to practice the habits of the fruits of the Spirit in your classroom.  No one said it was easy, but our Savior said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

From Rick Warren: 2nd Cor. 3:18 - As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.

From me: Prov. 11:30 - The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

Until next time, I am…..

Prayerfully yours,
Karen

by: seddonk at 09:50 | link | comments (2)

Day 21

My dear teachers,

Last week we discussed reconciliation.  It is vital that we, as Christian educators, take the high road to restore relationships.  Rick Warren gave us the charge to protect our churches in unity.  Since we are focusing on our classroom, please allow me the opportunity to focus unity on our campuses. 

 

One of the most wonderful aspects of being a part of Christian Educators Assoc. Int. CEAI, is that we come from so many different church denominations and most times we don’t even know what they are.  We DO know that we agree on the main thing and the plain thing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  As Christian educators we find ourselves on campus with Christians from other denominations, educators from other religions and even those who have no belief in God.  How can we possibly think about unity?

 

Rick Warren suggested the following areas for church unity: be realistic in your expectations, choose to encourage rather than criticize, refuse to listen to gossip, practice God’s method for conflict resolution and support your pastors and leaders.  Let’s apply that to our schools.

 

Be realistic in your expectations. As a Christian, you will need to take the lead as a peacemaker.  Your role is not pastor or even evangelistic.  However, it is certainly peacemaker.  Be good to your colleagues.  Lead by example.  Do the little things like: smile, go out of your way to say “Good morning,” “How can I help you?” Can I take _________ in my classroom for you this afternoon?”  Being an example of service is not the norm these days.  Be contagious.

 

Choose to encourage rather than criticize. It is all too easy to put down.  We need to be the builders.  Build up your students’ confidence.  Build up your colleagues’ reputations.  Build up the support staff.  Go out of your way to make your teachers’ aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, tech contact, secretaries and all support personnel.  All too often there is a chasm between teachers and paraprofessionals.  This should never be.  Take that high road and build them up.  Find special ways to honor and thank them for their incredible efforts.

 

Refuse to listen to gossip.  Walk into any teacher’s lounge at lunch time and you will hear gossip.  Most teachers feel they need that time to release.  After all, most of us have no adult conversation the whole day and lunch time is our time to vent.  It fine to enjoy conversation and to relax, but it is unacceptable to excuse gossip as part of that process.  How can we be an example of encouraging conversation?  How can we stir the conversation in a positive direction?  This is why we pray.  Ask God for specific help in this area.  Just avoiding the lunchroom is not always the answer.

 

Practice God’s method for conflict resolution.  As long as there are humans in school, there will be sinners.  We are all guilty of messing up and offending, but Christian have the duty to apply and practice Jesus’ admonition. “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him - work it out between the two of you.  If he listens, you’ve made a friend.  If he won’t listen, take one of two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again.  If he won’t listen, tell the church.”

 

Last but not least, support your pastors and leaders.  In our case - support your administrators.  Being the administrator of a school is a thankless job.  They often live in isolation bearing the problems and complaints of the parents, teachers and students.  No matter how you feel about your administrator, you owe them your support.  Try to send them a little note from time to time.  Go out of your way to have your students do something special for them.  Our students need to understand the importance of honoring authority. Invite them to your classroom for special visitations.  Support them in their difficult times. 

 

Being a Christian on campus, is one of the greatest missionaries in the world. Shine your light and ask Him for help.

 

From Rick Warren: Romans 14:19 - Let us concentrate on the tings which make for harmony and the growth of our fellowship together.

From me: Eph. 4:3 - Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Until next time, I am…..

Prayerfully yours,
Karen

by: seddonk at 17:43 | link | comments