Why do I want to teach in a Christian school? Because I believe in Christian Education. I believe it makes a difference in the lives of students. I believe it made a difference in my life. With the exception of two years teaching in a public school, I have been part of Christian Education since I started 1st grade at Lynden Christian School. Nearly 40 years surrounded by people who share a common faith, whether they were my own teachers or professors or my colleagues, is simply awesome.
When I am around Christian Educators it is similar to meeting an old friend. We share a common language. We share a common hope. We share a common message. None of those things have to be spoken, they just are. When I stand before my classroom and I know that at least some of the students sitting before me share my faith, it is as if we already know each other. The bond between teacher and student is significant.
Learning happens best when we feel safe and understood. When a student feels that common faith connection with me, it solidifies that relationship and then I am free to push them to think in ways they have not dared. They have a place where it is safe to ask the questions .. questions about things that matter. Questions that have eternal value. Questions we all have to wrestle through. The same questions that racked the hearts and minds of the Bible characters we read about. And for the students in my classroom who are not believers, they get to observe this process from the same safety. And they bring their questions and it deepens the conversation. By the end of the term that little class of believers and unbelievers is a family. That is why I love Christian Education!
I teach academic subjects and life lessons to Covenant children. Every child in my classroom is a child of God, made in His image and dearly loved by their Heavenly Father. They are inherently curious about their Creator. More than anything I want kids to be able to have a safe place, a safe person to ask their big questions. By His nature, God is mysterious. That mystery prompts our questions. By His nature God is unchanging and God cannot lie. But we live in a world of constant change. I believe that by allowing my students to ask their big, hard, unanswerable questions they can get closer to the heart of what is real. They want to know what is consistent. By sharing our faith, we grow. When I share my journey with Jesus, my students grow.
To live in the real world with all of its challenges and learn to recognize their real, Creator God in the midst of it all.
