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Describe a recent time when you’ve been discouraged with a student’s progress. Have you witnessed a change in the student’s life, or are you still waiting for that change to occur?
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There was and continues to be a student in my courses that has great potential to serve the Lord and be a leader in his course and the school; however, even though he professes to be a Christian, he does not approach his time at school in a way that demonstrates 1 Cor. 10:31 or Col. 3:23. I’ve spoken with him several times about making this connection and seeing his work in school and conduct with others as a sacrifice of worship to God, but it hasn’t sunk in. I fear he’ll look back one day and realize much time and opportunity was wasted unless he turns to God in this area of his life. However, I also remember the heart is God’s territory so I continue to pray that God will impress these truths on his heart sooner rather than later.
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One particular student from this past school year seemed to rarely be focused during lessons or seat work time, often seemed to daydream or tune me out. I had to keep trying to draw her attention in and spend extra time helping her learn to read and to express her thoughts, spilling over into some summer tutoring sessions. Now, however, she is mostly caught up to her peers and knows how to figure out long, multi-syllable words and can express herself in longer, more detailed sentences and paragraphs. Because she has a bunny for a pet and because our reading series included some Beatrix Potter stories, I encouraged her mom to invest in the Beatrix Potter stories like Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and other characters, which she did, and now the student is happily reading through all the adventures of those lovely little animals on her own. Passing on love of reading, writing and discovery of new worlds through books as well as a steady investment in basic phonics and writing practice, is worth the effort!
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I believe that as a Christian teacher in this day and age it is easy to feel sometimes discouraged because you feel that you are swimming against the current. Everything surrounding the students tells them that it is a negative thing to follow Christ. Just like a gardener planting seeds is not always easy, there is preparations to be made and hard times to be overcome, so I find refuge in Gods word and I have to trust the process and know that my role is seeding the ground.
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I was in a public school last year and I had a couple of challenging students. One student, at only 9 years old, had already suffered through physical and sexual abuse. They were unable to regulate their emotions and were always seeking attention, not caring if it was positive or negative attention. I was able to work and talk with this student and by the end of the year I saw a positive change in behavior. Thankfully this student’s grandma has now enrolled this student into a Christian school for next year. The same school I am moving to and I’m praying I will continue to see positive growth and impact.
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Last year I had a sixth grade course (for art) that was a challenge. There were a number of students who didn’t like art and let me know it. They were disruptive and did their best to get out of doing projects. We made progress through the year and I’m hopeful that next year will be better. Some of the most challenging students made the most progress and showed more effort in their work.