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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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I have not had this experience in the classroom, but I have had it in my time of ministry. There have been several times where I felt as though what I was trying to teach about God and salvation was starting to click with an unbeliever, but every time it seems to not be enough. I continue to pray for that change to finally take place, but as of now it has not happened.
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As a middle school educator, I see the struggles that students this age face in trying to figure out what they want to believe. It is such a challenging age, with many changes going on for them physically and emotionally. While I feel I am encouraged more than discouraged, I still see students who are struggling in their walk with Lord and how to make a relationship with Jesus their own, instead of just their parent’s belief system. I see them in their struggle to fit in and have a group that they belong to, I see them act out to get attention, or fall into the trap of jealousy or gossip. While I have not seen a change yet, prayer is powerful! I pray daily that God will use all of the educators in our school to help reach our students’ hearts!
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I have recently been discouraged by a student not believing that God is real. The student comes from a background where she was exposed to Christian teachings as a young child. Unfortunately, this student experienced trauma in a church setting during her teen years. This experience left her angry with God and emotionally and mentally scarred. She currently identifies as an Atheist. I have kept this student in my prayers and have asked God to show her that he is real and that she would be saved. Although it hasn’t happened yet, I am believing that God will reach her and that he will change and heal her mind and heart.
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In the past I spoke to a student whose father was not a believer and did not attend church. His mother on the other hand was very strong in her faith and would take all the children to church on Sundays and during the week. The student confessed to me that he was trying to prove that God was not real so that he could also stay home with his dad instead of going to church. But he said the more he tried proving that God wasn’t real, the more he started to believe in God. His mom had bought him a study bible which answered many of his questions. I loved hearing that story because it shows us that our children are God’s children and all the effort his mother had done in teaching him about God, were not in vain.