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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 one student who comes from a broken family structure at home. He does not really have a father figure around and strong teaching about Christ in his home. I have had a struggle with this student from the beginning of the year. A lot of defiance issues and disobedience. I have had so many heart-to hearts with him and he would get better for a few days and then out of nowhere have a really bad couple days. I felt as if I was trying everything with him to help improve his behavior (giving him positive encouragement, having lunch one-on-one to make him feel seen, praying with him and bringing his behavior back to what the Bible says). I am still waiting for a long-term change to occur in his life but I have to just keep praying that the Lord truly changes his heart because I can try to lead him to Christ, but only HE can do the work in his heart.
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I do remember a student who seemed disintrested in learning and was always distracted with talking and did not focus much on his work, who later turned around unexpectedly. I decided to take a different approach and began focusing on this student encouraging him to focus and telling him that he could do well if he just gave it a little effort. The extra attention and the words of encouragement did wonders for him. The quality of his work improved tremendously as well as his behavior. I had to remind myself that, even though this student seemed not to care much, was disruptive and a bit disrespectful, that God loved us first even when we were unlovely, sinful and unloving. I had to love my student even when he was all these things to me and do what Jesus would do. He came for the lost and we have to do the same. It is easy to love the good student who pays attention and does all the right things, but Christ calls us to love deeper and to do it even when it is difficult as when he says “Love your enemies as yourself.” When we practically apply God’s word in the classroom the results will be amazing!
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It is my first year in a Christian K-12 school and this particular school has tripled in size in the last 5 years. With the growth in the student body, I have witnessed several students who we pray for at faculty meetings that don’t outwardly show a that they have a relationship with Christ. There are comments made from them that their parents signed the consent form to register at the school but they never had to so, in turn, they don’t have to say they believe in Christ. Their are parents who I believe put their children in our school so that we “fix” them, but there is little follow through at home. This is discouraging and these are the kids I pray for.
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I am an international educator in Indonesia, where schools were fully online for approximately 2.5 years, from March 2019 to October 2022, due to covid. These were disheartening years because it was difficult to reach students beyond the limitation of their computer screens. During this time, students, particularly in senior high, lost motivation and doubted God’s goodness, especially those who lost scholarship opportunities in sports or other areas of interest. Many questions – where is God in all that was happening? It was a challenging time trying to address their disillusionment and a growing belief that God cannot be counted on. I had to dig deep into the scriptures to help show them that God uses all our experiences to shape us into his masterpiece because He loves us, and I prayed for the Holy Spirit to bring them comfort.
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I have a tenth grade student who came to us from another country. He is functioning at a third grade level in math. He didn’t know his basic math facts, no concept of money, and/or fractions. Seven months later, he has mastered adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing as well as understanding the U.S. currency. Our cohesive plan for this student transcends time. God has great plans for this student. I’m thankful to be a small part of his life.