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How do the concepts discussed in this lesson apply to your work in your classroom?
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I believe that redirecting students to the big questions and the biblical answers to those questions helps ground them. For example, whether a student excels or struggles on an assessment I try to help them put it in perspective that their grades don’t warrant their emotional experiences or define them but rather focus on “whose they are” and not who they think they are. That they are on a journey to use their gifts and talents to love, know and serve God.
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I appreciate the fact that she mentions that we are educating students for eternity. One of the mission statements at our school is “preparing students for life”. It doesn’t matter what subject matter or what lesson you have for the day, I believe that the Holy Spirit provides us with opportunities to speak into students about who they are in Christ and who GOD intends for them to be. That is the root of what we do. Giving them that firm foundation and being rooted in Christ.
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One critical concept addressed is identity (who am I?). Students who aren’t firmly grounded in their identity as an image bearer of God will likely approach education in a way that sets them up for failure in the long run. Even “successful” students can head in the wrong direction by taking a purely utilitarian approach to education as nothing more than a means to an end – the end being their personal advancement and material success. If, however, a student’s identity is grounded in the truth of Scripture (additionally as a child of Christ if they are, indeed, a Christ follower) then all of education is redeemed for purposes well beyond the material world.
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These concepts help to remind me that I am more than just a History or Science teacher. Are my interactions with others demonstrating that I see them as having been created in the image of God? Answering these BIG questions of who we are and where we come from is not reserved for Bible teachers. In History course, we regularly consider the world view and religion of various people groups throughout History. We compare and contrast these belief systems alongside Christianity, but I encourage students to always remember regardless of a persons belief system, this person is still made in the image of God.
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The concepts in this lesson, the “big questions” of life as taught from the Bible affect the way I teach every subject in my second grade classroom. Because I am concerned about the students’ eternal destiny and believe they are alive because God made them and has a purpose for their lives, I include discussions and questions, stories and writing assignments that ask and answer those “big questions” like “Who made me?” and “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” I cannot recall a single day of teaching in a Christian school that we did not talk about God and those serious, meaningful questions in science, social studies, reading, writing and even math. Since our day has always started with prayer, we invite the Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us. It is such a joy to be able to pray with students and lead them to think about tough questions and how the answers to those questions are in the Word of God and The Word who “became flesh and dwelt amongst us.”