Back to School

Another school year begins for me today as teachers head back for meetings and three days to plan for the new year. School officially starts on Wednesday.

Each year I try to set a new goal so this year's has been on my mind.

Last year I prayed that I would begin to enjoy teaching US History more; and it happened! First semester was still a challenge. I am fortunate to have a really good book and by their junior year students are pretty responsible to do their reading and other homework assignments on time, so I struggle with what to add. We always do current events and try to have discussions, but the films I show are getting more dated and after we get through the basics it's been a challenge to be creative with the end of the class time.

But then, students started to share some movies they had in their home collections and when we watched them after having studied that time period in the book and found that it really added to their understanding! Plus, by the end of the year we all needed something to look forward to so we watched several different movies and ended on such a positive note that I hope to continue the practice.

The year will still start out much the same since the movies I'm familiar with start with the Revolutionary War, but I'm also encouraged to find other ways to enhance the class and make it more relevant to students.

Now my goal for this year is to get to know students at a deeper level. These past few years I've realized that even though I feel I have a good relationship with most my students, there is a difference between being friendly and really knowing them.

We had a teacher here for just one year last year and when I saw how much he interacted with the students and how much they responded to him and were impacted him, it really hit me hard. I must admit, I was envious! Granted, working full time and raising three children does require me to divide my energies, but I still pray I can find ways during class, between classes, and during student council activities (I'm the StuCo Advisor) to connect more with students at a deeper level.

As a christian teacher I feel called to both teach and disciple my students so I pray I can do that in a way that will allow them to see Christ in me more and to relate more and sharing more of myself with them. It's not easy though, It's one thing to teach, and quite another to interact more socially. The latter is quite a challenge for me!

Please join my in praying that this goal might be reached during this year!