On Friday, I was officially done with my first year of teaching. One of the benefits of being a teacher is, when students are on break, teachers are too. Am I happy about that? Foorr sure. Since I went through the school system for most of my life, I'd say that I'm pretty accustomed to having 1-3 week long breaks scattered in the year. Anyways, during grad school, I took this class called Fostering Spiritual Growth, and I'll never forget the experience I had when the teacher required us to go on a personal retreat with God. No phone. No computer. Just a Bible, a devotional book, some food and personal hygiene items.
1) Know yourself before you try to lead others to know themselves I have had countless opportunities every day to help a teenager know themselves better, and I realized that I can only do this effectively if I am able to be honest with how I came to this knowledge myself. There were moments when I would be talking, and a personal story would pop up in my mind. In that moment, I would always have the choice as to whether I was comfortable enough to be real with my class. The answer at the time is a no brainer, of course, I should be vulnerable (to a certain extent) with my students. But I didn't really think about the impact it had until now, meaning, I wonder how different my class would be if I neglected to show that the subject-matter was not only relevant to them, but also to me as well.
What if the experts helped young people become the experts themselves? And not always treating them as the ones who need help (while recognizing that they actually do need our help)? I remember scoping out, at the beginning of the school year, who had the most influence among the student body. I noticed that the spiritual life of our school was completely de-prioritized, for instance, several students often told me that they were used to showing up Friday morning for chapel and plan a program right then and there! After hearing this, I began organizing a school praise team, and asked every person who wanted to be a part of the team to practice with me every week for approximately an hour. What difference did it make? A lot. Trust me. By mid-year, I couldn't believe how in-sync our praise team sounded, and by the end of the year, we had churches asking us to come lead worship. The members of the praise team were becoming more and more confident singing and playing up front, and they began to cherish the moments when they experienced the Holy Spirit move during our worship sessions. I know that I love worship music (this is a fact), and it's when I embraced the calling to train others to also do worship well, I then became effective in helping see that they, too, had the same passion in them. I think too often, spiritual leaders spoon feed youth, rather than provide them with the tools to be strong leaders. 2) You have to be a good follower before being a good leader The superintendent of our conference came to one of our faculty meetings towards the end of the year, and said to all the teachers, "You are all youth pastors." That stuck with me because I really resonated with that statement. It was the biggest reason, in my opinion, that differentiated Christian schools from the public school system. Every day when we (teachers and staff) walked into the school, it was more than a 8-5 job. In my class, each morning, I randomly allow the students to choose someone to pray (using popsicle sticks with their names on them). Before doing that, I ask them if they have any special prayer requests. Somedays, there are only a couple of requests on the board, but other days, I run out of space because there are too many prayer requests! When I ask myself why I took the time to do that, I realize that it doesn't only convey that God cares about what's going on in their lives, but that I, their Chaplain, also care enough to ask what they're worried about. See, when I was in high school, the teachers and staff who had the most impact on me were the ones who thought it was important enough to take the time to ask me how I was really doing. I knew, even at a young age, that it wasn't about how much you made, or how many people you knew, but in the end, it all came down to what you do with what you've been given, and how much you care about those around you. The love that I am able to show my students is a direct result of the love that I've been shown by my family, friends, and those who have influenced me in a positive way. 3) People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care There was this one time after I had just finished teaching Sophomore Religion class, and my Junior Religion class was about to start soon. I was sitting in front of the classroom, on my phone, as the students starting piling into their seats. I was on my phone either texting or checking social media, and in my peripheral, I noticed a student doing something that I have told him not to do before. I then realized it's time to get off my phone, start class, so I address the issue immediately by telling the student to stop what he was doing. I waited there for a second and saw that he didn't do it yet, so I got his attention again (which escalated the situation). When I asked him why he wasn't doing what I asked, his response was, "I was going to stop, but since you said something again right after, I don't want to." Why was I so annoyed by his actions? Was I that irritated by him leaning back in his chair or was I more mad that he was interrupting me when I was trying to get a mental break? The more I reflected about that situation, I learned another very important lesson about teaching; how you start a class can determine how a class will end. In his book, Your First Year, by Todd Whitaker, the author suggests that instead of being occupied with something else when your students walk into the classroom, start on a positive note by greeting them at the door or have a bell activity ready for them to do as soon as they're in.
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AuthorAndrew S. Lee, MDiv Archives
June 2017
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