Wednesdays are becoming one of my favorite days of the school week! I used to dread Wednesdays because it was the middle of the week and there were still two more days to go until the weekend; however, my mindset has changed. In the middle of the week, our school has set time aside for chapel where all of the elementary students and teachers can come together for a time of worship and learning more about God's Word. I love watching the students sing with all of their hearts and recite their memory verses with confidence. It is a chance for the upper grades to practice being good role models for the younger grades. But most of all, it is a chance for all of the elementary students to be in the same place at the same time and with the same focus. Chapel has become a time for me to help reset my focus for the rest of the week and it has helped remind me of my ultimate purpose for being at the Learning Center.
Teaching at the Learning Center, I have the privilege of starting each morning with a devotion and prayer. It has become a time to share with the students aspects of my faith and to encourage them in theirs as well. I have challenged my students to be open to praying in front of their classmates and to share personal praises and prayer requests. We also have Bible class each day. In fifth grade, we are focusing on the Old Testament. We have learned about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and are now focused on Joseph. I have been a little concerned about the spiritual well-being of my students. They have seemed almost resistant from letting the things we are learning to sink in and impact their lives. I have a faithful few that jump at any opportunity to pray in front of the class or answer a question during Bible class, but it is a struggle to get the rest of the students to participate.
An unexpected event happened today that was encouraging, yet set a weight upon my shoulders. This afternoon, there was an incident between two of my boys that opened the door for a whole class conversation on how we should treat our friends. The principal came in to our room and we all gathered together in a circle. We started out by going around the circle and pointing out the good things that we have seen our friends doing. That task was fairly easy for them. The next one was a little more difficult. We asked the students to point out things that they themselves have done or seen others do that were hurtful to another student without naming any specific names. It took the students a couple minutes to feel comfortable and confident to share, but eventually things started coming out. Name calling, being exclusive, laughing at other's mistakes, and going too far with teasing were some of the hurtful things that my students were holding on to. The principal led a discussion on how these things cause us to put distance between one another, not help us grow stronger together as friends and as a class.
The principal then handed out pieces of paper to each of the students. She asked them to write down things that they needed to apologize for to their classmates, things that someone else has done to hurt them, and then a prayer for the class to help us grow stronger in our relationships and to change our behaviors. After a time of reflection and self-evaluation, we regrouped and asked if anyone would like to publicly apologize to anyone in the class. You could instantly see the students squirm at the idea of sharing these things with everyone. After a few minutes of silence, one boy spoke up and apologized to another student and asked for forgiveness. It opened the door for the other students to feel confident to share their apologies. This lasted for almost twenty minutes! One student after another shared their wrongdoings and were forgiven. The demeanor of the class quickly changed and you could see the hurts beginning to heal in each of the students.
We then broke up into small groups and asked the groups to pray for the class and for each other. I joined in with a group of boys and sat back and listened to their prayers. Each boy prayed for their classmates and asked God to help them be better friends to one another.
Listening to their genuine prayers brought tears to my eyes.This was the moment that I had been waiting for! I knew that my students were capable of opening up and it was revealed this afternoon. I was encouraged to see that God is working in our classroom and in the lives of each of my students, even when I can't directly see it. I also felt the weight of responsibility that this new revelation brought. I am now trying to figure out how to continue to bring this new found openness out of each of my students so that they will grow in their relationships with God and with one another. I am praying, and I am asking you to join me, that God would provide me with wisdom as to how to help my students continue to practice being good friends and to continue to help my students grow spiritually. God is at work in the fifth grade, and I am excited to see how my students are going to respond. What was originally planned to only take a few minutes to talk to the class turned out to take up my last hour and a half of instruction time with my students, but I couldn't have imagined a better use of those precious minutes.
Teaching at the Learning Center, I have the privilege of starting each morning with a devotion and prayer. It has become a time to share with the students aspects of my faith and to encourage them in theirs as well. I have challenged my students to be open to praying in front of their classmates and to share personal praises and prayer requests. We also have Bible class each day. In fifth grade, we are focusing on the Old Testament. We have learned about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and are now focused on Joseph. I have been a little concerned about the spiritual well-being of my students. They have seemed almost resistant from letting the things we are learning to sink in and impact their lives. I have a faithful few that jump at any opportunity to pray in front of the class or answer a question during Bible class, but it is a struggle to get the rest of the students to participate.
An unexpected event happened today that was encouraging, yet set a weight upon my shoulders. This afternoon, there was an incident between two of my boys that opened the door for a whole class conversation on how we should treat our friends. The principal came in to our room and we all gathered together in a circle. We started out by going around the circle and pointing out the good things that we have seen our friends doing. That task was fairly easy for them. The next one was a little more difficult. We asked the students to point out things that they themselves have done or seen others do that were hurtful to another student without naming any specific names. It took the students a couple minutes to feel comfortable and confident to share, but eventually things started coming out. Name calling, being exclusive, laughing at other's mistakes, and going too far with teasing were some of the hurtful things that my students were holding on to. The principal led a discussion on how these things cause us to put distance between one another, not help us grow stronger together as friends and as a class.
The principal then handed out pieces of paper to each of the students. She asked them to write down things that they needed to apologize for to their classmates, things that someone else has done to hurt them, and then a prayer for the class to help us grow stronger in our relationships and to change our behaviors. After a time of reflection and self-evaluation, we regrouped and asked if anyone would like to publicly apologize to anyone in the class. You could instantly see the students squirm at the idea of sharing these things with everyone. After a few minutes of silence, one boy spoke up and apologized to another student and asked for forgiveness. It opened the door for the other students to feel confident to share their apologies. This lasted for almost twenty minutes! One student after another shared their wrongdoings and were forgiven. The demeanor of the class quickly changed and you could see the hurts beginning to heal in each of the students.
We then broke up into small groups and asked the groups to pray for the class and for each other. I joined in with a group of boys and sat back and listened to their prayers. Each boy prayed for their classmates and asked God to help them be better friends to one another.
Listening to their genuine prayers brought tears to my eyes.This was the moment that I had been waiting for! I knew that my students were capable of opening up and it was revealed this afternoon. I was encouraged to see that God is working in our classroom and in the lives of each of my students, even when I can't directly see it. I also felt the weight of responsibility that this new revelation brought. I am now trying to figure out how to continue to bring this new found openness out of each of my students so that they will grow in their relationships with God and with one another. I am praying, and I am asking you to join me, that God would provide me with wisdom as to how to help my students continue to practice being good friends and to continue to help my students grow spiritually. God is at work in the fifth grade, and I am excited to see how my students are going to respond. What was originally planned to only take a few minutes to talk to the class turned out to take up my last hour and a half of instruction time with my students, but I couldn't have imagined a better use of those precious minutes.