Christian Teachers in Public Schools

Something that I've been thinking about all year is what it means to be a Christian teacher in a public school.  One day, early in the school year, I discovered and met with the Bible Club that gathers every morning before school.  A few days later, I talked to one of the student leaders of the club and discovered that I was the first staff member to ever show up to one of their meetings.  The reason though was not because of my ambition to know who the Christian students were in my school.  Instead, I have come to realize there are policies against Christian teachers leading students in a religious setting on school grounds.  Unfortunately, I have realized that my association with this group in any spiritual way is a danger to my employment.  And because it only takes one accusation - from staff or student - it's better to keep my distance at this time, then it is to risk and lose any influence I might have made.  Needless to stay, this decision is crushing to me as a Christian.  "With no interaction with like-minded believers," I thought, "how can this school be transformed for the better?"  (Although I believe this might be a violation of my First Amendment rights, this is not the focus of this entry.)

Yet, as I am closing out my first full year of teaching in a public school, God has still been faithful to show me that I can still impact lives in a way that honors Him.  I have made every effort to demonstrate myself as an educator that students can learn from, trust, be seen as fair, and allow them to be young adults.  In situations where I am required to be a teacher, I carry out those duties as I have been employed to do.  But when students are looking for a friend, a role-model, or a mentor, I able to adjust into that role, and actually prefer this over teaching.  Although I value mathematics and analytical thinking, I value real relationships much more.  So at this time of year, it goes without saying that I have forged many healthy, positive and God-honoring relationships with a handful of my students.  And I believe those relationships exist because students have taken the time to have conversations with me outside their class period and have recognized that something different.  I am not sure if it is availability to teach them math, or interest in their personal lives.  But whatever the reason, I pray for two specific things.  First, I pray that students ask for the reason why I am different.  Secondly, I pray for the courage and confidence to tell them, "I live like this because I believe in a God that loves His people; my love for you is a reflection of His love for me."

Honest, agape, unconditional love is rarely found in public schools because it is also rarely found at home.  Although this is a stark and dark reality, when I am able to practice unconditional love and service, it is undeniably labeled as supernatural in the students' eyes.  As a Christian teacher, I pray that I can use this for Christ's gain.  And when I do manage to serve my students with that intense honesty and selfless love, they will have no choice to but to see the sacrifice and love of Jesus through those actions.