{"id":5774,"date":"2018-01-16T10:01:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T16:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2018-01-16T10:01:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T16:01:01","slug":"can-christian-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/16\/can-christian-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"What can Christian Teachers Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Catina Cheatham<\/strong><br \/>\nAt a young age I was blessed by already knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I\u2019ve seen others desperately try to discover their path, but I was meant to be a teacher. I was blessed to be hired at the school I teach; it\u2019s different than most schools. We live in a rural area with a strong sense of community. Still, every day I go into battle, yet I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. So many Christian teachers focus on what they can\u2019t do in a classroom, they forget about what they can do. For example I can:<br \/>\n<strong><em>Be Subtle:<\/em><\/strong> At times a Christian teacher has to be subtle. At the beginning of the year, I create a \u201cget to know me\u201d Power Point showing my favorite things: TV shows, books, hobbies, activities, etc. Under \u201chobbies\u201d (I feel it\u2019s safer under this classification), I place a picture of the church where I attend, and I explain that I like to be busy in the activities of my church. Many students recognize the church. This lets the students know on the first day of school, in a subtle way, that I am a Christian.<br \/>\nSometimes I can be forgetful. Even though I teach language arts, you\u2019d be surprised at how much evolution sneaks into the text. Since I\u2019m not a science teacher, I don\u2019t have to cover this as part of the required curriculum. I\u2019m not going to be made to read something to my students that I know is not the truth. Often, I lose my place, cough, and skip over evolution or references to the age of the Earth.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Pray<\/em><\/strong><em>:<\/em> I\u2019m blessed to teach in a school that still recites the Pledge of Allegiance and has a moment of silence every morning. I can\u2019t force my students to pray, but they can see a teacher who bows her head, closes her eyes, and says a prayer for them each day. I don\u2019t know if my students know that I\u2019m praying, but God does. Maybe they wonder why I have my eyes closed. I\u2019ve never had a student ask.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Provide<\/em><\/strong><em> <strong>Support through<\/strong> <strong>Fellowship:<\/strong><\/em> I\u2019m blessed to teach around other godly teachers. Some of these teachers I worship with on a regular basis. Others I might see on Ladies\u2019 Day or at other church gatherings. These teachers are a great example and source of strength. During TCAP week last year, we gathered in the lobby after school. We formed a circle, held hands, and prayed for our students and school. We prayed for a successful testing week.<br \/>\nThe fellowship doesn\u2019t just apply to fellow teachers. Christian parents and students need support as well. Teachers stick together. Sometimes it feels like it\u2019s a battle between teachers and parents. The truth, however, must prevail. A close teacher friend approached me with a note from a parent asking that she omit any questions about evolution on her daughter\u2019s test. I told my friend that the parent was right. She just replied that it was not something she was going to fight.<br \/>\nChristian students also need support. The greatest joy as a Christian teacher is discovering a student has decided to put on Christ in baptism. I can both support and encourage these students. It might be something as simple as telling a student they did a good job leading singing at church. I also love to serve as counselor on church retreats; our students see I\u2019m more than just a teacher.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Provide the Truth:<\/em><\/strong> I can\u2019t read to my students from the Bible or make them read it, but I\u2019m sure not going to stop them from reading it. At my school, the Gideons haven\u2019t been banned from passing out Bibles to fifth graders. They aren\u2019t required to accept one, but they can receive a pocket size one if they wish. Teachers can get a full size one, which I keep on my personal bookshelf in plain sight for any observant student to see.<br \/>\nI can use this Bible as a historical reference. As we were talking about a lack of trees in the Great Plains, a student asked what settlers used as a fuel source for their fires. I explained dung and pointed out that this even went back to Biblical times. I pulled the Bible off the shelf and read Ezekiel 4:12: \u201cAnd thou shalt eat it\u00a0as\u00a0barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight\u201d (KJV).<br \/>\nI have skillfully tucked other Christian literature on my bookshelf among the other books. I\u2019m thankful to Christian publishers like Apologetics Press and Focus Press who publish this material. One of the most circulated books that I have in my classroom,<em> Truth Be Told<\/em> (Apologetics Press 2005), is cleverly disguised as a textbook. In fact, as I was teaching one day, a student had this book open on his desk. I was explaining the importance of trees and how deforestation would affect the oxygen supply. The student pointed out it says, \u201cBut approximately 50% of that oxygen comes from tiny, microscopic plants within the Earth\u2019s oceans and seas\u201d (17). We all learned something new that day.<br \/>\n<strong><em>Be<\/em><\/strong><em> <strong>Available:<\/strong><\/em> One of the greatest benefits of being a teacher is that I\u2019m there for my own children. I know the curriculum and what they are learning. I can make sure my children know the Truth. In fact, my daughter\u2019s science homework this week asked her to describe how the Sun was formed. Her answer was, \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let there be light,\u2019 and there was light\u201d (Genesis 1:3, KJV).<br \/>\nMy children have someone to turn to if they need me during the day. I know the students in their classes and can help them choose godly friends. My daughter may not appreciate this when she starts to court. So far, the available list of those that may court my daughter in the future is very small.<br \/>\nProverbs 22: 6 says, \u201cTrain up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.\u201d As a Christian parent and teacher, this is my daily prayer. Sadly, sometimes it seems this battle I\u2019m fighting over sin and worldly influence is winning against my influence in the classroom. I\u2019m stubborn and not about to give up this fight. I know the public education system needs more Christian teachers. If I can just make a difference to some, it will be all worth it.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Catina Cheatham At a young age I was blessed by already knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I\u2019ve seen others desperately try to discover their path, but I was meant to be a teacher. I was blessed to be hired at the school I teach; it\u2019s different than most schools. We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[96,66],"tags":[1333,1340,139,666,1051,855],"class_list":["post-5774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-think-excerpts","tag-april-2013","tag-catina-cheatham","tag-christian","tag-example","tag-feature","tag-teachers","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What can Christian Teachers Do? - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/16\/can-christian-teachers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What can Christian Teachers Do? - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Catina Cheatham At a young age I was blessed by already knowing what I wanted to do with my life. 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