“Mr. Granger, what’s the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?”, a young student of mine asked. Following my simple and concise explanation, it registered in my mind that this young student didn’t own a Bible.
“Would you like me to get you your own Bible?” I asked. Long story short, this young student is now reciting Old Testament stories in flying colors and perhaps ready to answer the same questions other students once asked.
Teaching at a Christian private school is an incredible opportunity to positively influence the next generation of believers at the moment that they first find interest in God.
In Matthew 19, Jesus pronounced, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
As a disciple of Christ, I get to join the building of his Kingdom and be his hands and feet to serve my students and point them to Jesus in all that I do.
Another verse that comes to mind is in 1Corinthians 10, where Paul writes “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink or not, do it all to the glory of God!”
As a PE coach, I ask myself what this is supposed to look like. When I do my job, I have the objective to make physical exercise a fun experience that the kids look forward to. Far too often, students dread Physical Education, and these same students may end up dreading exercise for the longevity of their life following their poor experiences with it growing up.
Throughout this past summer, I’ve held campus-wide Olympic games which brought out the youthful competitive nature in kids from Kindergarten all the way to Middle School. Recently, I themed a P.E. day for Mario (whom the kids love) in which I dressed up as Mario, had themed bike races to Mario Kart, relay races to the video game, and timed up the correct video game sound effects on my speaker accordingly.
Working at a private Christian school allows me to influence the students in Biblical ways that teachers are unable to do in the public system. My colleagues share the same objective as I do: to devote our work to Jesus and the Kingdom of God in a unique way with the students that God has entrusted to us.
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