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Uncategorized   |   Apr 28, 2012

Encouragement for Christian teachers

By Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Encouragement for Christian teachers

By Angela Watson

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Maintaining a professional website has been a balancing game for me.  On one hand, I need to reach teachers who are solely interested in educational resources. On the other hand, I have a desire to share ideas with an eternal value and deeper implications. I’ve personally experienced how the love of God can transform the way we approach our work as teachers, and to leave out that message would be to waste an incredible opportunity to help educators who want to incorporate their spirituality into their daily work.

I’ve experienced an unexplainable joy that comes from striving to know God more and incorporating Him into my everyday routines. Nothing I have accomplished so far has been done apart from His power and grace. Sharing so much of what I do on a daily basis in the classroom is nearly impossible without mentioning Him. I created this page and The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers to encourage teachers to seek God as their source of strength in all they do and view even the most mundane aspects of teaching as part of a divine calling.

A word of encouragement

There are many days when I feel impatient with the kids–like the three thousandth time I have reminded them to put their names on their papers and am still faced with the inevitable task of handwriting scrutiny to determine the authorship of four random papers.   I want to chastise them (“How many times have I told you??”) but the thought always occurs to me–how many times have I done that to God?  How many times has He corrected me with loving-kindness only for me to turn around and make the exact same mistakes over and over again, sometimes even willfully!  What if Jesus treated us that way:  “This is the last time I’m going to tell you to do this.  Next time, forget it, I’m not helping you.  Don’t come crying to me when the consequences fly in your face.”  His patience is endless, and that is how He calls us to be.

His grace is the model for how we are to treat others–rendering favor when we don’t have to and changing our focus from giving students what they ‘deserve’ to seeing them how God sees them.  That doesn’t mean there are no consequences–God is a just God (Isaiah 30:18), He is a God of order and not of chaos (1 Corinthians 14:33), and He speaks repeatedly in His word about how children must be taught obedience and respect (Proverbs 22:6, 22:15, 23:13, 29:15, Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:20).  But our place is not to condemn and criticize, it is to lift up our students.  When I deal with a particularly challenging student or parent, rather than saying, “This kid doesn’t care, his parents don’t care, I give up, I’m not dealing with it anymore”, I try to pray for them instead, that God would work through me to bring positive change.   That’s really hard to do sometimes and I end up praying for my own attitude to change more than anything!

The books of Ephesians and Galatians always remind me of the character God wants me to have (all scripture in the New King James Version):

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.   (Ephesians 4:29)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23, italics added)

These are the attributes God calls Christians to show, and I know that He would especially want us to demonstrate those qualities towards the precious little ones in our care.  We are to love them unconditionally, have joy in our work, let the peace we have inside show on the outside, be patient with others’ shortcomings, model kindness and goodness, be gentle with our words, and have self-control when we are tempted to make harsh or rash decisions.  What a calling!  And how wonderful that we can call upon Him for help when these things seem too difficult to manage.

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We should also keep in mind that the Bible tells us: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1) I personally believe that this verse applies not only to teachers of the word of God but also to anyone in a position to dispel knowledge to others in a formalized setting.  In other words, those of us who are pillars in the community, whose lives are on display in front of impressionable young people, who mold the attitudes and priorities of children and are responsible for teaching them truth and wisdom–we are held to a higher standard by God.

Our influence on students cannot be overestimated.  Don’t we all remember a horrible teacher from our childhood who embarrassed us or made us feel like we were worth nothing?  And doesn’t each of us recall a fabulous teacher who inspired and encouraged us?   What a powerful impression these teachers made, for good or for bad–we still remember them far into our adult years.  As educators, we have an awesome responsibility and privilege set before us and we are called to take it on with grace and wisdom.

Although sharing our faith is not appropriate in a public school setting, we have the privilege and obligation before God to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit when working with our students, their parents, and our co-workers.  We are called to work as unto the Lord, not as unto man, and strive to do everything with excellence. Other people should be able to tell through our actions that something about us is different.  Showing Christ’s love through the way we live our lives is the most powerful witness we can have.

“You [believers] are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” -Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16)

IN SUMMARY:  Students have more religious freedom than we as teachers do.  Our job is to make sure that all of our students feel comfortable, respected, and accepted in our classrooms.  The best and only truly legal way to express our spiritual beliefs in school is through the witness of how we live our lives; striving to be modest in appearance and attitude, honest and full of integrity, avoiding gossip, helping others whenever we can, showing patience and respect to our students, and sharing the joy and peace that we have found in God through a positive attitude.

Developing the right mindset

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I wrote this book to encourage teachers who WANT to stay positive and keep a good attitude, but struggle because of the random, endless list of stuff that just seems to pop up everyday, all day long in school. Awakened provides specific, actionable steps you can take to change your perspective and automatic response to stressful situations. Though this is not written just for Christian teachers, each suggestion is based on biblically-sound principles. People who don’t know the Lord will find solid, common-sense, practical advice, and believers will recognize tips that reinforce the truth of God’s word. More information about the book can be found here.

Check out the devotions!

The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers is a separate blog I maintain to provide spiritual support for educators. I try to post at least once a month. You can subscribe to new posts from the devotions page to get new devotions sent automatically to your email inbox.

NEW–Join the Cornerstone devotions for teachers on Facebook!

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Our community now has a new Facebook page! Stop by and tell us what you teach and what you need prayer for. Share something awesome that God’s doing in your classroom or in your life. Or just hang back, and wait for something that’s posted to speak to you. I don’t know exactly what this whole endeavor will look like, or what each of our roles will be, but I’m excited to see what God has planned.

Angela Watson

Founder and Writer

Angela created the first version of this site in 2003, when she was a classroom teacher herself. With 11 years of teaching experience and more than a decade of experience as an instructional coach, Angela oversees and contributes regularly to...
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Discussion


  1. Mrs. Watson, I will begin my very first year of teaching in a month. Your site was recommended to me by the mentor teacher I had during my student teaching experience. I’m so glad. Since being hired I have been steadily reading through every page. When I came to this page, about the faith you and I share, my heart smiled. Thank you so much for everything you share on this site, but especially for this. As others have already said, I will be a frequent visitor to this site, and I’ve already recommended it on my blog. 🙂

    Stefanie Osbourn

  2. Wow Angela you are an inspiration, I am a christian and I struggled last year with my patience and this really helps for my upcoming year. Thank you so very much

    1. You’re welcome, Minnie! Patience is one of my biggest struggles, too. I have to constantly remind myself to be humble so that I don’t get irritated when little people (okay, and big people, too!) don’t think exactly as I do or work at exactly my pace. Impatience comes from pride: thinking that everything should be done my way. That’s a recipe for unhappiness if I’ve ever heard one! 🙂

      1. Thank you for replying, it is good to see that you are a REAL person 🙂

        Angela,
        I need some advice, I just started school this past week, I am a fifth grade teacher teaching Intensive Reading. This is a challenge for me because I am a second year teacher expected to do miracles with this class. Don’t get me wrong my students are great and my team has been encouraging, but I am feeling the pressure of performance. I am the kind of person who puts everything that I have into my students but I am slowly starting to break down. I guess what I am trying to say is I need some prayer and a stranger to talk to. 🙂 I FEEL I HAVE SO MUCH TO COVER SO LITTLE TIME….AND LOTS OF PRESSURE FROM THE BOSS…

        1. Hi, Minnie! I’m sorry for the late reply, I just now saw your comment for some reason. Feel free to email me (angelawatson [at] live [dot] com). I’d love to hear how your school year is going now that you’re a few more weeks in. 🙂

  3. I just came across your site and I have to say “Thank you”! I am about to embark on my last semester of school before I become a full fledged teacher. I have already had my ups and downs and have been ablet to learn a lot of great ideas and information through my schooling. However, the one thing I have had yet to explore is how my faith and who I am becasue of it can enter into the classroom. I’m not here to preach to the students but only be a light for them and get them wondering what is it about Mrs. Booth that is different? On top of that, I am to be a science teacher which has even more confounding problems associated with the content that I teach. I look forward to reading more from you and know that you have a new follower!

    1. Hi, Marie! Thank you for taking the time to share your story! I love the way you phrased that: “What is it about my teacher that is different?” That is exactly what I think we should be aiming for…projecting such kindness, patience, and joy that people realize we are not just going through the motions in life but experiencing it on a much fuller level. Christ draws us to Him with His love, and hopefully we can do the same for others. 🙂

  4. i was in desperate need of teaching methods explained in bible. i have never studied bible. your explanation of what a teacher must do and the ethics were very clear and helped me a lot. i’d just like to take this opportunity to thank you for this creating this lovely page!

  5. I am so glad I found this site! I found the link to your Interview Tips page via Pinterest, but I had no idea you were a Christian too! I am a brand-new teacher, just about to start my student teaching in the fall. I have been wondering how to balance my Christian walk and witness with teaching in a public school. I feel such a burden for public school students, and I want to be a light, but I also know that legally I am restricted in what I can say. Your site is such a great resources, and I’m sure it will be a great blessing to me over the coming year. So, thank you!

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