Loving God, Even In a Pandemic

It's been a while! It's true that I'd like to be able to blog twice a week like so many fantastic teachers out there, but I've never been ready for that kind of commitment! But that's okay. That's the kind of freedom you have when you're doing it for free.

Here's a little update since the worldwide pandemic hit! Last March, like much of America, my community went into quarantine. My school went to soft-closure, meaning we were teaching and learning remotely. That lasted for the rest of the school year, with our 2020 graduating class having a modified commencement ceremony with limited guests and rigid social distancing in place. 

In the fall, we were back to school face-to-face until partway through November, when a new quarantine was put in place. That time around, I came down with COVID, along with my whole family. I'm so thankful that none of us had very bad symptoms. The worst side-effect was probably the debilitating tiredness. I'd think, "I should really do the dishes," and then my body would respond, "Yeah, right."

After a second round of quarantine in the first semester of 2020/2021, I was ready for life to return to normal. Okay, that still hasn't happened yet. Currently, my school is teaching and learning face-to-face again, crossing fingers that it can be this way for the rest of the year. With just five weeks to go, the end is in sight! 

I love the tee shirts that say, "I taught during a worldwide pandemic. What's your superpower?" This past year and a half has certainly proven our mettle as educators, spouses, parents, friends, and community members. For some of us, it's taken a major toll. Never have we needed each other more. Never in my lifetime (well, since 9/11) have we collectively cried out to God in greater desperation. I for one know that God was there for me. 

Some of the scariest times have revealed the greatest blessings. When the grocery shelves were bare of flour and toilet paper and tissues, God provided for my family. We never ran out. When I feared my family getting sick, we got sick mildly and recovered uneventfully. Of course, that is not the case for some we care about. It's tempting to question God in these dark times. 

All right, so question Him. He invites us to do so. Will we continue to believe that He loves us? 

Amy 

FREE Conference to check out: 

Idaho Coaching Network's all-online statewide conference 

The theme this year is Passion & Purpose

Summer Reading to Energize Your Teaching

It takes most teachers a good chunk of the summer to recharge their batteries enough to even want to think about school in the fall. For me, the P20 conference in mid-July is my turning point each year. After sitting in on keynotes and breakout sessions by impassioned speakers, my head is filled with strategies to try in the classroom.

After that turning point, I'm ready to pick up a few good books on teaching. Here are some picks that will give you that needed boost of energy heading into back-to-school time.

Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess

A couple of years ago, I attended Burgess's keynotes at the P20 conference in Twin Falls. This passionate educator uses the acronym PIRATE to inspire teachers to teach with creativity every day for student engagement and achievement. As the book's Amazon page claims, you'll learn how to:

•  Tap into and dramatically increase your passion as a teacher
•  Develop outrageously engaging lessons that draw students in like a magnet 
•  Establish rapport and a sense of camaraderie in your classroom
•  Transform your class into a life-changing experience for your students 

As a writer, I'm always looking for ways to increase the suspense in my prose. Turns out, suspense is vital for student engagement, too. Burgess walks you through it in a not-scary way, even (and especially) if you think you're "not creative."

Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., and Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S.

I'm currently reading this 2019 book, and I'm taking careful notes on the research-based "power tools" and how to use them in my teaching. It's so refreshing to learn that cognitive science shows that many teaching strategies we're already using are dead-on, but there are ways to leverage the science of learning to increase student understanding far beyond our expectations. I highly recommend this book for all teachers in all disciplines and grade levels. You can view excerpts from the book here!

Unlocking English Learners' Potential by Diane Staehr Fenner and Sydney Snyder

This one's on my to-be-read list. Even though my small district has a low population of English learners, we need practical tools to support each student as he or she learns. This fall I'll be presenting a professional development refresher on strategies for teaching ELs to my school staff. While I could just use last year's slideshow as a springboard, I want to dig deeper and have plenty of information and research at the ready. Not to mention energizing my presentation! If any of you have read this book, tell us what you think.


Please share in the comments any great teacher books you have found energizing!


For more summer reads, check out these posts:

Who Is My Neighbor? Better Information Means Better Compassion
Words To Live By, A New Book By Dalene Parker and Linda Gilden
Conference Time and A Few Good Books
Balance and Boundaries

Visit my store, Brevity, on Teachers Pay Teachers and follow me, Amy, on Goodreads!

Shoveling a Path Through the Snowdrifts for New Teachers

"The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." --II Timothy 2:2

Record snowfall, sub-zero temps, high winds. . .the perfect recipe for a snow day. My southern Idaho district has had a few of them this year--five, to be exact--and the weather forecast indicates prime conditions for another snow day tomorrow. Some of my fellow teachers are sick to death of snow. And it has been inconvenient. But then, I know a farmer who prays every year for just such an "inconvenient snow" to give moisture for the summer's crops. This year, she sure saw her prayers answered!

Yesterday, I uncharacteristically picked up a shovel and cleared a path through some three feet of snow (deeper in places where the wind had drifted it) to the woodshed. The experience reminded me how wimpy I really am (had to take a break half-way through, and by the time the path was clear, I was so tired I didn't know if I could survive the actual carrying-the-wood part). How much more grateful I am today for my wood fire because of the effort I went to to get it.

Now, my three kids can use the path I cleared. This morning they each brought me an armload of wood from the shed--something they would not have been able to do if I had continued to ignore the arduous chore of shoveling that path.

In teaching, sometimes, we need someone to clear a path for us, too. As a young teacher, I often found myself struggling with classroom management, organization, or maintaining student engagement. Teachers with far more experience offered a listening ear and the much-needed use of their tool-kits at the moment when I was most frustrated. God placed compassionate, skilled mentors in my life who had shoveled that path, clearing the way for me to find success in the classroom. I'm so grateful!

If you've been teaching for fewer than ten years, you probably don't feel like an "expert" yet. Maybe you never will, because teaching is a constantly changing world, and wise teachers know they must continue to learn and grow throughout their careers. But even with a few school years under your belt, you have the needed perspective to help someone newer than you.

In fact, you might already have put in the grunt work to clear one of these paths for new teachers:

• Identifying priorities in work and in life
• Aligning lessons to standards
• Lesson planning
• Creating effective plans for subs
• Communicating with parents
• Meeting the needs of diverse learners
• Implementing character education or other program
• Getting the most out of professional development
• Planning for efficient use of prep time
• Using formative assessments effectively
• Reflecting on successes and growth areas

You've been down that path. You had a tough time, and it was work. Real work. Now it's time to take on the role of a mentor and help someone else get through the same snowdrift.

What "snowdrifts" could you help another teacher through? What drifts do you need help shoveling? Share in the comments, then go get that shovel!


Image credit: The Graphics Fairy, a wonderful site for vintage clip art!

Teaching as Calling

Matthew 10:5-10

"These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support." (NASB)

Many times in my teaching career, I've wondered about God's call on my life and my conviction that teaching is part, but not all, of that calling. There's a part of me that longs to speak the Gospel to the lost and to edify the body of Christ more actively. Working in the public school environment, it's difficult to see how I'm doing either. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm not preaching, I'm not healing the sick, I'm not raising the dead, I'm not cleansing any lepers or casting out demons!" It takes faith to believe that He is, even so, at work in me and through me as a light to a dark world.

Teachers are often asked to consider their motivation for teaching. Are you in it for the money (Okay, that's just a joke. Moving on.)? Are you in it to help others? Are you in it for personal fulfillment? Are you in it for love?

I've often struggled to answer these questions honestly, even for myself. Saying I do it for the students is not enough for me. I do see in my interactions with students the gifts that God has given me--and many areas where the gifts need to be matured. God has given me a talent for teaching. He is also reminding me constantly that I have more to learn about using that talent effectively. The students are part of that process. They challenge me, motivate me, puzzle me, entertain me, put one over on me, annoy me, charm me, and teach me. The students are both my frustration and my delight every day.

Saying I teach for personal fulfillment may be closer to the truth. Every day I see God's blessing in giving me a profession that is intellectually stimulating. I am able to read and write and converse and challenge myself and be challenged by others, and I get paid to do it! I think, I grow, I change, I laugh, I cry, I learn. I learn to depend on God. Now that's a life I want to live, job or no job.

But there's more to my motivation for teaching. The way I view my life in Christ, teaching is one of the gifts God is developing in me as part of a larger whole. It is part of the journey and part of the destination, but there is more. What is that "more"? God knows. It's an overall path, set out with purpose and care before I ever came to be. I hope you know this sense of God's purpose for your life. It is written all over the Bible, intertwined with themes of God's love and wisdom and grace.

What if I don't have a clear sense of where I'm going on this path God has given me to walk? That's the essence of faith--"the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1 NASB). I believe God is preparing me for intense ministry. It doesn't matter what that ministry is--He knows, and He is already watching over it. Teaching? It's part of the preparation for service. It is also service now. And there are some parts of the puzzle that I can know now.

For one, I am ministering to "lost sheep." Matthew 10:42 says,

“And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Teach those kids. Give them a drink. God is watching over these simple actions of service. Do them in His name.

For another, I have received freely. "Freely give." In teaching in the public school, I show the world that God has given freely to me, and that the great gift of His salvation prompts me to give freely to others through sacrificial teaching. And teaching is a sacrifice, or else no one would ask why we do it.

For another, I know it's not for the money anyway. "Do not acquire gold." "Or even two coats." It's not about the paycheck. The paycheck is not enough. God is enough. His salvation is enough. I will share it however I can.

Don't be frustrated or ashamed when you wrestle at times with doubts about your motivation for teaching. Don't leave the profession simply because you can't see the good you are doing. As Christians, we ought to look at the world as a place where the invisible is more important than the visible.

In Colossians 2, Paul urges believers to think less about functions of earthly society--the celebration of feasts and what other people think about our celebration or abstinence from celebration--and more about the world to come:

"Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."

Other people may concern themselves about why you do what you do. Your task is to leave their judgment to God and set your eyes on the invisible--the coming kingdom of God. Ask Him to give you peace about your calling. He will be faithful to complete it in you.