Photo credit: Oula Lehtinen
What does it mean?
All year long you’ve taught them, coached them, and discplined them. You’ve given patient reminders and made phone calls home. You’ve forgiven and trusted.
And they still misbehave just like before. It’s as if nothing has changed. Did you even make a dent?
What does it mean?
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Photo: Casey Konstantin
Do your students cheat?
Do they copy one another’s work and pass it off as their own?
Naw….naw…. Never!
If your students are anything like mine (sinners), then you probably struggle with cheating. And while this behavior is entirely theirs, perhaps there are ways we can teach them to make the right decision more often — and for the right reasons.
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Credit: TheEffectiveEdge
There is no greater evil in the world than meetings. These 1-hour gifts from Satan seem to last forever, sucking our souls dry of all that sustains and blesses.
There’s always the monologue, brought to you courtesy of the person desperate for an audience (Hey, start a blog, I say….). And then there’s the mandate, some new devilry handed down by the Powers That Be, adding to your already stressed load. And when enough just can’t be enough, there’s sure to be the haters, the band of clucking hens and roosters that perpetuate the great hypocrisy of all teachers – they hate students who talk out of turn, but have no problem doing it themselves (gotta admit, I’m really guilty here).
Thankfully, both Common Sense and the Common Word have some strategies we can employ to make it through. Here are 5 of them.
Filed under Uncategorized, YoMister!
Photo Credit: Hamed Saber
Have you ever lost someone?
Two days ago, Ronnie withdrew from school. A charismatic young man who calls me “dawg”, Ronnie had the marks of a man hiding in the skin of a nervous, approval-seeking little boy. So I invested in him, patiently pursuing him with questions and challenges that might bring that man out for awhile.
But Ronnie got caught with weed on campus. Arrested. Jailed. He came back, but only for a few days.
Now he’s gone.
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Silent Night, Holy Night
It’s my favorite Christmas hymn. I usually sing it with a candle in my hand and tears on my cheeks.
But is it true? This beloved Christmas carol paints a picturesque fresco of the birth of the savior. It captures a moment when Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, and baby Jesus himself seemed to pause and bask in the beauty of what had happened.
I imagine a tender mother, a doting father. I see a giggling baby and sleepy cattle.
What do you see?
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This Christmas, give the (re)gift of the Gospel.
Sweaters. Socks. Knick-knacks. Wind chimes.
What is the ultimate “re-gift”?
Pets. Timeshares. Cars. Used toys.
This Christmas I want to give teachers the perfect gift they can re-gift all they want. The best part is that they can keep it themselves.
But giving this gift is extremely hard. I only know a few teachers and they’ll almost all at my own school. I’ve shared the gift with some and I’ll share it with more, but my hope is that every Teacher-Believer can receive some YoMister joy this season.
The Teacher-Believer audience is a tough one to reach, too. We’re busy. We’re relational, meaning we’re not constantly on the internet. And we’re often disconnected from the “real world” of blogs, news, and popular culture. No, we’re not entirely in a bubble, but we’re busy and we’re surrounded by the world of children.
The world moves fast and a blog for Teacher-Believers has probably passed some of us by. But the need is obvious. That’s why I wrote The Public School Gospel and am giving it away for free. Teachers need the gospel more than ever, and there is no better time than Christmas to remember how much he cares.
This is where I need you, amazing gift-givers!
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Letters from far away….
Two years ago, in mid-December 2010, my wife and I adopted a World Vision child.
His name is Sifiso. He lives in Swaziland, a forgotten land-locked nation in southern Africa. The country is ravaged by AIDS and poverty. He likes to play soccer and do well in school.
In the 24 months since adopting Sifiso, I have made sure that 24 monthly payments have made it to World Vision. We have opened at least 5 letters from him including pictures, adorable drawings, prayers, and hand-written notes. I’ve even set an alert on my phone for 5am – “Pray for Sifiso”.
Yet, in 24 months, I have written him nothing.
Filed under YoMister!
Photo Credit: Pam Brophy
We’re really good at laughing.
“Don’t worry – things will get better.”
Ha. LOL. ROFL.
We don’t even try to be that positive, most of the time.
“Maybe the politicians won’t screw up education this time around.”
“You think the kids will be better next year?”
Snort. Guffaw. Hardy-har har.
To survive the onslaught of disappointment, teachers build a cynical wall that laughs at hope and belief. There’s no room for such childishness in such a crushing field of work.
Or is there?
Sadly, we are missing a great opportunity for ourselves as teachers and believers. We are denying ourselves the chance to believe.
Filed under YoMister!
“It’s free!? Oh no, he dih-int!”
Don’t need 17 reasons? Download it here!
1. First of all, it’s free!
2. It’s called The Public School Gospel: Encouraging the Teacher’s Broken Heart.
3. It’s in PDF format, so you can view it on your computer, tablet, or smartphone!
4. It costs zero dollars and cents. Precisely.
5. It isn’t district or state-mandated – therefore it’s incredibly readable and applicable!
6. It isn’t about strategies, techniques, or methods – it’s about your heart.
7. It makes a great gift for a teacher that you know and love. You can print it, too, if you like – I don’t mind!
8. The cost to download is $0.00. The cost to sign up for YoMister email updates is $0.00/month. The cost to enjoy the grace of Jesus is, ironically, identical!
9. The font is sized large enough so you don’t have to constantly zoom on your phone. Yeah, that would annoy me, too.
10. The text is interactive – each chapter includes “Click-to-Tweet” links so you can share passages that speak to you. Look for tweets using the hashtag: #pubschoolgospel
11. If you are a newer reader, The Public School Gospel includes some of the best writing from the blog, complete with original diagrams and artwork, including “The Application for Accelerated Grading” – a must-have for the teacher with whiny students!
12. It is the most navigable and accessible eBook on the planet. Click or tap chapter titles in the Table of Contents to jump right to the chapter; at the bottom of each chapter, click or tap a link to zip right back to the Table of Contents.
13. To get this eBook, you need to: sign up for email offers, join an exclusive club, commit to reading the whole thing, share with 7 friends, come to church with me, simply click the download link!
14. We are constantly reminded of our failures in this profession. The Public School Gospel reminds you how Jesus became a failure for you, and how you are now free to live a joyful and hopeful life. You deserve such hope and joy! Claim it!
15. It will give you something to talk about in the break room other than politics, misbehaving students, and annoying colleagues. Who knows how those renewed conversations could change your life at school?
16. Some parts of it are hilarious. Teachers quickly forget how to laugh. Remind yourself.
17. IT’S FREE!!! To download, you can navigate to the book’s page here.
As always, thank you so much for reading!
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I wish every teacher was provided with a personal counselor. I’m talking about the kind of person who can peek in, observe 5 seconds of our lives, and tell us the truth we need to keep going. It would make a world of difference.
Unless you teach in Heaven’s Boarding School, this person doesn’t exist. Instead, it has to be you. You have to be the one who peeks in, makes objective notes, and who speaks into complicated realities. We need someone to help us see the forest for the trees – to see the little stones that build the mountains of work we feel crushing us.
It has to be you — and me, too. And through both of us, it’s actually going to be Jesus.
It’s the most important role we can play for each other in the workplace of a school. Continue reading
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