Tips for Teachers

By Mrs Alison Wheldon

Posted on 05 August 2009

Beyond Caring...

What makes your school, or more specifically, your classroom, distinctively Christian?

I ask this question as I travel around visiting Anglican schools and invariably one of the responses (along with many others) is "We care about our students here."

It would be fair enough to assume that all schools care about their students. In fact, I would challenge you to find a school that doesn't care about its students! We all know about "Duty of Care", which is a legal requirement, and any teacher or school employee who draws breath would know of the possible consequences for not carrying out due care with their students. But we need to think and act beyond the policies and legalities.

So when we are considering ‘caring for our students', and really dig away at what that means for Christian schools, I believe what we are trying to say is "We love our students here."

Now, let's face it, we all have those students in our classrooms that are difficult to love, and yet as Christians who are teachers, we strive to be like Jesus. In John 13:34, Jesus talked to his disciples about loving each other, just as he has loved us. He went on to say that it is by carrying out this action that people will know we are his disciples.

How do we do that? How do we love our students, especially the ‘unlovable' ones? We can't do it in our strength. It can only be done through praying.

So what makes your classroom distinctively Christian? Are you praying regularly for each of your students, not just offering up a "Help me God!" when that ‘special one' pushes your buttons?

My encouragement is to not just care for your students. Work on loving them. Start by praying for them!

Watch this space for some upcoming features on practical tips for praying for your students. I'll also include some true stories of how prayer has worked for other teachers, to encourage and inspire you.