I am a social studies teacher at a public middle school, and I love it. My seventh graders truly bring joy to my life. Don’t get me wrong, I do have those days, and more honestly, those students, but on the whole, I love my job.
As you may imagine, God has taught me a lot about patience and self-control in working with 12-13 year olds, but something that He has impressed upon me even more is that in all things, He is in control.
I struggled with my students a lot last year, and I was in a morning prayer group with some other teachers, when God reminded me that He was in control of even my class roles. This was such basic truth that I had overlooked. I became in awe of God’s presence over all things, and was humbled to know that I had the students I did for a reason. The students who I struggled with, those that seemingly despised me, those that didn’t care about my class at all, and those that loved and respected me. This changed the way I thought about each child and the way that I interacted with them. Knowing that every last one of them was in my room for a reason made me suddenly aware of the great opportunity and responsibility I had to serve them well.
Let this be an encouragement to you that wherever you spend your days, not only is God with you through it all, but He intentionally has you where you are.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Thanks for sharing Hana. I so often forget the basic truths of God. I’m so glad you love what you do. I don’t think I could be a teacher to that age group.
April 19th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
So true! Thanks for the reminder. I can’t imagine students not liking you…you’re so likable!