My children started school today. It is always a mixture of joy and sadness for me. This was my first summer at home with the kids full time. It was great...but I was also ready for school to start. I do better when I have a schedule and there was very little schedule to the summer! On the other hand, I wasn't very eager to watch any of them step up to the next grade. My oldest is now a Junior and really cutting the apron strings. My middle daughter is in her last year of elementary school and starting to shorten the strings (We did let her get her ears pierced this summer, so I probably have one more week of hero status that I will savor.) My son started third grade--the grade in which my girls discovered mom isn't really that smart- especially in math. "Go ask Dad about math" they advise one another.
Yes, it's a real love/hate relationship that I have with the first day of school. The kids always watch to see if I am going to cry when I drop them off on the first day. Inevitably it happens!
I imagine many teachers sometimes feel the same way. The teachers I know don't teach for money or fame. It just doesn't come with the job. They love what they do, but are constantly disappointed by lack of parent involvement, the politics and policies of the district, or lack of resources.
Did you know....
The average teacher spends $500 of his or her own money.
There are usually 40 different languages spoken in the average school district.
Many schools and teachers are under pressure to educate kids who don't ever finish the school year.
As the school year begins, I'd like to share with you a great community service initiative by churches in Omaha, Neb. called Embrace Teachers. Through Embrace Teachers, local churches "adopt" the teachers at one or more schools to bless them in their efforts to love and educate children.
Not only has Embrace Teachers blessed the Omaha School district with love and kindness, but they have blessed all of us in church leadership by taking the time to record their processes, and experiences in a resource set. The postman brought mine today and it is a treaure chest of good ideas on how the local church can bless the local school. The DVD includes inspirational testimonies from teachers and volunteers in the program, shows a sample of their promotional video used in Omaha, and outlines the values of Embrace Teachers (plus more). The CD has the Embrace Teachers Handbook in both PDF and Word formats, making it very easy for your church to duplicate the program in your area.
If your church is looking for a great way to love and bless your city, I highly recommend starting with schools. A great way to do that is to impliment a program like Embrace Teachers.
Embrace Teachers Core Values:
- Prayer
- Being Salt and Light
- Loving and Honoring Teachers
- Gathering together Pastors who have a Heart for the city
- De-emphasizing individual congregations and uplifting the whole Church
- Building Credibility- Promise less but do more
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