A recent article from the magazine, Christian School Education caught my eye. I found myself cheering the author along as she discussed what it would be like if she lost the freedom of declaring the truths of God in her class…even for one day. The writer is Robin Eckel, a second grade teacher at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis, Indiana. In part, here’s what she had to say:

If I could not declare God’s truth in my class, “I could still smile at the students and let them know that I care about them. I could still teach great lessons of phonics, language arts, math, social studies and science. I could even help my students to treat each other nicely according to the Golden Rule. But there are many things that would not happen if I could not present God in my classroom.

The prayer book would be gone, and students would not be allowed to share praises and concerns to be given to God. I would not be allowed to pray aloud for wisdom to guide my students.
Each student would not be told that she or he is unique and valuable because our mighty God created each student in His image.
We would not be able to sing and memorize God’s Word and know that we can move our bodies in worship to our God.
Language would just be words instead of a gift from God to be used and learned with care and responsibility. Math would just be numbers instead of patterns established by God who does not change.
We would not learn to think about what we read, to look for biblical truth in all kinds of literature and informational texts. We would not be able to say that history has any purpose or direction given by a sovereign God.
I would not be able to encourage the students to be creative because they were created by a creative Creator.
We would not be able to express aloud our thankfulness for the food, clothes, homes and families that God has given us.”

Robin ended her article by saying how grateful she is that she is able to teach in a Christian school that stands on God’s word as truth. So am I.

This week might be a great time to thank the Lord if your children are or have been given the privilege of learning at the feet of a Godly teacher who has the freedom to include the Lord (out loud) in every aspect of the school day.

And maybe, you could reach out and help someone else make that happen. It is an entirely different educational experience incredibly worth pursuing!

By His Grace and for His Glory,
Sherry L. Worel