“Hello, this is Finn Laursen, an Educational Consultant with Christian Educators. What’s going on, Barbara?”
I had called Christian Educators in desperation. Two months into a new job, I was really stressed out. This was my first year as a certified teacher at a Title 1 school with a mere 19% reading proficiency rate. With 140 students (9 who didn’t speak English), no mentor, and a surprise additional grade added to my schedule two days before the start of school, I felt exhausted, overwhelmed, and discouraged. My husband was worried about me, and I contemplated quitting. I wanted to stay for the students, but I didn’t know how I could.
Finn’s words ultimately were the encouragement I needed…
First, he suggested that I not quit unless I had a clear directive from the Lord. He also encouraged me to consider my teaching position as a missionary assignment.
Then, pulling from his over 40 years of experience in education as a public school teacher, counselor, principal, superintendent, and executive director of Christian Educators, Finn offered several practical tips to help me remain in the classroom.
Tip #1: Set boundaries to protect your time and peace.
I admitted that the job was consuming too much of my personal life. I routinely worked 20-plus hours of overtime, and I was burning out. I decided that from that point forward, I would set a time to leave work each day and schedule time for rest and fun.
Tip #2: Set Spirit-led goals.
I have always admired teachers who gave their all to the job, but a closer look at their personal lives revealed the cost. I realized that God hadn’t asked me to sacrifice my health and well-being. Instead, He was calling me to listen for His still small voice to set Spirit-led goals that accomplish His plans and purposes.
Tip #3: Remember that the Lord prioritizes positive impact on students, not perfect lesson plans.
While lesson plans are, of course, important, I wondered if they needed to be as elaborate and detailed as I was making them. Instead of spending so much time creating the “perfect” lesson plans, I could spend more time seeking His wisdom for creative ways to meet the unique needs of my students.
Tip #4 Focus on the ultimate goal—loving students, one by one.
I recalled an idea I had heard from TOV contributor Dave Stuart Jr. in a Teach 4 the Heart podcast—he suggested keeping a roster on a clipboard and checking off names after genuinely connecting with each student for 1-3 minutes. I planned to start doing this immediately, knowing this was an attainable goal I could easily implement.
Tip #5 Pray and be in the Word.
At home, I could turn off social media, set aside time for prayer, and go to bed sooner to help me be alert for morning devotion time. At school, I could keep Scripture before me throughout the day and shut my door at lunch for quiet prayer time. I could also use CE resources to start an educator LIFT group, Bible study, or prayer gathering if I could find others who wanted to join me.
__________
I returned to school with a plan. I let some things go and, eventually, dropped my weekly overtime to five hours. The students still learned, and my teaching observation scores remained high. I connected with students before and during the last 5 minutes of class. I also closed my door at lunch to listen to worship music. And at the end of the day, I set an alarm for when I would leave, and I left.
I wasn’t perfect. I made mistakes and worked to correct and learn from them. Through it all, Christian Educators was behind me with consultants, like Finn, a phone call away.
