Devotional Thoughts
Back to School Thoughts for 2020-21
Go With What You Know
Deuteronomy 4:1 - 9
Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
As we prepare for the new school year, I'm reminded of this Scripture passage. Times of uncertainty, times of transition, times of the establishment of new routines and procedures, and times of stepping out beyond struggles are all reflected here in chapter 4of Deuteronomy. This is not unlike what teachers are facing at this moment. We have just endured (survived; suffered; dragged; you pick your verb) a grueling time as a nation, as teachers and as members of different communities. The pandemic has not escaped influencing, inconveniencing, inflicting (and any other in verb you want to include here) every single person on the planet. We have isolated, distanced, adjusted and worked to create some type of normal living amid uncertainty and fear. I can't think of any time in my life that something has been so universally true.
For Israel, they were transitioning, and God sent a reminder to them. Don't forget what you learned, and go with what you know. Oh, and by the way, teach them to your kids and grandkids. As a teacher, I need to focus on my class. All of the technology that I have made a point to learn over the last few years has now come into play for people who have not been on the learning journey with me. I hope to share a lot of that in a simple way here on this blog. However, one thing I do know, good teaching is good teaching. Whether or not you are a tech wizard or a tech newbie, good teaching is not being replaced with technology. We still need to bring our best selves to our students whether we are armed with tech tools and a camera, or a mask and a whiteboard, or a combination thereof. Nothing can replace what we know.
We still need to focus on teaching our content, and teaching with integrity and character, while encouraging both in our students. We need to watch how we react to the pandemic and its issues and be certain that we are taking the students along a track that will bring them to a proper destination. Much of what I am reading these days is fraught with anger and fear and selfishness. I don't want to transmit that to my students.
I want to convey that God loves them -- all of them-- and has a plan (a right track, if you will) for them that will result in blessings for them as they seek to honor Him. I want them to know the joy of living, not the fear of living in the shadow of death.
As a family, this weekend, we were facing a hurricane and direct hit, which has materialized into a very minor tropical storm with little affect where we are, thankfully. We were laughing as a family (via a socially distant text, of course) about a meme that kind of expressed the mindset of the group. Normally, we are all making certain we have all of the survival supplies (none of which is toilet paper, I might add) and intensely ensuring that all of our households are set with the requirements of the hurricane zone life. We still invited those with less stable housing to come over, we still had water, batteries, gasoline and first aid supplies, but we lacked the intensity. The meme said this: "You know 2020 has been a total disaster when a hurricane is headed directly at you and you're like....meh." We all laughed and said, "That's it!"
In seriousness, we need to be sure that we are not conveying to students that life is not worth living at a level of excellence because everything is in disarray. We need to ensure that we convey that they have a reason to study, to learn and to progress, and that they have a future that will be waiting for someone who is well prepared. We need to find the way to link them to the important things in life, to learn the lessons from the isolation and to give their best in all that they do.
This year, my theme is railroad travel and staying on the right track, so prepare yourself for many analogies with trains this year, but in this case, it applies. You are at a crossroads. What kind of teacher will you be this year?
As for me, I plan to be someone who holds what they learned in their heart, and conveys it to the students. Wherever God is, you know that you are in his care, and since He is everywhere, we know we are in his care. We can't look at circumstances, we have to look at the Creator. Stay on the right track!
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