Food For Thought

I got lucky enough to go to dinner with the Kindergarten team tonight and I loved getting to hear their stories and how their classrooms are going. I know that teachers have to vent their frustrations and I do not think that these teachers did anything wrong. But the more they kept talking about problem children the more my mind kept wandering. The whole night I just kept thinking, "Lord, what is going on in these kids' lives to cause all of these behaviors in Kindergarten?" I mean a lot of the students they were telling me about either had behavior issues or low academic levels and these are some wealthy students. Then it hit me that many parents are not spending the time with their child to help them be successful. It is not the job of the school to teach students to say please and thank you...but they can reinforce it. It is not the job of the school to teach right decisions from wrong decisions...but they can reinforce it. It is not the job of the school to instill values in these students...but they can reinforce it. How tragic will this society become if public school is the only place these students hear about morals, politics, or Jesus and His saving grace (and I know they don't get to hear about that from teachers)? I believe that these children deserve to have teachers that can love on them in the name of the Lord. They deserve teachers that care what the underlying issues are instead of judging them on their behaviors. And they definitely deserve a family supporting them. Some teachers talk about students with Autism in a negative light, but they too need love and support, like any other child. It pains me to think that one day, I might forget that there is a little child behind all of those antics that desperately needs the Lord. I pray that I can hold on to this compassion as a teacher and try to help students deal with life. I heard a song playing on the radio on my way home, and it just summed all of my feelings up: "Hope is here, What a joyful noise we'll make, As we join with heaven's song...To let all the world know that Jesus saves. Raise a shout, To let all the world know that Jesus saves. Free at last, Every debt has been repaid, Broken hearts can be remade, Jesus saves, See above the storms of life, See it through the darkest nights, Jesus saves." <3 God bless!