So the school year has gotten underway, actually 5 weeks of it! Over these last couple of weeks I am starting to better understand 2 things… the classroom and the culture.

I’ve heard parents with multiple children tell me, often times you can’t raise your children the same way. Each child is different and sometimes what you did with the first child doesn’t work with the next child. You have to find out what works for each child and do that. I am starting to feel the same way about last year’s class and this year’s class. I’ve tried to require the same things and have the same expectations from both classes and it hasn’t worked. I have had to adjust my way of thinking and what I’ve allowed this year in the classroom. I have had to get creative, I have had to find ways to relieve stress, I have had to remind myself that I cannot do this on my own… God already knows what is going to happen and He loves each one of these children and has formed them in His image! I can only depend on Him for help… but I have had to remind myself of this daily.

I have also come to a better understanding of what Buddhist parents think about “Christian” education. They send their students to Logos wanting their children to get a good education and if they hear about Jesus and Christianity on the side, that’s just part of it. Part of my understanding came this week when one of my students received a progress report because he has low grades in Language Arts and Bible. I asked him what his dad would say about this report. My student said his dad would be upset about the Language Arts grade but not the Bible grade. After we spoke for a moment, he said his dad didn’t care if he memorized his weekly memory verse because his dad was not a Christian. I told my student I respected his dad and will continue to pray that God will draw him to Himself. We then had a great talk about how memorizing things helps us in the future, it’s a great skill to have. We will use this skill throughout our entire lives. If the Lord leads you to pray for my students, please do. I don’t think he is the only student who struggles with wanting to learn about Christ but not getting any support at home because the families don’t believe in Christ.

Please pray for me to know how to support my students spiritually, socially and academically. Even though this is my 9th year of teaching, I am still growing and learning more everyday. God is shaping me and molding me, sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s easy… but these first few weeks have been hard.

Ashley