February 25, 2010
This month we have been exploring together the treasure of relationships, including friendships that our children develop and nurture in school. Teachers can oftentimes be counted on as a friend to your child, but it is obviously not an equal relationship, and cannot be allowed to interfere with the respect and professional distance which a teacher- student relationship demands. However, there are some lessons that a good instructor can teach that are essential elements for friendship:
- A good teacher helps their students learn to make decisions, to lead and follow, to become considerate and loyal. Good teachers can also help teens learn how to recover from mistakes. Whether or not your student knows it, that teacher is your child’s friend.
- A good teacher de-emphasizes popularity as the primary source of value for their students. They can help a young person find other more essential values, and build confidence that will protect from peer pressure. The teacher who does that is your child’s friend.
- A good teacher encourages quality over quantity, with appropriate pride in a job well done. A teacher who brings out your son’s or daughter’s best work and qualities is your child’s true friend.
- A good teacher will let your child experience the twists and turns of real life, while remaining safe. Kids need time among themselves to learn how to develop their own rules, to share and take turns, to play fair and square, and to recover from bruised egos. A teacher who is truly a friend to your child will not always jump in with ready-made solutions or criticism. Sometimes, they just listen when things go wrong.
- Finally, a good teacher who is truly a friend to your child will help them see and appreciate that they are “one-of-a-kind.” They will help your child explore what it means to have different tastes and opinions than other people. They will offer respect, and help them learn to value the ways they are special in God’s sight.
Teachers naturally want to see children succeed and become the young men and women of God that their Creator intended. Most of our teachers at Heartland Christian Academy have been here for many years, and have seen their earliest students grow up, and even bring their own children to our hallowed halls. More often than not, the investment of these godly, prayerful teachers pays off, and they speak with pride of the boys and girls who are now grown, and who sometimes come back to visit the teachers that they now know to be their true friends.
2010 marks the 30th anniversary of Heartland Christian Academy in this community. It was founded on the premise that the godly relationships with peers and mentors that we have been examining this month make a difference. Watch for upcoming events celebrating the Christian heritage of this fine school. You can go to heartlandbemidji.org for updates. Come and be a part of a place where your child can be introduced to their best and truest friend: Jesus Christ.
Our broadcast today was sponsored by Northern Security, celebrating ten years of protecting our Northland communities.