Politically Correct

More Than a Number, Day 2

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15 (ESV)

When my second year of teaching came around, I stood in front of a room of fourth graders. That first day, I taught them procedures, how to line up alphabetically, where to stow lunchboxes, and where supplies resided in the classroom. We practiced at different times during the morning and then lunch time arrived. As they quickly found their places, one of the young ladies raised her hand. “Can we say the blessing?”

              I taught at a public school. The separation of church and state had been drilled into me during my educational courses. But I also remembered my history teacher in eighth grade pounding the Bill of Rights into our minds. Every person who was a United States citizen had certain rights, and Amendment One afforded the freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition. This young lady could express her freedom if she liked. I prayed internally and asked God to give me the correct words.

              “If you would like to say a blessing, you can ask your classmates if they would like to join you.”

              She had no one who opposed the blessing and so began our daily lunch prayer led by her and other students. Personally, I was ecstatic. I was also encouraged by the boldness of this young lady.

              As the year progressed, we came to the chapter in science about evolution. The title I wrote on the board was The Theory of Evolution. I knew evolution was a point of discussion and disagreement in religious circles, but I also knew I needed to tread lightly with my opinions in the public school.

              That afternoon, a parent of another child in my class called me, concerned that I was teaching evolution to their child when they believed in the creation story. I listened and assured the parent I would find a way to teach both. But how? As I planned the lessons for the rest of the week, I revisited the title of the lesson. The word theory popped off the page and that’s when I knew what to do.

              The next day, I wrote the word theory on the board and asked the students to discuss with their shoulder partner what they thought the word meant. After allowing talk-time, I took answers from different students, and we created a class definition for the word theory. We decided a theory was a belief or assumption based on real facts, but had not been one hundred percent proven true.

              I asked them about the theory of evolution and then asked if there were any other theories about how the world was created. The child of the mom who called the night before shot into the air. “The Creation Theory,” he exclaimed. I asked him to tell the class about that theory. Then I gave the class a research assignment to see how many different theories about the creation of the world existed. We then made a list and over the period of several weeks, we examined each theory and the evidence that backed it up.

              In a politically correct world, teachers must be cautious, but we must also be creative. My students learned how to research, but they also learned that just because a teacher teaches something doesn’t mean they have to believe it. Every person has a right to believe as they choose.

Do the Heart Work

1.      What are some creative ways to empower students to voice their religious beliefs with confidence in the classroom?

2.      How can we be in the world but not of the world in our classrooms?

3.      Are you more driven by being politically correct or receiving a “well done” from Jesus? Explain.

Digging Deeper

1.      Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  1 John 2:15-17 (ESV)

2.      Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV)

3.      “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15:18-19 (ESV)

We live in a time when being a teacher is difficult. Even teachers in the private Chrisitan school have to tread lightly on certain topics. But at the end of the day, we need to decide who is going to be signing off on our work. Is it the world? Or is it Jesus? And which one would be more pleased with our behavior?

If You Get Spare Time

              Examine your motives. Are you afraid to share about Jesus? Are you empowered to share about Him? What keeps you quiet? What makes you vocal? Do others know that you believe in Jesus? If we truly love others, do we care about their souls more than being politically correct?