Stories
A Parent’s Thanks
Five years ago, I first heard the words Educational Coaching Methodology. They came from my youngest son’s new teacher during the presentation meeting for the 1st grade, Professor Susana Garcês. We didn’t see her wide smile behind the mask, but we felt the warmth of an overflowing sentiment during that presentation: love…
An Unfinished Testimony
We are subject to many pressures as we serve to bring the loving presence of God into our schools. This often calls for courage and faith to take steps into areas where we do not see the outcome immediately, especially when it comes to the emotion and struggle required to practice godly values. J, a Christian teacher from Brno in Czechia, is one of those who has not avoided this challenge. Her school is known for being welcoming to students who come out of different…
Memories as a Student
When I was thirteen, there was communism in our country. Our teachers had to speak about atheist ideology at school. Some of them reached a very high level in that. One day there occurred an interesting event. The teacher of History (who was a good atheist) asked us about our faith, and tried to prove that God doesn’t exist. One of my classmates answered bravely…
Tribute to a Faithful Servant
Like many of you, I first met John at a EurECA conference. I liked him immediately, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, because he was Irish and as well as having a wonderful accent, he also possessed a fittingly Irish sense of humour. Secondly, because he was so genuinely interested in me, and the things I was interested in…
A Real “Aha!” Moment
A Geologist was trying to teach me how to view a black and white aerial photograph of Norway as more than the flat lines and shading it appeared to be. He instructed me to place two nearly identical photographs so that they overlapped slightly. I was then to peer through a view finder. As I did this I fell silent, struggling to see more than I had without the instruction…
Prayer Changes Things
I’d like to tell you about one of the teachers in a school where I was head-teacher. Although not her real name, I’ll call her Kristin. Whenever I spent time in Kristin’s classroom, it clearly had a different ‘feel’ to it than many others. Not only did a sense of order and purpose exist, but the students behaved differently. There was a definite sense of teamwork amongst the class members…
Relating to Students
At the beginning of the school year I took over an English class. I had taught them Home Economics when they were in Year 5. So I knew most of them from that time. There was a new student in this class, about 13 years old. I didn’t know her name. She wore a nice orange crocheted hat. Now NOBODY is allowed to wear a hat in class, and teachers have to enforce this rule…
Working With Colleagues
After several years of working in a primary school, first as a class teacher and later as a remedial teacher, I trained to become the head for teaching quality at the school. The course prepared me to be with teachers in class and advise them on their work with children. Over a few years, this became more and more a coaching responsibility and more focused on how teachers relate with children. This led me to reflect increasingly on my own practices, how I carried out my own work and how I related with my colleagues…
Teaching Teachers
An outstanding headteacher of one of our church schools shared his story about how he came to be a head of a church school and how he approached his leadership position. His faith was part of his story and the motivation for what he does. The headteacher’s story prompted open discussion about personal faith over lunch. The afternoon session was on what it means to be…
The Bible in the Classroom
As part of GCSE Religious Studies, I was helping students navigate the Tear Fund website. My intention was to investigate different strategies they employed for tackling global poverty. Part way through, one student asked to e-mail the regional organiser. She had obviously been moved by the material and sought out a way to act in response. One thing led to another. With friends, she very swiftly coordinated a fund-raising activity and invited the whole school to an assembly during which they presented the cheque. Something had been touched in her that lesson…
When I Was a Younger Teacher
Of the memories I have from the classroom, there is one that has left a brighter mark in my life as a teacher. It happened during my first year as a teacher. The school was located in a poor neighbourhood, where a large number of students were from broken families. There were difficult cases in this school…
A School Called “Narnia”
The Christian school called Narnia (named after C. S. Lewis’s stories) is one of God’s wonders of the 21st century – at least for us, Slovak evangelical Christians. It was created 11 years ago as the second evangelical school in Slovakia. The name Narnia should allow the wider public to see the school as an open space, not only for children from evangelical families but any families in the city…