Ready

Happy Labor Day.  And if like I you are a public school teacher, then you think of Labor Day as New Years Eve.  Except that you go to bed early and get up and go to work the next day.  And there is no party in Times Square.  And no Bowl Games.

So maybe this isn't the best analogy that I have ever constructed, but I'm not giving up.  For a teacher, each new school year is a fresh start.  Class begins on day 1 and with that is a fresh of goals and intentions for the new school year.  You might even call them, Resolutions.  And like the resolutions made on January 1, many school year plans won't work out.  But if you're not optimistic on Labor Day, you are in for a long year.

 

Are you ready?

As a teacher, that is the question during the month of August.  If I had a dollar for every time that I've been asked that question, I could fight the chronic under funding of public education.  In other words, I get asked that a lot.  I think that it's mostly a way for someone to make small talk or to commiserate in my expected misery.  And they always seem a bit taken aback when I give them my answer.  YES.  

Sure, I enjoyed the break like anyone else.  But it's time to start.  I like what I do.  I am ready.  There will be challenges in the year to come, but that's the job.  So ready or not it's time to start.  And I am ready.

Over the years I have noticed that there are two types of people who go into education.  One type is the person who likes young people and wants to help them grow and develop.  They want to challenge the students to be the best version of themselves that they can be.  

The other type is someone who likes being the smartest person in the room.  This group seems to get more satisfaction out of showing the class how clever they can be and less satisfaction out of their students' achievements.   The problem is that if we lift ourselves up, in showing off our own cleverness, it has the tendency to put others down.  Fortunately, these people tend not to last.

As Christians, we need to make sure that our walk is more like the former and less like the latter.  We need to be focused more on living a life that is outwardly focused so that others can see God's love for them through the actions of His people.  There is no prize for being the most religious person in the room.  And putting someone down is no way to lift them closer to God.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris,

So it's time to get started.  For all of my friends in teaching, both those I know and those I don't, may you have a blessed year.  May you have an impact on your students and may your efforts show a ten fold return in the lives of your students.

And to all of us, may we be committed in the months to come to show God's grace through the way we live each day.

Are you ready?