Teaching is not for everyone: large numbers of people assert, “It is not for me.” At the same time, it is good that there are school teachers, and that there are actually people who say, “It is for me.” Of course, there are probably few people (if any) on this earth who do not sooner or later personally experience the curse on the ground, the painful toil, the thorns and thistles, and the sweat of their brow as they eat their food (Genesis 3:17-19) including school teachers. Hence, we are not going to talk about the days we call rough, tough and “full of adversity,” when everything goes wrong, and when we wish to be left alone or go to the beach at Kuta, Waikiki, or some other pleasing place. Those days are there for all of us to be reminded of the providence of God and his Fatherly care for us in Christ. So, while school teaching is perhaps not for everyone, and while all of us have “bad” days, that should not deter anyone from considering teaching. After all, it is for some – perhaps even you.

I think teaching is for me. It has not always been like that, for at one time I envisioned becoming either a cash-cropper or a school master, at another, an astronaut, then a pilot or an onboard Boeing 747 technician, a truck driver, and even an artist, an author, or a minister – some of the typical stuff kids dream of. However, when my poetic and juvenile dreams evaporated, the one after the other, I found myself heading for a career in which I faced the other side of the classroom. Having done it now for some time, it is hard to imagine myself doing anything else. Now, when I tell stories, I can still dream of all the other things I previously envisioned on the career routes I did not take. Teachers are allowed – and in a way – are even expected to do that, as they present aspects of God’s beautiful creation, God’s work in history, and different ways to serve God to their students.

Tutor⤒🔗

Teaching is for me, but that doesn’t mean that I am good at all teaching. Years ago, when my boss, a farmer turned clothier, asked me to tutor his son in high school math “because you are in Teachers’ College,” I soon discovered my ineptitude. Just like all farmers don’t make good clothiers, not all student teachers make good math tutors. I got paid by the hour, but might have been more economically effective selling shirts, socks, ties, and business-suits!

Even now, there are some subjects that are just not my strength, and there are always times when you have to make the best of a challenging situation. One nice part of teaching is that you often “grow on the go,” and end up doing and liking things you never thought you would! Also, in many schools, there is recognition that God gave each teacher, just like each student, his or her own unique talents to develop and to serve Him. Many fine schools capitalize on teachers’ strengths as much as they can. As a teacher, you don’t need to be good at everything, and you may even have options in choosing what you do best.

Choice←⤒🔗

Talk about choice! Although some schools may advertise earlier for new or never-yet-filled positions, by gentleman’s agreement, ads usually start in the first issue in January, and peter out sometime during the spring. It is amazing how much choice there is out there, from Kindergarten, to Elementary, to High School, and even College levels! While some people prefer to focus their choice on a specific age-range (say, grade 3-4), or limit the scope of their subject area (say, grade 11-12 geography), small schools have a great deal of built-in variety and enjoyment for the esoteric few who teach there. Thus, each school has its own peculiar ways of making teaching an exciting and varied career, allowing also for growth through the ranks. Why, I even remember a university professor who started her career as a Kindergarten teacher!

Community←⤒🔗

As a teacher, one is almost automatically involved with the community. There is constant interaction with colleagues, with students, and with parents. These contacts take different forms, via an interview, the phone, little notes, or meetings; they may be pleasant, tiring, rewarding, challenging, overwhelming, painful, humbling, or exhilarating to name just a few possibilities, but there is always interaction. In a Reformed school, this communication places one in the midst of the communion of saints and all its benefits. And if, at times, it feels better to be away from the community and to go camping with family or friends at Silent Lake Provincial Park, for instance, the summer holidays provide opportunities galore to recharge one’s batteries, to step back and reflect, and to be energetic and enthusiastic about starting anew by the end of August! Some teachers use part of this time to take courses to upgrade themselves, or to improve their understanding of the “world out there” through a temporary business affiliation, but, in the new year, all of them will have new experiences and insights to share with their colleagues, their students, and their communities!

Stories←⤒🔗

Teachers have stories to tell. There are stories about the children who just couldn’t grasp a concept, and to whom, through the mediation of a teacher, the light of understanding broke through. At such times nothing else matters, and the sun shines for the rest of the day. There are the moments when you suddenly realize the tremendous growth in students as they progress from grade K to 8, then to grade 12, and then make public profession of faith. Such are the moments of joy to be savoured and to give thanks for. I love it when my former students learn a skill I don’t have and can’t imagine living without. I love it even more when we meet at the Table of the Lord.

I remember the first time I had to tell the story of Christmas to a Grade 5 class, as a student teacher. I felt profoundly privileged that I was allowed to tell the class the gospel of Christmas. I couldn’t understand why the mentor teacher wouldn’t want to do that himself! I pulled out the commentaries, the outlines, and various translations, and spent hours preparing the “Perfect Christmas Story.” I can’t remember how long the story was, but, more than anything or anyone else, I was enriched by the experience.

Privileges←⤒🔗

Teaching covenant children in a Reformed school is a string of such privileges, every day again. There are also stories of failures, and of shortcomings, and of inability to handle it all, but perhaps the greatest privilege of a teacher in a Reformed school is to encounter each day the gospel of Jesus Christ. When I mess up, I’ll have to face the dirges of the consequences, and I have to repent, but by God’s grace, I may then also continue, and plead on the work accomplished by Jesus Christ. I can yet commit the students in my care into our heavenly Father’s care. That is the best story we can tell the next generation.

That story is far more than a pious tradition of Christian schools, as Professor B. Holwerda said at a Ladies’ District Meeting in December 1941: it is the story of our confession of the Triune God. For that story our schools were established and maintained, as it penetrates every subject area and guides and teaches covenant children along the path of service to God. That service is radically different from the pursuit of a career, as the cosmos is the Lord’s, and they are the Lord’s, and because the Lord’s Holy Spirit has been promised to them. To be a parent, and to teach, is to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit. It is an awesome task. Teaching is for me. Could it be for you?