>I was in the 12th grade and the teacher was Mr Hartman. Tall & skinny, like the best latte’s from Starbucks, Mr Hartman was full of energy. The first day of class he had us all say our names and he memorised them instantly. It was like some sort of teacher magic. I was blown away. On top of that he could do mathematical sums in his head– the kind of maths we Calculus students would have nightmares about. Thinking back, he may have simply memorised a set routine and wow his students year in and out. But even more amazing was, although he was a strict and challenging teacher, Mr Hartman taught me to appreciate maths. Not just do the sums but to appreciate the beauty and importance of maths. He helped make maths come alive.
Now obviously, in our lives, we’ve had our share of good teachers and bad teachers. Ones who inspired us, and others who seemed to have a vendetta against us. And as we have grown older and now send our children to school, we have so many expectations of the teachers. To lead, to guide, to inspire, to educate. But do we pray for them? Do we consider the difficulties they have in their jobs?
As schools begin all over the UK this week, don’t just gripe about the increase traffic, the changes to our schedules, and the pressures of the education system. Let’s pray for the teachers! Let’s lift up the education administrators!
Let’s lift up the teachers in prayer this week!