Fully Trained By: Karen Ingram

Teacher / Disciple

The art of teaching is a privilege and a monumental responsibility to anyone who undertakes it. I thank God for calling me to serve Him in this unique way.  When I reminisce over the events of my life, I am sure that I didn't choose to be a teacher; I was called.  While I was making other professional plans, my LORD God exposed me to people and provided me with opportunities that ordered my steps towards a life of academic service.

 As a child and teen, I participated in numerous thespian activities from acting in plays, competing in oratorical contest, and debates. I also cultivated interests that helped me develop limited skills in various areas like, dance, knitting, sports, musical instruments etc… I think I changed interests almost as much as I changed my hair styles, which was every two weeks.

When I observed others who were experts in a certain skill, especially child prodigies, I wondered why God had not gifted me in that way. Sometimes I would call myself a “Jack of All Trades”. Little did I know, this was the perfect characteristic for an educator.  The LORD God will set you up and hook you up.

My last 32 years in education have allowed me to witness instructors who were called to their vocation and worked each day with a sense of purpose and urgency. Christian educators understand their tasks to know what students need to learn, develop best instructional practices to teach the information, and evaluate the students’ levels of acquired knowledge. 

They study to develop their craft as a foundation for this process, and understand their advantage as a Christian Educator.  Their relationship with the LORD God connects them to a divine power that leads their thinking and strategy implementation even when they are not aware of it. 

 The name, LORD, indicates a special relationship between God and his people as shepherd and sheep.  The name, God, indicates the incomparable, divine power that He affords his children as joint heirs with his son, Jesus Christ. As a practicing Christian educator, I understand that the study of His Word and prayer will help me do as God wants me to do. I communicate with students, colleagues, and parents while consistently praying the following:

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Maybe some of our classrooms today are missing Christian educators that have access to the throne. We are convinced that we need only to study educational research, learning styles, and instructional strategies from the gurus of education.  When I worked as an instructional coach, my colleagues and I exhausted ourselves providing hours and hours of professional development based on these gurus.

Upon visiting the classrooms, we sometimes found a disconnect between what was learned in professional development and what was practiced in the classroom.  I have often wondered what state the educational system would be in if we hadn't allowed the Holy Trinity to be hijacked from our school campuses.

What if we used the techniques of the ultimate master teacher, Jesus Christ, as the corner stone for Professional Development as we explain and model the information from our present-day instructional experts?  It is my prayer that teachers will join me as we analyze the instructional practices of my master teacher mentor, Jesus, and highlight excellent Christian teachers who have made a difference in the lives of their students. 

I propose that we consider teaching students from elementary through post-secondary academic skills and under gird this instruction with Christian principles.  Let us not forget the words of James 3:1 - Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.