Pictured: Enid Williams, teacher at the Chicago Seventh-day Adventist School.
While I prepare for that time, like you, I have the opportunity to be in this classroom, of life. And oh, what a classroom it is! Yes, one that requires its own prescribed preparation. It is assuring to know of classrooms where God’s messengers, committed evangelist educators, provide 1,260 plus contact hours annually of educational service ministry to students, with the aim of leading them into the embrace of their Savior.
Educators learn well so we can teach, well, so that we can connect with the heart and ignite supple minds. Apostle Paul proffers a definitive charge: “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well,” Romans 12:7 (NLT).
I am reminded of the words of Ellen White that “It is not the highest work of education to communicate knowledge merely, but to impart that vitalizing energy which is received through the contact of mind with mind, and soul with soul. It is only life that can beget life.” Desire of Ages, p. 250:1
A godly example, marked by dogged determination, diligence and a desire for our students’ spiritual, personal, and academic wholeness and individual success, are what teachers in our union territory aim to provide. From our early childhood centers through grade 12, our mission is to glorify God through inspiring, Christ-centered, quality education that develop discerning, life-long learners, equipped to serve humanity. Simply put, we work to transform and inspire.
We are inspired by the dedicated service of educators charged with a higher calling to accomplish a greater good, and too, by students who lift our spirits—daily; who through their resilience, potential and scholarship remind us, sometimes years later, of why we’ve chosen this impactful profession.
You know well a prescient threat to our education system in the United States today. No, it’s not finances, which we agree is an ever-present necessity. It’s a steady and disquieting decline of the teaching workforce. I ask this question: Who will go? Who will choose to keep the flame flickering in the hearts of our children and youth to meet the embrace of their Savior, to be equipped to serve in a rapidly changing world, and confidently transition to the next phase of their educational pursuits?
As you delve into the April 2023 issue and unveil evidence of teachers whose hearts are bent towards students and their well-being, my hope is that you will be similarly inspired.
While challenges in our society are looming larger and larger; the fight for the souls of our children is one we can ill afford to lose. Join us, in whatever way the Lord impresses you, to join this infantry of educators to contend for our children and their faith.
Ruth Horton is the Lake Union director of education.
