If you Don't Think God is in the Public Schools

I hear and read complaints by Christians about how “God isn’t allowed in the public schools.” I beg to differ. If you don’t see God in the schools then you aren’t looking hard enough. Sure, we aren’t allowed to pray (out loud) or read the Bible to kids, but He definitely is in the schools. Here are just a few examples.

On the Monday before spring break, my friend and colleague posted this on Facebook:

As a teacher, this week is hard. It's hard to get homework ready for students who are leaving early, or will be returning late. It's hard to keep students interested when their minds are elsewhere. But the hardest, most heart-wrenching thing for me are the students who know that they don't have a fun-filled spring break to look forward to, and their worry is if they will get any food next week because they aren't at school where we make sure they get breakfast and lunch. So when I get a text from a friend saying, "hey- are you making food bags for some of your students like you did at Christmas? If so, I will help you," it literally brings me to tears. So thankful! So blessed!

The results were overwhelming. By the time they left for spring break, 70 children had bags loaded full of food (heavier than the average kindergartener) to take home thanks to Sara, and the community members who showed up with food and bags.

I saw God there.

Last fall as it got colder more and more children came to school without what they needed. Children arrived without socks, clean clothes, or with worn out shoes that no longer fit. Stephanie and Theresa came up with an idea for a “kids closet,” spread the word, and it began to take shape. What we have now is a fully stocked room with underwear, socks, clothes (sizes 2T to mens and womens large), shoes, boots, and winter snowclothes. If children have accidents or forget their boots they simply go with an adult to get what they need, returns not necessary.

God was there too.

God was in school when a teacher took 3 special needs children home with her for the weekend so their dad could stay with their mother in the hospital when she had major surgery.

He was there when we collected food and gas cards for the family who took weekly trips to Grand Rapids to take their son for his chemo treatments. He was also there with the children who sold ribbons and had bake sales for that same family.

I saw God in the public school when the teachers spent their own money on school supplies and paid field trip fees for kids who didn’t have them. I saw Him with the teacher who tutored a girl after school for free because she knew it would be a financial burden on the parents.

If you think that God isn’t allowed in the public schools you aren’t looking hard enough. He doesn’t need to be invited. He just shows up. And if you don’t believe that you are grossly underestimating the power of God himself. 

What Summer Vacation?

“What are you doing on your summer vacation Dawn?” is a question I get asked by many people every summer. Many ask in a wondering way, but others ask in a sort of “Oh you teachers lounge around all summer while the rest of us work our butts off” kind of way.  I always have to bite my tongue in those circumstances because although it may seem like teaching is a cushy job, by the time summer rolls around I truly am in need of a long vacation, but that’s what it rarely turns out to be. If you want to get technical, it’s really a mandatory unpaid work stoppage and no, teachers don’t get paid “for the summer.” Last summer The Mackinaw Center for Public Policy spent a large amount of money sending out double-sided, full-color glossy postcards to teachers so that they could help us quit the union if we wanted. The postcard invited us to picnics where they would give us food and provide computers for revoking our memberships. On the backside of the postcard I noticed that it had a checklist that said,

Go to the Ballpark ‘check’

Drive to the Lake ‘check’

Really? Frankly, most of the teachers I know have separate summer jobs. The ones who don’t are the parents of young kids who spend their time away from the classroom being the stay-at-home parents they don’t get to be during the school year. If you are a full time stay-at-home parent, you know that it’s far from a “vacation.” When my boys were young I always felt fortunate that I could spend my summer months focusing on them. Few careers allow a mom (or dad) the same breaks as their children so that real vacations (a.k.a. trips) can be planned with less hassle. Many teachers take graduate classes during the summer to keep their certifications current. I spent more than a few summers doing nothing but Master’s coursework. In case you’re wondering, currently, my summer break was spent first,  teaching teachers at a reading and writing workshop during the last part of June, which gave me about a week off to regroup and get ready for that. After that I spent the month of July with about ½ of my co-workers teaching summer school. When August rolls around I usually give myself 2 weeks of true R&R before I head back in and start getting my classroom, curriculum, and materials ready for fall. The week before school starts has meetings and professional development days scheduled in. So really, summer vacation isn’t as duty-free as you might have thought and I’m pretty sure I can speak for my fellow colleagues. I guess the point of all of this is that if you’re ever tempted to ask a teacher what he or she is doing for summer vacation, you probably aren’t going to hear an enthusiastic “I’ll be at the lake!”