8 Who Are Christian Education Teachers?

Gina breathed a sigh of relief early each morning when she dropped her young child off at the Christian school that she and her husband had chosen for their children. Each morning, the child’s teacher, of whom Gina was in awe, met the child at the doorway with a big smile, open hands, and kind words, repeatedly using the child’s name while talking about the exciting things the class would be doing that day. Gina would watch closely as her child warmed to the greeting before making his way eagerly toward the classroom to joyfully embrace his little classmates. Then, early each evening when Gina, her husband, and their children were all home and done for the day, they would receive the teacher’s email with photos and descriptions of the school day’s fun and instruction, all centered around preciously formative Bible stories and the love of Jesus Christ. Gina knew that God had brought her into the world precisely for these times. 

Teachers

Teachers make a school. While boards can set the mission and principals can influence the culture and tone, teachers have far greater influence over students in a K-12 school than any board member or administrator. The devoted, laudable, generous, and wise actions of board members, administrators, alumni, donors, suppliers, and other supporters of the school all go to ensuring that the school’s highly qualified teachers have the support they need to instruct, guide, and serve students. A school principal can do no better to positively influence the school’s program than to recruit, orient, supervise, support, develop, mentor, inspire, evaluate, correct, and encourage the school’s teaching staff. If a school doesn’t have the right teachers in place, with the right commitment, skills, resources, and other support, then it stands little chance of achieving its educational mission. Parents wisely look to the character, commitment, and other qualifications of a school’s teachers to decide whether to entrust their children to the school for education, no matter the nature of the educational program that the parents desire for their children. 

Faith

Faith is the first qualification of a Christian school teacher. Christian schools do not hire instructional staff unless they profess the faith tradition that the school expects them to teach. Christian school board policies and employment contracts routinely make that profession of faith a condition for employment. The faith requirement is both a matter of carrying out the school’s essential faith mission and a matter of teacher integrity. To have integrity, reflect commitment, and be effective, teachers need to teach what they believe and profess. That requirement of integrity is more essential for faith instruction than for anything else. When you send your child to a private K-12 Christian school, you should be confident that every teacher with whom your child comes into contact is a professing member of the Christian faith tradition to which the school commits. The school leader and school board members should be able to assure you that the school’s mission, policies, and employment contracts all require it. If not, then the school may be wandering from its professed commitment.

Expression

Natural, confident, knowledgeable, sensitive, genuine, and joyful expression of faith is the next qualification for a Christian school teacher. It’s one thing to have faith but another thing to have the skill and willingness to express it. Teachers need to express their faith effectively to be able to carry out their instructional role in a Christian school. Christian school teachers need to be able to lead prayer, worship, song, and Bible study for students. They also need to model Christian service, patience, perseverance, joy, generosity,  and grace to students. They should also exhibit Christ-like demeanor, with humility rather than pride, and modesty rather than haughtiness and conceit. Christian school teachers also need to model for students a growth attitude in their own learning and development. If students are to form a school community of faith, rich in Christian kindness and customs, then teachers must first do so, both in their actions toward students and relationships with school administrators and staff. Expect your Christian school’s teachers to effectively express their Christian faith. 

Commitment

Wholehearted devotion and commitment to their instructional roles are the next qualifications of Christian school teachers, after abiding faith and its effective expression. Christian school teachers know the infinite value and eternal destiny of students. Christian school teachers also know their own accountability to God to treat the development of student faith with the utmost sincerity and sensitivity. After all, what did Jesus say but that it would be better to drown with a millstone around one’s neck than to cause a child of faith to sin. Christian school teachers thus pour themselves into their instructional role with their full commitment, constantly mindful of students’ eternal destiny. That commitment begins with consistent, genuine, and heartfelt expressions of faith and continues into devoted, creative, and sensitive instruction in all aspects of the school’s academic program. Even in a Christian school, you may at times face questions, concerns, and even issues over the best methods of instruction for your child, to work through with the teacher and school administrators. But you shouldn’t expect to face any issues with the full, energetic, even passionate commitment of a Christian school’s teachers to their precious mission of educating your child.

Education

Christian school teachers generally have the same or similar educational requirements as teaching in the public schools would require. That educational requirement begins with an undergraduate degree in education, preferably with a focus on the grade-level and subject for which the school hires the teacher to teach. Your child’s Christian school teachers will generally all at least have undergraduate education degrees. Christian schools, like the public schools, then generally reward teachers with a significant pay increase for holding a graduate degree. If a teacher starts in Christian education with only a four-year undergraduate education degree, that teacher is likely to soon earn the graduate degree necessary for the pay increase. Several, most, or all of your child’s Christian school teachers may thus have both undergraduate and graduate degrees, as you might also find in public schools. The education level of teachers is generally not a distinguishing feature between public K-12 schools and private Christian K-12 schools. 

Certification

Christian schools also generally seek to recruit and retain teachers with state teacher certification. Public schools must ordinarily only employ certified teachers, although law, rule, and regulation may permit public schools to employ, for a limited time, uncertified teachers whose certification is in process or pending. State laws vary as to whether they also require private Christian school teachers to hold certification. States that do require Christian school teacher certification may offer alternatives including permits or exemptions for religious instruction. Even if your state does not mandate teacher certification for private Christian schools, or permits alternatives to certification, your child’s Christian school likely seeks and prefers to retain certified teachers, and urges uncertified teachers to obtain their certification. Keep in mind that while certification can be an indicator of qualifications, certification is not a guarantee of qualifications or commitment. Ultimately, consider it better to judge the fitness of instruction by the fruit it produces than by state constraints. 

Experience

Christian schools also value teaching experience. A senior teaching staff with veteran teachers is often a wise, skilled, and dedicated staff, with valuable relational skills and institutional knowledge. If a Christian school needs to hire a new teacher, the school is likely to consider a teacher with experience over a teacher without experience, all other things being equal. Yet public and private schools often hire teachers right out of college. All teachers must start somewhere. No teacher starts with teaching experience. Experience requires employment. And while a first-time teacher usually faces a significant learning curve, first-time teachers can also bring updated education, new skills, and fresh energy to a teaching staff. An all-veteran teaching staff may benefit from the addition of a first-time teacher and may also prove especially effective at mentoring that new teacher. Respect and value the experience of your child’s Christian school teachers. Also respect and value the energy and insight a new teacher can bring to the school. 

Employment

Christian schools sometimes employ teachers who have had other substantial employment experience outside of teaching. Teaching anywhere is a privilege. Teaching at a Christian school can be a special privilege, especially for individuals of deep and abiding Christian faith. Some professionals of strong Christian faith reach the point in their career in another field outside of education that they are finally able to pursue their passion for Christian education. Those teachers with substantial experience in other fields can be especially wise and effective guides and mentors for Christian school students whose schooling, after all, involves more than pure academics. Your child’s Christian school chemistry teacher may, for instance, have previously been a chemist. Don’t be entirely surprised if your child’s Christian school teachers include outstanding individuals with substantial experience in their subject’s field. If the school that hired those individuals highly values their hands-on background, then perhaps you should value it, too. 

Migration

Christian schools also sometimes employ teachers who have previously taught in the public schools. Those teachers may have migrated from the public schools to your child’s Christian school early in their teaching career, in mid career, or late in their career. New teachers need employment. They must often take the only job available to them, hoping later to have an opportunity for the job that they truly want. Lateral moves from public school to Christian education sometimes occur for that reason. The teacher may have gotten the education degree in order to teach at a Christian school but didn’t immediately have the opportunity and so ended up teaching in public school instead. But lateral moves from public school to Christian school may also occur mid career or late in a career, when a teacher decides that the time has come to pursue the teacher’s passion for Christian faith, the instruction of children in the person and teachings of Christ, and the care of Christian families. Christian schools may thus value a teacher who applies for a job after having had substantial prior public school teaching experience. The Christian school’s hiring committee, though, would want to hear the reason for the teacher’s move and find that reason to be convincing. Christian schools won’t employ teachers who have been ineffective in the public schools, lack a vital Christian faith, and won’t be effective in Christian education. 

Sensitivity

The above discussion, highlighted by the story at the chapter’s beginning, should above all have communicated the special sensitivity that Christian school teachers show to students. Alumni of Christian K-12 schools routinely recall, with warmth, joy, humor, and deep appreciation, the love, kindness, gentleness, and patience that their teachers showed them, in prayer, worship, mentoring, and instruction. And no wonder. Christian school teachers strive to exhibit the patient, loving, caring, and enduring attributes of their Lord Jesus Christ, in all that they do including their school instruction. Christian school teachers are effective in their academic roles. Yet they are even more effective in their roles as witnesses to the power, authority, purity, and ultimate love of Jesus Christ, demonstrated in his full sacrifice. The willingness of Christian school teachers to commit their careers, lives, and full energies to the sensitive instruction of students is their own sacrifice, in genuine testament to Christ’s indwelling presence. May your children experience Christ’s love in the hands, voice, and heart of a Christian school teacher. 

Reflection

Do you recall K-12 teachers who had a significant positive impact on you? Did that impact include influencing your Christian faith? Do you want your children to receive K-12 instruction from teachers who express their Christian faith? Do you want your children to have teachers who fully commit to their instructional role? Would you prefer that your children receive instruction from teachers who hold teaching degrees? Would you prefer that your children receive instruction from teachers with state certification? Do you want your children to have teachers who have substantial teaching experience? Do you also want your children to have teachers who are new to the profession and bring new energy, methods, and ideas? Would you value that your children receive instruction from teachers who have substantial other direct employment experience in the subject field that they teach? Do you mind if your child’s Christian school teacher has previous teaching experience in the public schools?

Key Points

• Teachers are the key personnel in carrying out a school’s mission.

• Christian schools only employ teachers with a vital Christian faith.

• Christian schools employ teachers who effectively express their faith.

• Christian schools employ teachers who commit deeply to education.

• Christian schools employ teachers with education degrees.

• Christian schools employ teachers with state teacher certification.

• Christian schools value teaching experience in their teaching staff.

• Christian schools may value other related employment experience.

• Christian schools may employ teachers with public school experience.

• Christian school teachers reflect a special sensitivity to students.

Read Chapter 9.