I am an educator. I have been divinely gifted with the ability to teach students in a myriad of ways. I believe these God-given talents have been bestowed upon me to be a force in the classroom. This is a calling that I cannot ignore, no matter how hard I try to dissuade myself from pursuing them.

For these reasons, I long to accomplish a particular mission: to be the best teacher I can be, both in terms of content and by empowering students to not just be statistics of excellence, but to empower them to be functioning and responsible members of society. This means that I will not endeavor to simply enable students to achieve high grades, pass statewide examinations, or learn facts and dates, but rather to concentrate on the whole person and how they can be forces of change in our society. I hope to demonstrate to my students that they not only have the ability to change the world, but that they are the building blocks for the future and as such, they need to be enlightened with the ability to think and not just regurgitate information.

Most importantly, I hope that I will shine as a light in the classroom; a light that shines in darkness. As John 1:4-5 says, “In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” It will be my mission to be an example of Christ’s light in the classroom. I will attempt to “present [my] [body] as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” and to “… not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of [my] mind” (Rom. 12:1, 2) so that my students may see Jesus through me and forever be changed by the renewing of their minds, without compromising the strictures placed on teachers of violating the separation between church and state.  In this, I hope to demonstrate Christ’s love for students. I hope to be a teacher who not only cares about the academics of students, but also their souls.