"What is my destiny?"
Is is a question many ask, and a lucky few consciously and confidently find the answer to!
This afternoon I had the privilege of hearing Justice Tulch address the graduating class of 2010 at Tyndale's fall convocation. In urging the new teachers
Is is a question many ask, and a lucky few consciously and confidently find the answer to!
This afternoon I had the privilege of hearing Justice Tulch address the graduating class of 2010 at Tyndale's fall convocation. In urging the new teachers
and other program graduates to find and fulfill their roles, he quoted from Romans 12:
"...each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. "
He noted that we are not in competition with each other, but rather, that we are in communion -- each of us destined to do our part, so that together, we function as one strong and vibrant body.
What intrigued me most was the preceding verse, in which we are urged to not think of ourselves "more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3)
With this in mind, I once again considered my own destiny. A few years ago, I was convinced I was meant to be an expert set apart as a Program Resource Consultant to share my infinate wisdom with classroom teachers. Returning to the classroom myself was a humbling and important experience. It was not long, however, until I was once again lured into positions of "power", first as a Student Work Study Teacher with a special Ministy/Board partnership assignment, and then into my current position, as an Assistant Professor of Education at a local university's B.Ed program.
Don't get me wrong, I love sharing. And I am a pretty good teacher.
But I still have much to learn. And... even as a "good" teacher, where is my Godly assignment? Where can I make the most meaningful impact? Is it in the classroom, surrounded by children and hosting student teachers from various insitutions in a real life setting? Or is it in the University classroom, where I can brainwash upwards of 60 new teachers each year before they head off into the system where, unfortunately, they will often not be surrounded by the sorts of best practices they hopefully learned from me at the university?
This past fall I embarked on a new adventure. Learning to fly is teaching me much about science that I never knew. As I learn about the weather, geography, engines and flight, I am made painfully aware of the limitations of my classroom teaching to this point. Yes, I provided more or less rich experiences to my students, but how much did they miss having a teacher who was so clued out about science?!
Now that I have learned a little bit more about that, it will change me as a classroom teacher... IF I go back to the classroom.
Or should I pursue my PhD and seek tenure as a university professor?
Or should I seek employment in the tourism and hospitality or sales industries in PEI, and spend more time on the red, sandy isle, slowing down the pace and focussing on family and friends?
All three and many more offer temptation. But which is my "destiny"?
One of my sons asked me the other day "Mommy, how do you know when God is talking to you?". He is 6 years old.
I am 37, and I am asking the same question.
"...each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. "
He noted that we are not in competition with each other, but rather, that we are in communion -- each of us destined to do our part, so that together, we function as one strong and vibrant body.
What intrigued me most was the preceding verse, in which we are urged to not think of ourselves "more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Romans 12:3)
With this in mind, I once again considered my own destiny. A few years ago, I was convinced I was meant to be an expert set apart as a Program Resource Consultant to share my infinate wisdom with classroom teachers. Returning to the classroom myself was a humbling and important experience. It was not long, however, until I was once again lured into positions of "power", first as a Student Work Study Teacher with a special Ministy/Board partnership assignment, and then into my current position, as an Assistant Professor of Education at a local university's B.Ed program.
Don't get me wrong, I love sharing. And I am a pretty good teacher.
But I still have much to learn. And... even as a "good" teacher, where is my Godly assignment? Where can I make the most meaningful impact? Is it in the classroom, surrounded by children and hosting student teachers from various insitutions in a real life setting? Or is it in the University classroom, where I can brainwash upwards of 60 new teachers each year before they head off into the system where, unfortunately, they will often not be surrounded by the sorts of best practices they hopefully learned from me at the university?
This past fall I embarked on a new adventure. Learning to fly is teaching me much about science that I never knew. As I learn about the weather, geography, engines and flight, I am made painfully aware of the limitations of my classroom teaching to this point. Yes, I provided more or less rich experiences to my students, but how much did they miss having a teacher who was so clued out about science?!
Now that I have learned a little bit more about that, it will change me as a classroom teacher... IF I go back to the classroom.
Or should I pursue my PhD and seek tenure as a university professor?
Or should I seek employment in the tourism and hospitality or sales industries in PEI, and spend more time on the red, sandy isle, slowing down the pace and focussing on family and friends?
All three and many more offer temptation. But which is my "destiny"?
One of my sons asked me the other day "Mommy, how do you know when God is talking to you?". He is 6 years old.
I am 37, and I am asking the same question.
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