If you're a Christian and a teacher...

[Greentomatoes21]

...how does your faith influence your work in a non-faith typical state school?

Someone asked me this recently and I have really had to think!

What are your thoughts?

I've left teaching now.

Obviously anything you say on this can be taken the wrong way, i.e. as though only Christians had these values and everyone else didn't care about kids.

But, for me, a big part of teaching as a Christian was seeing each pupil as an individual. Knowing that I was part of a much bigger story of their life. That made me at the same time really care about their educational outcomes, and appreciative that it wasn't the be all and end all and that at any given moment (as well as overall) they had a lot more going on.

There's probably a lot more to it. But that's what immediately springs to mind: that each pupil, colleague, parent is loved and loveable, and that I can contribute in a small way to build them up or break them down.

Sounds like you were a sad loss to the profession @Fink

Wanting the best outcomes, seeing the best in everyone. Trying to look past rudeness and deal with disruption and get to the child underneath all that. Respecting those who have different religions and those who have none. Creating a space with boundaries and inclusion.
Then again, most good teachers do this, religious or not.

Thanks for the replies so far. Really interesting to read! I feel similar but as you've all mentioned there are plenty of teachers with a very similar outlook but from non-faith backgrounds. I was also thinking about the fruits of the spirit and how we are challenged to demonstrate them in even the most difficult of scenarios...challenged being the key word here. It's hard!

I know this is an old post but I've just come across it and found it interesting! I'm not Christian and I agree that what people suggested can apply to any good teacher. I hope I embody the things mentioned!

I'm in the opposite situation in that I'm an atheist teaching in a very Christian country (mostly Catholic but a good number of Protestants, too). Almost every student I teach is a practising Christian, and I think every single student I have is culturally Christian. We are allowed to discuss topics that you might not be in a conservative Christian school in some countries, but we have to be mindful to always add the caveat that we are all entitled to different opinions and we are explicit in stating that we aren't trying to colour anyone else's views. My most surprising comment from a student was when we were reading a poem that referred to the planets and creation and I mentioned the Big Bang and he looked genuinely confused and asked if I believed in that. I said yes and he was fine about it, but he was surprised.

I mentioned the Big Bang and he looked genuinely confused and asked if I believed in that. I said yes and he was fine about it, but he was surprised.

This will be cultural rather than religious, and possibly to do with it being a child. The Catholic Church is quite clear about the boundaries of what we can believe about creation, evolution etc. and encourages scientific exploration. The Big Bang is well within the mainstream of Catholic thought; you would be hard pressed to find a Catholic in the west who didn't believe in it, no matter where they stood on the 'orthodox'/'traditional'/'conservative' spectrum.