Freedom In Education

Happy Independence Day! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We have so much to celebrate! We have so many freedoms we don’t even begin to take advantage of. That’s true for those of us who teach Inside the Classroom as well.

Don’t let anyone deceive you. Our country was founded on Christian principles by men who staunchly believed in the God of the Bible. If you look carefully at the Declaration of Independence, you’ll find Thomas Jefferson liberally sprinkled his theology in this expression of desire to break from the Brittish. He acknowledged that he and the othe signers believed in a God who was the ultimate Judge, the Sovereign Ruler, our Protector and our Creater.

While the First Amendment does limit us from establishing our form of relgion inside the classroom, we still have the freedom to freely exercise our faith. As a teacher, you can pray, you can read your Bible, you can even have your Bible at your desk if it is not disruptive to your students. Some high schools even teach the Bible as literature. You can hold prayer meetings and bible studies with other teachers and quietly support student led efforts.

If you live in a more restrictive country than the United States, you still have many freedoms as a teacher. You can pray. You can act kindly to others. You can live a blameless and upright life. In many countries, if students ask you about your faith, you can answer.

These freedoms are inside the secular classroom. If you are a teacher of children in a church, you have even more freedom to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Are you taking advantage of the freedom that you have? Are you thanking God every day that you have this liberty to live your faith and worship your God?

For more information about a Christian teacher’s rights and freedoms in the secular classroom, visit the Christian Educators Association International.

Some of the information above comes from a workshop I attended this past weekat the North American Christian Convention, a preaching/teaching convention sponsored by the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. I’ve come home refreshed and renewed and full of ideas for this site. Come back often over the next few weeks as we continue to explore connecting with the children you teach.