How can I teach the Gospel to my pupils?

[Alive4Jesus]

Hello,

I teach English in a state (public) school and, which is a junior secondary one I mean a middle school. Well, in state schools we do not teach the Gospel but most of my pupils are Christian or attend a church then I would like all of them to know Yahweh the Lord God and obey Him every day and every where. Then I think of teaching them the Lord's Prayer for example which they canb repeat every day before starting a class ort another prayer I found online and in which we are going to pray with submitting the whole of our school, including all the teachers and the head teacher and the pupils and all clssrooms so that everything be under the Holy Spirit's control.

Most like singing and I also want to teach them English canticles without neglecting the fact they dislike English for most I wonder how I could manage with.

I am very motivated to do it when thinking of Colossians 3:23 and 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Thanks for your replies and God bless you in Jesus Christ. Amen!

 

[Hekuran]

Good ideas.

I left school nearly 30 years ago and I can still remember very clearly the attitudes and example set of all my teachers.

Teaching simple gospel messages is good, but far more powerful is the way that the gospel shapes the way you are with your pupils. If you treat them with love, kindness, goodness, joy and peace they will certainly notice, and they will probably never forget.

Every blessing in your good work

 

[Alive4Jesus]

Good ideas.

I left school nearly 30 years ago and I can still remember very clearly the attitudes and example set of all my teachers.

Teaching simple gospel messages is good, but far more powerful is the way that the gospel shapes the way you are with your pupils. If you treat them with love, kindness, goodness, joy and peace they will certainly notice, and they will probably never forget.

Every blessing in your good work

God bless you my dearest Hekuran,

I am very happy after reading your quick reply and I thank you so much. Well, as I am concerned I am going to teach an overpopulated classroom And most are aged from up to and some are over.

In my mind or plan I also would like them all to repeat a classroom prayer before starting the class or lesson and I think it would be nice. For example, here is a sample of I found online:

ALMIGHTY GOD

We give You our school.
We give you all the teachers
and staff who work here,
We give You all the children who study here.

We pray our school would be place
of great discovery, adventure and creativity.
May it be a place where we love to learn
and where we learn to love,
A place where everyone is respected
and all are deeply valued.
We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So be it.

You know I also run an English club but, most of them when joining the Club just make noise and please to meet instead of speaking English. I really want them all to practise their English. Of course there is a national syllabus which we ought to comply with but I would like to put my own signature I mean my way of teaching English. In fact I have to add fun when I teach then I think of sharing Gospel songs, dialogues, poetry and common prayers. There is also the Lord's prayer they can recite. Since school is secular in the republic of Congo I pray Yahweh our Lord God to perform any miracle so that all muy students have fun though my teachings. I set in my heart with helping them al to speak english at ease and fluently and even they cannot be bilingual with french and English.

I love teaching and even if I unpaid for this is very noble job and I am self-confient in Jesus Christ that Yahweh our heavenly father will remember me one day so that I earn my own money to buy and own a house set true my goals.

Thanks again for your help and God bless you in Jesus Christ. Amen!

 

[Lanolin]

Songs are good. I think teaching through singing is great also helps make it memorable. I dont know about your age group as I taught younger children bible not secondary, but when I taught adults english I remember one lesson I had them read the story of the tower of Babel from the Bible but mixed up the languages, they had to put it in order. You can also do cloze exercises where students need to guess the missing words. Another good game is beat the clock which is sort of like hangman but its a clock instead of a stick figure and students need to guess the word using letters of the alphabet.
The word could be something simple like PEACE and then you can ask the students what that means...get them thinking.

Be creative and ask the Lord for inspiration. Pray for your students in private before you begin the lesson and let your light shine!

 

[Alive4Jesus]

Hello Lanolin and thanks a lot for your reply. really i set in my heart with helping every pupil to speak English fluently if not at ease to such an extent that everyone can say the essential in English. here in my country modern languages are very often neglected but, when come time for finding job many people regret why they neglected englishor another language taught in school then they try to join a language centre and I consider this is losing time while another can take it.

Well, I am very glad after reading you here. Chiefly you mentioned what i love doing for my pupls: PRAYING FOR EVERYONE AND EVEN It SEEMS TO Be BORING SOMETIMES!

Do you think that praying together before starting my class is not welcome in a secular school we are?

God bless you in Jesus christ. Amen!

1 Corinthians 10:31

 

[Lanolin]

Well I dont know depends on your school if it has time for prayer first thing, some schools do, some don't.
When I taught Bible we prayed in the lesson with the pupils I liked to do it first, but some teachers had this quiet time last. We always taught that it was the childrens choice to pray along or say amen at the end if they agreed or just sit and listen when we lead prayer.

But we also prayed before the lesson with all the bible teachers together.

If you are teaching you could make it a regular routine in the morning. If the school is not welcoming prayer do it on the way to school. In my experience it all depends on the principal if they are open or opposed to the gospel. I have been to some schools where I found the principal was very antichrist and opposed and then to others that are open and welcoming. So be mindful of the principal of your school and be wise in terms of sharing faith, because we cant cast pearls before swine or give what is holy to the dogs...

Having basic english language skills can open many doors I agree. My mother learned english but she had to go to night classes to learn it. Its best when children pick it up early as they are like sponges then and it comes naturally but practice makes perfect. Encourage regular conversations that's the way to go.

 

[Brad Huber]

What teacher is not praised for being involved with their students lives. You may not be able to preach or teach christianity at a public school, but at the next parent teacher conference, ask the parents if you could go to "their" church that their children go to or if none, ask if you could start a bible study with them and the parents together.

 

[Alive4Jesus]

Wow! Hallelujah!

Your reply filled me with wonder and I praise our Lord God for that. Well, you're obviously right when talking about our head teacher I mean our principal. Most of time when i meeto him to talk about what i plan to do with children he tells me to work with parents then i have to send them a written authorization they shopulkd sign then he is free. I wonder whether this means he doesn't want to be responsible or not but he always let me woprking with my parents' children (pupils). However I believe that the Holy Spirit opened me a way through since i can run the English Club without any pressure. The problem is that my pupils don't jin the activities to focus on engish but they often join the activity in order to make trouvble then I cannot reach my goals. But during the lmast summer holidays I have met some and my pupils wanted to pursue with the Club; this was the first time i could say i am happy and even it was not what I expected from.

During the English Club meetings we can do everything we want (games, riddles, songs, reading, dialogues, self introduction, etc) but I always have to motivate my learners every time because they always are ashamed to speak English.

By the way, concerning school activities we teacher are called to comply with the national curriculum but not in the whole. term exam are composed from the hierarchy then we are not all free to teach English to the pupils.For example when i comply with this curriculum I only can teach a song once a term and during the last session or class meeting with children. Then we teachers must improvise no, this is not good to say I mean we must adapt our situations. In fact, I aim at having pupils with whom I can speak English at ease.

In school I ever planned a tour to the US Embassy library but, our head teacher didn't share my project. Of course he encouraged me with this but,n he told me that children have to be taken in the insurance board and he's right but in the two consecutive years i tried it again he didn't encourage me. Every time or most of time I am encourage through my director of studies or curricula (I don't know exactly his title in English but he is the person in charge of the curricula). My head of studies is Christian and we both belong to the same community church then he surely can support me. he told me that he defended me to be teach the pupils I had last year in the fourth form while everybody didn't.

In my school most colleagues are more motivated when it is about money and in the beginning of this year when one approchaed me and learned that joining the Club is normally free of charge but I asked the minimum of CFA 100 (USD 1= CFA 500) he disagreed and let me know they have to give more. Please I am not here to judge my colleagues but it's just an example. Even others like asking me how I reach the end of every month to stay alive since I am unpaid.

If I didn't love teaching and if I disliked or didn't love my children in school I would have given up teaching as an unpaid one. of course I believe and excpect from being recruited and why not this year we are.

The other way to have my pupils interested in English is joining a pen friend project. With every filled and signed parental authorization I am going to run a snail mail exchange with pupils from abroad, particularly English-speaking natives or learners in the USA or Europe. I think their parents will really get involved into the project with supporting us. Of course we get the mail through the school address and even if we don't have a post office box.

Well, I have talked a lot and I beg your pardon for I have bothered you ecrtainly with my children.

GOD's peace be and remain in your whole beinga nd everyone within you all as the Christ's Body!

Matthew 18:18-20

Well I dont know depends on your school if it has time for prayer first thing, some schools do, some don't.
When I taught Bible we prayed in the lesson with the pupils I liked to do it first, but some teachers had this quiet time last. We always taught that it was the childrens choice to pray along or say amen at the end if they agreed or just sit and listen when we lead prayer.

But we also prayed before the lesson with all the bible teachers together.

If you are teaching you could make it a regular routine in the morning. If the school is not welcoming prayer do it on the way to school. In my experience it all depends on the principal if they are open or opposed to the gospel. I have been to some schools where I found the principal was very antichrist and opposed and then to others that are open and welcoming. So be mindful of the principal of your school and be wise in terms of sharing faith, because we cant cast pearls before swine or give what is holy to the dogs...

Having basic english language skills can open many doors I agree. My mother learned english but she had to go to night classes to learn it. Its best when children pick it up early as they are like sponges then and it comes naturally but practice makes perfect. Encourage regular conversations that's the way to go.

 

[Alive4Jesus]

What teacher is not praised for being involved with their students lives. You may not be able to preach or teach christianity at a public school, but at the next parent teacher conference, ask the parents if you could go to "their" church that their children go to or if none, ask if you could start a bible study with them and the parents together.

First of all I beg your pardpon because I misunderstood your reply. I thought you were blaming me for getting involved into my pupils' lives while you weren't. i am so sorry and beg your pardon again.

Well, I thank you for comforting me. Unfortunately, in our school and most of state (public) schools parents are not called for tackling the matter of school and their chilldren. And even this year and, after two consecutive years (2015-2016 and 2016-2017) schools weren't rpovided with the government subsidies. Normally the Constitution states that school is free then they provide school swith money for their working. some head teachers use the money for their own and, it is very rare you find a sick bay or first aid in state schools. There are no libraries neither internet rooms what we cal cybercafés.

My goal with all my students is to make a deposit or a warehouse in everyone and which might be fruitful so that they belong to jesus christ for ever. then when teaching them Christ through my teachings I strongly believe they grow up in the way yahweh shaped for them. Orf course he is the master of circumstances and times. Moreover we can't help sharing the Gospel for which we have been chosen and saved from eternal death.

I will ask my supervisor (he who is in charge of the curricula in my shift) so that I know if I can do that. I have been told that one of our beloved in christ made her pupils repeated the Lord's prayer every day prior to start her teaching then it gave me ideas.

There are some parents I meet and we can pray at the end I mean before leaving them and, i thinkit is also another way of sharing the Gospel and pray for GOD's peace into their house and family.

I planned to meet every pupil's parent I taught last year. Indeed, they are students I have been teaching since they were in the first form and now they are in the foruth one and about to leave the middle school when they pass the BEPC, which is the exam a secpondary pupil takes to enter high school.

I thank you for your comfort and GOD bless you through Jesus Christ. Amen!

John 15:16-17

 

[Lanolin]

The english club penpal thing sounds excellent. Sometimes you'll find its the extracurricular activities that make a student want to go to school and learn more than whats actually being taught in class.

Young people love the opportunity to express themselves. Just encourage them.

Do you have many books...if theres no library think about setting one up. Can be just a little bookshelf in the corner of the classroom somewhere, where everyone can swap books. Picture books are ideal for those learning english..and you can definitely teach from them by having people read and listen to stories.

 

[Alive4Jesus]

Shalom Lanolin,

That's a very lovely proposal and it seems to be mine. Indeed, I have some books home then I selected some pupils who are interested in english then I wrote to their parents in order that they pay for money a month so that their children borrow bookls I have chosen for them and they wil keep the book at home up to two weeks. They also can borrow the same book.

It cannot be practical in the classroom because here we have part time schools and we alternate with other classrooms. if you agree I explain youlater.

Psalm 133