Hello, Dear Educator,

I am so thankful and honored that you are reading this, especially in the busyness of the new school year. I pray it blesses your day!

I began writing this newsletter edition from the recliner in my mom’s hospital room while waiting for her return from surgery. After a year of frequent 911 calls and multiple hospital visits, we are hopeful this procedure will revive her health and restore the energy she so longs for.

My mom, who is almost 83 years old, is why I first fell in love with teaching. She taught middle school English for 40 years in public schools, and even now, if you asked her about her job, a brilliant smile would light up her whole face. It wasn’t just a job; it was her God-given calling, bringing her profound meaning and purpose. If you spoke with her students, they would tell you the lifelong impact she had on them. I can attest to her impact because they have told me face-to-face and in writing, but also because she was my 8th grade English teacher. In fact, I can still recite one of the poems (OK, most of it) that she made us memorize, Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference

With many wonderful interpretations of this poem, choices ring as a powerful theme for me. My mom made a personal choice many years ago to live out her faith openly and honestly through her teaching, even in a public school. Not in a proselytizing way, but rather in the genuine way she lived her life and applied her beliefs to her teaching and learning. She believed in ALL of her students because she believed they were made in God’s image.

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What are God’s Image-bearing Traits?

My mom described God’s image-bearing traits as the deep beauty within each of her students, seen through their smiles, their individual characteristics, their inherent value, and potential. She saw in them what many did not yet see in themselves, and she loved everything about helping them see throughout the school year just how fearfully and wonderfully made they really were.

Her description beautifully illustrates the relational dimensions of teaching, which research confirms is the most prevalent way Christian educators apply their faith in the classroom (Bagby & Drexler, 2023). But what does it actually look like through one’s teaching and learning practices? Donovan Graham’s Teaching Redemptively describes how God is active, purposeful, creative, moral, responsible, free, and faithful. These characteristics paint God’s perfect image-bearing traits within the context of teaching.

Active Purposeful Creative Moral Responsible Free Faithful ​ ​

These traits served as a consistent guide for me over the last several years when I planned my instruction. While I fully knew my students and I could only imperfectly reflect these traits, if I wanted to honor and cultivate them, they needed daily opportunities to practice and apply them. Considering the first two traits--being active and purposeful–-forced me to consider how much more work I was doing throughout a class period compared to my students. This kind of reflection was a game-changer for me and led to simple shifts in my practices, leading to new liturjis that could nurture more active and purposeful traits in my students that also benefited my well-being:

• Instead of reading and walking through instructions line by line, students read and annotate them first. I then answer any of their questions and have one student summarize them for the class (so I can clarify if still needed). This liturji takes almost the same amount of time (sometimes even less), and ensures students actively engage in understanding for themselves and saves my voice throughout the day!
• When appropriate, students self-assess their work before handing it in by either putting a star next to those they feel good about and a question mark where they still struggle. Establishing the expectation that they will thoughtfully consider their understanding ensures double-checking of their work and gives me insights while grading.
• Using a stop-and-jot journal, students briefly write their thoughts in response to a given question before discussing it as a class or in groups. Simply building in a one-minute jot time allows students to process a bit before responding and leads to more participation and engagement.

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Driving my mom home from the hospital after a successful surgery (thank you, Lord!), we reminisced about her teaching career. She exuded that familiar twinkling smile, and beamed, “Oh, I always loved the beginning of the school year!" When I asked why, she emphatically explained how exciting it was to get to connect with her new students and their parents for the very first time.

As I think of my mom's love for teaching this many years later, and as I reflect on how our instructional choices connect to the beautiful work of fostering His image-bearing traits, I can't help but feel a humble awe that draws me closer to Him. And It is in that closeness that I am reminded how special it is that I “get to” step in faith in what He's called me to do. I pray you experience that closeness this year.

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As this new year begins, how do you already foster image-bearing traits in your students? What are some ways you can lean into them more? Are there any simple daily liturjis that could use some shifting in your classroom? Now is the time to build those new expectations!

May we all look back someday on our teaching with the same joy as my mom!

Until next time,

God Bless!

Dr. Christy Mactavish

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Bagby, A. H., & Drexler, J. (2023). Assessing spiritual formation: Perceptions of challenges and successes. International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal, 18(2), Article 1317. https://doi.org/10.55221/1932-7846.1317

Graham, D. L. (2003). Teaching redemptively: Bringing Grace and Truth Into Your Classroom. Assn of Christian Schools International.

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