I hope you won’t have teacher trouble this year, but you might. The first conversations of the school year may come after looking at the class lists on school windows, opening mail, or signing up online. You and your kids might discover you’re assigned a teacher or coach you dread. Sweet mama-friend, you may be in for “teacher trouble.”
Moms do their best to be positive and patient, letting the new school year get going, but we still might find we’re in for trouble. How can we take action and be godly at the same time?
PRAY through teacher trouble
More than math skills or grammar rules, our kids need to learn to identify truth and apply trust. A mom who puts her problems in her prayer journal is a mom who teaches her kids how to face challenges.
Standing at the school doors reading the class lists, I could clearly see which parents were distraught. Some clapped joyfully. Others huddled in whispers as children looked on, wondering what tyrants they were sentenced to. One little girl watched her mom’s face with concern, eyes full of tears, fear covering her usually cheerful face as she anticipated “teacher trouble.” Our kids watch and listen.
True or not, a mother’s reactions feed a child’s feelings. Mama bear rises. Instead of going to the phone, go to the throne! “The prayer of a righteous {parent} is powerful and effective,” (James 5:16). From kindergarten to college, the habit of prayer serves our kids well. As we trust our Heavenly Father with our cares, we lead our kids in learning the lesson of trust.
The mother and little girl who cried before school began stopped crying and started praying for help in her classroom. They discovered their Heavenly Father had given her the perfect teacher, a teacher with love and flexibility she needed as her year unfolded. Together, they learned to seek truth and to trust.
TEACH through teacher trouble
No one wants what’s best for our kids more than the God who made them. Trouble is a chance to teach children to face reality and practice respect, regardless of circumstances. Trouble is a teachable moment for moms.
When children interact with other adults in the context of schooling, they get a lesson in reality. Premature rescue would eliminate the learning. Life with people provides children opportunities to learn respectfulness when life is hard or even unfair.
James encourages us to rejoice in trials, “knowing that the testing of your faith develops perseverance … that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” (James 1:3,4). Romans 5 tells us we can glory in tribulations, because they produce perseverance, character, and hope. Godly parents approach teacher trouble by speaking truth in love and respect. Children see and hear this. In reality, coach or teacher challenges are opportunities to develop character.
ADVOCATE through teacher trouble
Kids need moms to be godly advocates, supplying wisdom and godly words for problems they face. There may come a time when God prompts us to be an advocate for our child or another. When that time comes, our student needs to see wisdom in our timing and manner. On a foundation of prayer and through a filter of truth, we can be “slow to speak and slow to become angry,” (James 1:19). Children learn from our words spoken to and about an offending adult. Confrontation may be required, and when it is, it requires wisdom and godly words.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him,” (James 1:5). “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances,” (Proverbs 25:11).
Kids face lessons in the classrooms of life, and sometimes that includes “teacher trouble.” Join the PTA! (Pray, Teach, Advocate) Embrace your test as a Prayer Warrior, Teacher, and Advocate for your child, helping them learn God’s answers for life at every age.
Read more about how to deal with Teacher Trouble, including 15 steps you need to know.
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