When I first moved from being a parent of five kids at a classical school to a teacher of twelve fifth graders at a classical school, I was paralyzed with fear.
I wanted to make every moment count, but I also didn’t want a bunch of eleven year olds telling me what they thought we should do next. I needed to figure out how to manage a classroom.
But at the same time, the eternality of my calling weighed heavily on my mind—what I did and said, what I taught and how I taught—mattered for eternity. My life was suddenly very much on display. How I lived and what I modeled—those things would shape the souls of my students more than my lesson plans. And I just felt so unworthy, so frightened, so overwhelmed.
Leveraging Transitions
One of my favorite things that Andrew Kern ever said at a classical conference was: We must teach our students to recognize the good, the true, and the beautiful, so they will recognize Christ when He comes to them.
What we transmit in the classroom is transcendental, eternal, and glorious. But we also must deal with students. Humans with all of their bodily limitations, emotional crises, fears, and doubts.
So to address this tension, I thought about transitions. If there was going to be a moment when my control of the classroom would be up for grabs, it was going to be in the transitions. If there was a moment in my day that could be leveraged to put students in touch with the transcendentals, it was the transitions.
I realized that I needed to introduce each subject with the thing that mattered most about that subject. I decided I was going to be maniacal about repetition and I wasn’t going to listen to the doubtful voices in my head.
What I ended up doing was creating order and establishing routine—classroom management at its finest. But I also had the added bonus of bringing us all together—creating classroom culture.
By making those things a priority, we all knew where my priorities were. I thought I was just making sure we got the important stuff done first. What I realized way after the fact, was that my choices had trained my students and my priorities had ordered our loves.
As you head back to the classroom this fall, I hope you feel rested. I hope you have fellowshipped with family and friends over good food and drink. I hope you have dipped your toes in salt water and chlorine pools. And, I pray that that rest will inform the choices you make this fall. Before you buy one more resource from Teachers Pay Teachers or one more decoration from Hobby Lobby, choose your classroom culture. Right now counts for eternity.
Want to hear more about classroom culture? If your school maintains an ACCS membership, you can listen to my talk on Creating Classroom Culture by logging into the Member Resource Center. And follow me on Instagram.
What Mrs. Gerth is teaching:
College Admission Essay Help
Do you know a rising senior who will begin applying to colleges in the fall? College application essays are unlike anything most students have ever written. I offer a unique approach to this most important essay. We work through a process that helps students present their personalities and accomplishments while showcasing their own unique voice. $60 an hour for one-on-one sessions.
Thales College Certificate in Classical Education Philosophy
This fall, I will be teaching two classes in the Thales College Certificate in Classical Education Philosophy Program (CCEP). The program consists of eight courses taken in any order culminating in a certificate. Each course carries a $300 course fee, and each class is held through Google Meet once every other week. I will be teaching Classical Pedagogy and History of Education. Looking forward to helping teachers understand how and why classical schools teach classically.