Crazy Hair - Crazy Week

This last week I had the opportunity of substitute teaching at the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center. (If you read this blog very often you probably know that my wife Niki volunteers at the school as an educational therapist and that I am a member of the school board.) Several of the teachers had to be gone last week due to a major conference that their mission agency was having. In a moment of weakness I agreed to substitute. It was 5th grade and only for one day. I figured that I could handle that. (By the way, have you heard about the organist who, when he was asked if he could play the Hallelujah chorus replied, "I can Handel it.") Do you have any idea how long one school day can be? We read books, we did math, we had science, we had Bible, we had spelling, we had recess. . .  . I don't really know how they manage to cram a 15 hour school day into an 8-3 schedule. I thought the day would never end. My hat is off to the brave teacher who corrals this group of lively 5th graders every day.

But my week wasn't over. Another teacher had to be gone, an unplanned absence, for three days and wanted to know if I could fill in. Of course, I said. I guess I'm a gluten for punishment. This would only be two hours a day, three days, with the junior high. What was I thinking?! Everyone knows that Junior High students have no brains, attention span or anything else that marks them as human except for boundless energy and an insatiable appetite for food, fun and anything except school work. The first day wasn't too bad as all I had to do was give them a test but the next two days required me to actually teach them something. The topic was forgiveness (this was Bible class). We read the Bible, watched some video clips, had a skit, answered workbook and worksheet questions and generally wished for class to be over and the real teacher to be back. Mercifully the three days came to an end. (The one good deal I got out of it was that Friday was Crazy Hair Day so I got to wear that funny hairstyle that my Dad would never let me do when I was a teenager.) Again, my hat is off to all those brave teachers who can calmy and quietly face the hazards of teaching Junior High students every day and come out more or less unscathed and smiling.

Truthfully, I enjoyed my four days of teaching. Yes there is a lot of energy (some of it focused in wrong directions on occasion) and unending vigilance is required but the payoff is tremendous for those teachers who day by day pour themselves into the lives of these young men and women, sharing in God's work of forming godly young men and women.

I am very thankful for SCCLC and its ministry to our children. As always, we are looking for English speaking teachers who are willing to come and help with this ministry of forming godly youth. If you are interested in taking up the challenge, or know someone who might be, please contact me at goelliott@cotas.com.bo. And pray with us that God will continue to supply the needed staff as he has faithfully done in the past.

More information about the school can be obtained at www.scclc.org.