Mother's Day: Becoming a Substitute Teacher

   I've recently began my career as a substitute teacher. As stated before, in past blogs, being a teacher isn't easy. It is long hours of going over lesson plans, being present in meetings, and being responsible for the future of our nation. 
   If being a teacher isn't difficult enough, being a substitute is just as difficult but in different ways. For example: substitutes come into a classroom they do not know, to teach content they may not know, with kids they do not know, and they are in a school they do not know. That's a lot of "I don't knows" and yet substitutes are still responsible for teaching these students.
   Many people think that substitutes are just baby sitters. But subs are required to teach the content the teacher would usually teach. On top of the fact that substitutes need to teach that content with a lot of unknowns, that's a major step out of a normal person's comfort zone.
   At this point you may be wondering what this has to do with mother’s day. Well substitutes are in a classroom for just a day and they are required to still get to know the students and care for them. Even if the substitute fails to teach any of the content that substitute still leaves an impact on the students. Children are like sponges. They soak up information and watch people to learn.
   When I walk in a classroom to be a substitute I'm not just teaching. I am also a role model, nurse, counselor, and mother to these students. Any person who has contact with children, even if it's indirect contact (ex. At the mall children are watching you), is teaching those children. Many children learn by watching others. It is important that we are good role models for those children. 
   We need to care about the children just as Jesus did. He knew that children have a faith and a wonder that adults sometimes lose. Adults may not be as influenced as children are. That is why it is important, even if you don't have children, to be a mother or father to the children around you. 
   I'm not saying you are to go against the will of the child's actual parents. What I am saying is that we need to be role models. We need to teach children to respect authority. We need to care enough about children to make sure they are okay if they scrape their knee, are being bullied, or are not making good decisions. Even the smallest gesture can make a big impact on the life of a child. Just think about how much it meant to the children in Matthew 19:13-15 that Jesus was willing to see them.
   So, are you willing to step outside your comfort zone and be a role model to children? Are you willing to go out of your way to do one small thing for a child? Will you follow Christ's example?

   Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 22:6, Colossians 3:16, Matthew 28:19-20