Please ANSWER EACH ON SEPERATLY
PART ONE
1. Kelly-I believe the “GCU Statement on the Integration of Faith and Work” connects to the concept of a professional educator for multiple reasons. First, I’d like to point out that as followers of Christ, we are called to follow the instructions God gives us. He wants us to live in salt and light that contributes to the common good (GCU, n.d). We are expected to follow His instruction by carrying out our steps in our communities, work place, homes and anywhere. As an educator, we want to see our students flourish just like Christians want to see others flourish in their walk in faith. Lastly, we embrace the idea that human culture needs to be restored. Not everyone is going to believe or live their lives under the Chrisitan worldview and I’m sure we all are aware of that. As followers of Christ who are educators, we can still stand by the acts that we believe under the Christian worldview and love and serve others as much as we can.
GCU, (n.d.). Statement on the Integration of Faith and Work. https://www.gcu.edu/Documents/Statement-IFLW.pdf
2. Elizabeth-Throughout GCU statement on it the integration there is an overall principle of doing good while working with student’s faculty and staff. The ideas which surround the integration of faith and work connect in many ways to becoming a professional educator. The principles which follow a Christian worldview and this integration encourage taking the teachings of God and applying them to help serve our students. Ideas such as being compassionate, engaged and restorative are a large part of being professional. Being compassionate means that we come from a place of understanding when educating our students and accepting that they may come from many different backgrounds and needs. Being engaged allows us to commit fully to the teachings of God as well as to the work we have as an educator. Lastly, being restorative allows us to start each moment fresh, allowing ourselves and students the best principles and parts of ourselves. These are just some of the ways that we can integrate the Christian teachings into our daily lives. These are all ways that we can “promote human flourishing” and educate students in a meaningful way(GCU, n.d).
3. Brendon-The GCU Statement on the Integration of Faith and Work emphasizes that faith should be reflected in all aspects of life, including your profession. For a professional educator, this means incorporating Christian values into their teaching practices. Educators are called to be “salt and light,” serving students and the community with compassion, justice, and a commitment to the common good. By recognizing their work as part of God’s calling, teachers can inspire and nurture students, promoting not just academic success but also moral and spiritual growth. This helps create a positive, and transformative impact on society, reflecting the teachings of Jesus in everyday life.
4. Megan-Hello Class, I am not a religious person so I will not be bringing faith into my future classrooms. However, I do agree with what the faith and work statement means. We as educators should not be discriminatory towards others, whether that’s because of religion, race, or disabilities. “WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is both Savior and Lord and that all who follow Jesus should seek His Kingdom and His righteousness in relation to all aspects of human experience, including culture and society. Therefore, we have resolved to carry out our work within the public arena with compassion, justice and concern for the common good.” I agree with this statement saying that we should teach with compassion, justice, and concern for the common good. I think these values help make good people. Teaching compassion is something we should do as early as we can in hopes that by the time the kid starts elementary school, they already have an understanding of how to be a kind friend.
5. Felicia-Hello class,
First, I would like to say how much I love GCU Statement in the Integration of Faith and Work. As an educator, if we practiced with these statements in our classroom daily, our students will see the beauty in others regardless of their ethnicity, sex, and or religion. When connecting these two, I think as educators, while we can not push an agenda on our students with say, certain religions, we can still show compassion and virtues in our classroom. Jesus Christ showed compassion and love for his people and I too will show love and compassion towards my students. This can be shown in many forms. For example, we as teachers do not only meet the student’s immediate physical needs but also making sure we create a supportive learning environment that allows the student to thrive academically and personally. Sorry, I feel like I am rambling and none of this makes sense! Thank you!
6.Sheva-The integration of faith and work introduces the idea of Christ into all that a person does. Therefore, it intertwines this into the work an educator does within the classroom. It shines as they work with co-workers, administration, the families, the students, and even out to the community. It relays a message of hope for the future added with the good works of kindness and acts of mission work. These good works can be through fostering events and missions or just sharing kindness with everyone. Furthermore, instilling this into the lessons that are taught within the classroom. Which can further foster and develop students who share in the importance of pushing humanity out to the world.
It is vital for educators to uphold standards that are honorable and are deemed as good role models for society’s upcoming, future generations. As an educator it is important to create moments that challenge a student to dive deeper into what part they play in the world and how they can make positive impacts. In doing this, educators are sparking the interest of worldview, purpose, and what that can look like for the student individually as they move forward in life. Educators are granted a special task of contributing to the well-being of students who are under their care. Investing a compassionate Christian world view through all their works. Creates students that are informed not just academically but equipped with positive world skills. Skills an educator can model are honesty, acceptance, love for all, forgiveness, charitable spirit, and kindness. More importantly to ensure they are overall moral humans who are ready to take on the world with integrity and compassion.
Reference:
Grand Canyon University (GCU) (n.d.). Statement on the integration of faith and work. https://www.gcu.edu/Documents/Statement-IFLW.pdf
PART TWO
1. Audrey- Hello Class,
Teachers spend countless hours in classes to earn a degree so they can be considered a professional in their field of education. So, why do they not feel like they are professionals? The answer maybe they are not paid like other professionals. Studies show that a teacher earns 19% less than others that have worked to earn a degree as a professional (Professional pay 2024). How do I advocate to see this changed? The area I live in is one of the lowest paid districts in our area and we have a hard time retaining teachers because of the pay. One thing that I could do is to lobby for better pay for those in the smaller communities where sales tax and school tax is limited. Another thing that can be done is to join the NEA (National Education Association), which advocates for educators on the federal level (Professional pay 2024).
Professional pay. NEA. (2024). https://www.nea.org/your-rights-workplace/fair-pay-benefits/professional-pay
2. Makayla-Good morning class and instructor!
The first change I believe needs to occur to treat teachers professionally is to educate the parents on just how much work we as educators put in, and to demonstrate the growth their child has made during the school year. In the school system educators are underpaid, and burnt out due to a lack of support from not only the community but other educators and staff members. I want to start by advocating the need for more pay, and a stronger support system. Unfortunately in Texas, there is a huge teacher shortage, due to a lack of funding and resources.
3. Megan-Teachers oftentimes do not feel as if they are treated like professionals due to being micromanaged, being underpaid, and being undermined. A lot of people do not understand the type of stress and hard work that goes into being a teacher. Although the school day hours are nice, teachers usually work a lot of hours outside of the school day to prepare and grade work. An elementary school teacher stated, ““Teachers serve multiple roles other than being responsible for teaching curriculum. We are counselors, behavioral specialists and parents for students who need us to fill those roles. We sacrifice a lot to give all of ourselves to the role as teacher.” (Braga, 2024). I think that in order for teacher to be treated as professionals they need to be paid more, they need to be given more credit for what they put into their classroom, and they need more support from their staff. I can advocate for these changes through the Teacher’s Union. Typically every school district has a representative on campus that attends the meetings with the Union. An educator as myself can talk to that representative to advocate for change. I can also sign up to be apart of the Union to try and push for change and pay raises within the school districts.
Braga, D. (2024, April 4). What public K-12 teachers want Americans to know about teaching. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/what-public-k-12-teachers-want-americans-to-know-about-teaching/
4. Ashely-Teachers want to be treated with respect; they need to have a strong administrative staff so that they can feel supported when something happens. When there is a situation, they want to be trusted that all the proper steps are taken, and that the administration staff will do their job to the best of their ability. When they have a paraprofessional in their classroom, they need to have that person work with them not against them. Having support is really important and all that teachers can really ask for. Teaching a classroom full of kids with behaviors and other situations can be hard and when there is not support it can be difficult. Having parents on the teacher’s side as well can be very beneficial because if parents work against the teachers it can be difficult in teaching their children.
5. Jateba-Hello, class. There is no doubt that teachers should be treated as professionals because we are professionals. Not only do we show up to work on time and ready to go, but we are also responsible for educating, mentoring, and the safety of our future leaders. I realize that everything that a child learns starts from home, but most children seem to spend more quality learning time at school. From tying shoes to learning the alphabet, teachers are the ones who reinforce every aspect and idea that a child can think of. One change our society is very far behind on is who we deem as necessary or vital to human success and existence. The quarterback who throws a ball that is caught should be paid, but should that action be worth millions while educating our youth be worth less than $50K? How about the actor who portrays an educator in the movie? They win an award and make millions while the actual educator is struggling to make ends meet. Other professions deal with that same situation. Firefighters, police officers, para pro’s, and CNAs are just a few who do more than their share yet are poorly compensated. For changes to come, we must continue to fight the good fight of education and faith. Educators realize that we may not ever make millions as we educate future leaders. But good educators also know that we are not in it for the income. Good educators are in it for the outcome.
6.Brittany-Some of the changes I feel that need to occur in our school system for teachers to be treated as professionals is for the School District to get more involved in their schools to build a relationship with the students and teachers. It’s so many times I see School Districts making so many changes to schools and don’t really know the student nor their everyday needs. I also feel that parents should be educated as well as notified on how much us as educator put in time with there child. I work in a 4th and 5th grade behavioral class and there are students that cannot read. The lead teacher and I take time to teach the students there sounds which is not in the 4th and 5th grade curriculum from the district. Some people don’t know the stress and no support we get to make sure our students are learning daily.
