By Cherie Werner
Don’t blink - the school year is almost over! In a few weeks, everyone will be packing up and heading out for the summer. You have a very short amount of time left with your students, so make every moment count!
Remember why you are here. Nothing happens by accident. You are in this place, with these students, for a reason. God is using you in their lives. You may be the only person in their world who is showing them the love of Jesus. You might be the only one who holds them accountable. You might be the one person they feel safe with; the one person they can talk to. Stay alert. Stay open. Keep listening. As it says in Colossians 4:5 (NLT), “Make the most of every opportunity.”
Focus on the kids. You have spent the entire year building relationships with your students. You know them. You know what they need. Keep working to encourage, guide, motivate, and teach them. Keep working to strengthen the relationship you have with each one. Your students need to know you still care. They need to know they can trust you to stay on course to the end.
Prioritize what you teach. What skills are they still lacking? Where do they need to be challenged? What needs to happen to get them ready for next year? Where do they need extra practice for what they might lose over the summer?
Enjoy the last days. You want students’ last memories in your class to be happy ones. Take time in these last days to have some extra fun, laugh a little, and just enjoy the time you get to spend together. Remember, you might not see some of your students again next year.
Stay positive. As the end nears and you become tired, it is easy to get grumpy and short with your students. Make a concerted effort to stay positive and upbeat. Your students take their cues from you. If you are in a foul mood, they are more likely to mirror that. If you are happy, they will mimic that as well.
Learn something new. Keep right on learning with your students. Make the end of the year exciting by challenging yourself to learn something new with your students. If they see you having fun and expanding your knowledge, they are more likely to have that same excitement.
Be intentional about loving them. Pray that God will help you to really see your students. Ask him to help you look beyond their actions to understand their feelings and intentions. Pray that God will give you wisdom and compassion for each situation as you deal with their behavior, conflicts, requests, complaints, and feelings.
You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use when you include this credit line and receive no monetary benefit from it: © 2018 CTA, Inc. Used with permission.
Editor’s note:
