Tuesdays at School September 27, 2006

Ok, so I am a PE teacher, at a school with some of the sports facilities not quite complete. We want the kids to start developing some improvement in the area of cardiovascular endurance, however the lack of facilities is starting to get even me bogged down.

Today in 6th period, it was like usual: 8th graders not listening because they would rather go home than try to stay in shape. I know we have only beein in school for about 5 weeks and the 8th graders have no reason to like me, listen to me or even wonder if I care about them. But I am less concerned about how much they care, and more concerned about how many of them will die young because they chose to be inactive from such a young age. I have kid in my class that I could dust in a mile run, or 100 meter run for that matter.

I know not everyone thinks the same way about fitness that I do, but well, I guess I could use a simple analogy for everyone to understand my frustration. As a Christian, I know there are people lost and unaware that they need Jesus, being active is somewhat similar, they don’t know the long-term effects and it is going to kill them in the long run. It makes me sad that they don’t think I care or that I would ever give them something to do to make the time go by quicker. I just wish they truely understood how important it should be, Jesus and being active, for those of you I was confusing.

Getting to know them September 26, 2006

Today I got a chance to get to know a student after school because she is going to be involved in the cross country program with us. But, she is in dance also, and since the practices conflict, she is meeting with me on an additional day for practice. SO, it was just the two of us out on the track today. I really got to know quite a bit about her. We talked while we warmed up, streched and even while we did the workout. After wards she even talked with me in my office for a while. I found out she is a believer and I was super excited. I know I can’t openly express my faith to my students unless they bring it up, so believe me, when she brought it up, I went with it.

It was truly encouraging to know that the next generation cares about Jesus and living for Him. I almost cried. This school year has been really amazing, last year I worked far away and was never really able to develop any relationships with the kids and it made me sad. They only saw me as a PE teacher and not a person, this year I have been able to really talk to them, I even saw one at the grocery store yesterday! The good days are great, the hard days are no where near as bad as last year… thank you Jesus for providing me with a job close to home. May I use the talents you have given me to spread love and knowledge to our future.