Do you like black people?

Since I teach in a public high school you never know what your students are going to ask you.  One day one of my black students said, “Do you like black people?”

I said, “Of course, I like black people.  That reminds me of a song I learned when I was a little girl – “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white.  They are precious in His sight.  Jesus loves the little children of the world.”  

Another student said, “Yeah.  I remember that song.”

Then we went back to Algebra problems…They like to get my mind off of math, but I have to remember that I’m getting paid to teach math, not Sunday School.  It was a great GodSpot, though! 

My students know that I try to treat all students equally.  I’ll have to admit that I had 2 really special students this past year.  Both were black.  Clyde was failing Algebra II with a 48 average by the last nine weeks of school.  I was teaching in small groups by then.  We had an uneven number so I became Clyde’s partner.  We worked problems together whenever I wasn’t helping other students.  He worked harder than he had all year.  He turned to me one day and said, “You’re a very good teacher.”   WOW!  What an encouragement.  You don’t hear that very often, especially from a student who is failing.  Clyde ended up passing the state end-of-course exam and passed for the year.

Another student named Devon was passing my Algebra II class this year, but needed to pass the state end-of-course exam in Geometry to receive an advanced diploma.  She had taken it twice last year and failed both times under another teacher.  Her former teacher didn’t want to tutor her so I volunteered.  I tutored her for 3 weeks, before and after school.  She failed twice, but showed improvement each time.  We kept working on her mistakes.  I told her that I was praying for her and that we were going to celebrate after she took the test the final time, whether she passed, or not.  She had worked hard and deserved the treat.  Imagine our excitement when she passed.  We went across the street, and I treated us both to a banana split!

Jesus – expletive or holy?

Since I teach in a public school I’m always excited when I hear the word “Jesus” in a positive way.  Occasionally I hear it as a curse word, and I’ll say, “Don’t talk about Jesus that way.”  The student who said the expletive always seems a little surprised.  They don’t even realize what they’re saying when they curse.

Our students had just returned from an assembly, which emphasized respect towards authority and each other.  The black man had the audience totally spellbound. 

When my students returned to the classroom Joey said, “One man can’t change our school.”

I immediately responded, “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”  We’ve had speakers come and go.  It seems that the atmosphere changes for a day or two.  Then the bullying, fights and rude behavior continue just like before. 

All of a sudden there was a GodSpot!  I said,  “Wait a minute.  There is a man who could make a difference.”

Joey said, “Who?  Jesus?”

I said, “Yes!  He can!”

Joey responded, with a laugh, “I don’t believe that church stuff.”

That was the end of the conversation.  In a Christian school that would be an introduction to a great Biblical lesson, but we’re in the public arena.  I’m always excited to put Jesus in a positive light, though.  It made my day, or I guess I should say that Jesus made my day. 

“At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow…”

I might die tomorrow…

I’ll call this a “GodSpot”, a term coined by my brother.  During math class one day one of my students made a random statement that came totally out of the blue.  We were talking about algebra. 

He said, ”I might die tomorrow.”

I said,  “I hope you know where you’re going when you die.  I’m going to Heaven when I die.  I’m excited about seeing my dad again.”

Long pause…

Another student said,  “How do you know he’s in Heaven?”

I said, “Because he believed that Jesus died on the cross to save him from his sins.”

Now that’s a GodSpot!