Making a Difference on the Weary Edge: The Fruit is on the Way

Whether you are a teacher, counselor, or administrator, your efforts are not in vain. In this final month of school, many of us are feeling weary. That’s normal. It is demanding and even exhausting to teach, lead, and inspire children every day. Add to that, navigating the ever-changing tide of generational characteristics that creates brand-new challenges each year.

But here’s one thing that never changes: "Children are not things to be molded but people to be unfolded," Jess Lair. So, take the pressure off. A heavenly master craftsman is sculpting these futures. Make no mistake, our efforts matter – a LOT. However, “you may not see the fruit of today's work, but you have sown a lifetime of knowledge.” So, let’s all take a long, deep breath and ponder these four measures of a meaningful year with our students.   

Relationships

Do your students know and trust you? Did you get caught up in delivering to-do lists and miss the chance to build relationships? If so, it’s not too late to cultivate interactions, support parents, and adjust your point of view.

• Trusted relationships are built on safety. This is cultivated through positive interaction and asking questions. Students want to be “talked with” rather than “talked to.”  Make time for short, casual interactions with students between classes to allow for more relaxed, open-ended conversations.

  
  

• Studies show that the number one voice in most students' heads is that of their parents. You can support them by giving them tools to guide meaningful conversations and reflections with their child.  Parents can use our Informational Interview worksheets to help their child gather valuable information.  Our Brag Sheets can help them consider and articulate their child’s strengths.

  
  

• Check your frustration meter and renew your vision of who your students will be rather than what they do and how they act now. “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 NIV

Student Voice

Everyone wants to be noticed and heard. Giving this to another communicates their value. Feeling valued is motivating and empowering. Did you facilitate opportunities for your students to share their voice and story? If not, year-end is an ideal time to provide students with time to reflect and share as a group.

• 90% of the relationships in school are student-to-student, so if you want to create a positive culture, cultivate these relationships.

  
  

• Our Qualities of Greatness, No Regrets, and My/Our Legacy worksheets make it easy for your students to reflect, collaborate, and share.

In the human experience, we can’t think our way into relationships; we must talk and share our heart, our voice, and our experiences.

Well-being

Students today are under a tremendous amount of pressure. Challenging coursework, multiple sports participation, family expectations, and complex social demands have increased student anxiety and depression. Did you address your student's mental health and well-being? If not, it’s not too late to:

• Take time to help them ponder their successes and areas of growth this school year. This supports self-efficacy and can refresh their belief in themselves. This helps to redirect their focus away from comparison and back to their own journey of personal growth.

  
  

• Provide mental health check-ins and stress management support to help them stay the course under their ongoing demands. Talk about signs of excessive stress and anxiety. Our Stress Assessment and Tips worksheet can be completed and discussed in a relatively short amount of time, and potentially have a significant lasting impact.

Inspire Purpose

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18 KJV

Students need guided opportunities to discover their unique characteristics and strengths. Inspiring purpose comes when we couple this with helping them see themselves as image bearers of God. This begins to inspire a vision of how God could use them for His glory and the greater good in whatever capacity they feel drawn to.

Reinforcing the value of learning and education with scripture-based conversations about the meaning of work as sacred is also a great way to inspire purpose. Students need to know that education will increase their impact in whatever vocation they choose.

If you have struggled to help your students make these connections:

• It’s not too late to tell them, “God wants to use you to do great things!” Sometimes I feel like a cheerleader for both my students and for the Lord as I endeavor to draw them closer together.

  
  

• Add some fresh tools to what you are already doing. Our God’s Calling: Purposeful Career Direction lessons are packed with God’s truth surrounding this important topic. Here is what college Career Advisor, Tracy Weeks, said about them: “Scripture is beautifully woven throughout as we learn about finding God's purpose and calling. It has led to some rich discussions! I highly encourage you to check it out!”

Whatever you are doing to help students make connections between what they are doing in school and the future God has for them, your efforts are not in vain. It is these efforts that can help them begin to see through the haze and mad mix of adolescence and college search pressures.

If we don’t grow weary in well doing, we are in a great position to make a very big difference that we may or may not get to witness. Just know, the fruit is on the way.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Their future – your influence – our tools! Want to know more?

Prep4Success Curriculum is specifically designed to provide you with the tools to connect to your students as you explore timely important developmental topics together. You can inspire, you just need the right tools. Join us!