9.1-Plays well with others. A report card on whether you should be a teacher.

9.1-

“Plays well with others.”  is a section of an old time report card.

I come from a family of teachers.  Some teach in pre-school and some teach in graduate school.  My grandmother had eight children and many of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have been and still are “teachers”.  There is no more honorable job for which people receive “wages”.

There is this teaching that everyone who follows Jesus, at some level, is a leader and a teacher, either by word or by example.  I agree with this for we are all called to be salt and light.

On the other hand a formal teacher or leader must be a person who has developed his/her teaching by example before their teaching by oral or written words are appropriate.

No one has a life without sins.  To be a formal teacher or leader does not mean you are mistake free.  It does mean that you have good character training from your family and friends to be a good solid example, day in and day out,  of what a healthy human being looks like. “Plays well with others.”  is a section of an old time report card.

Some of us have been blessed with growing up in a healthy, loving family where we were taught four basic elements of being a healthy human being.

-Emotional health.  They were loved in their family.

-Truth health. They were taught the language of truth and it was demanded in their home.

-Security health. They were convinced that God and their family loved them and would never give up on them.

-Boundary health.  They were given the freedom of knowing the boundaries of good relational health.

These four elements are caught more than taught.  The training in how to teach with competence the subject being taught is necessary.  A good personality (there are many types) to develop a good relationship with a wide range of students is helpful.  They love their students.  They love their subject. "Plays well with others". This one must be checked to be a good teacher in my opinion.

I believe that very few people should be formal teachers because teachers who do not have the right attitude do more harm than good.  There can and should be many different levels of learning to teach and teaching. 

All followers of Jesus should aspire to be good teachers of their family members and co-workers.  But regarding being a professional teacher and doing it for “wages” then the field is narrowed down considerably.

Larry Wishard

8.26.17

Matthew 5.

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Hebrews 5.

¹¹ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the

James

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.